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ALEX BARRAS.
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IT was decided by the Australian baseball Council that after each
carnival series an all-Austral ian team was to be selected. The
probability of international .games between Australia and America
is very slight, and consequently the actual selection will be more
in the light of an official ranking.
THE SELECTED TEAM.
ALTHOUGH, as stated above, it is im-
probable that games between America
and Australia will be played in the near
future, it is not at all improbable that,
within four or five years, an American
team will visit our shores. This is due to
the foresight of the Victorian Baseball
Association, which took the opportunity
of appointing Harry Hopman, the Davis
Cup tennis team manager, as their repre-
sentative while he is in the United States.
Contacts have already been made with
Wrigley's and Kellogg's, and also with
"Iron-Man" Lou Gehrig. The two former
firms are sponsors of American baseball
teams, while it is thought that Gehrig
may bring out an individual team.
Already Harry Hopman has received in-
terviews with prominent American base-
ball authorities, and correspondence from
the popular Victorian tennis player in-
timates that the Australian request for
international games, is receiving sym-
pathetic consideration. However, whether
this Australian team ever plays or not,
matters little, and I am positive that the
honour of being selected in an all-Aus-
tralian ranking will be sufficient incen-
tive for all carnival players to do their
best.
Messrs. J. Ellis (Victoria), T. Merrett
(Western Australia), K. Gulliver (New
South Wales), C. Catt (South Australia),
and E. Williams (Queensland), were
asked by the baseball council to select
the team, and, although the task was an
unenviable one, the final players chosen
met, almost without exception, with gene-
ral approval. The following were the play
.ers selected:
J. Lanfear, pitcher, New South Wales.
lt. Miller, catcher, New South Wales.
A. Barras, first base, Western
Australia.
F. Catt, second base, South Australia.
W. Rankin, third base. New South
Wales.
K. Corby, short-stop, Victoria.
J. Dennison, left-field, Victoria. j
N. Blanch, centre-field, New South
Wales.
S. Tum, right-field, New South
Wales.
G. Berwick, utility player, New South
Wales.
C. Puckett (Western Australia) and
A. Goodwin (New South Wales),
reserve battery.
Phil Brideoake Unlucky..
'T'HE omission of Phil Brideoake, the
South Australian catcher, was some-
what surprising in view of his splendid
form, not only in the "mask" but also as
a batter (greatly aided by bad position
play on the part of several opposing field-
ers. But more of this anon. Actually
Brideoake finished the carnival with the
batting average, .500. Consequently Good-
win's selection as reserve catcher met
with a lot of criticism.
There were many good judges who
thought that the position of second
pitcher should have gone to Dickinson.
The main arguments in favour of this
contention, is the fact that Dickinson's
performance in the first Western Aus-
tralia-New South Wales game was only
equalled by Lanfear's wonderful "hurling"
in the second meeting. The Chevs. star
also played magnificently on the third
sack throughout the carnival. However,
probably Puckett's greater experience
gained the day for him, but the Press
champion will be hard pushed to hold
this place in future carnivals.
Summary of the Team.
?J^HE Australian battery, Lanfear to "Bul-
let" Miller, proved itself good enough
to win the 1939 carnival, and an improve-
ment on these two players would be an
impossibility. Lanfear stood head and
shoulders above any other hurler on the
diamond, and his speed and control of
curves were nothing short of amazing.
Usually his third strike to a batter was a
huge "down-drop" out-curve, and al-
though batters realised this fact not one
man successfully coped with this strike.
Miller's pegging to bases set players and
spectators alike "back on their heels." His
wonderful throw to catch Keith Jeffreys
about four yards off the bag, in the Shield
final was a fitting climax to a great series
for Miller.
The position of first-sackman, for
obvious reasons, will remain undiscussed.
Freddie Catt walked into the second
base job. Playing his first carnival, Catt
completely overshadowed any other sec
ond-sackman on the diamond. After the
South Australian short-stop, Ross Moyle,
spilt an easy "fly" in the first game of the
I carnival (and apparently suffered an at
; tack of the "jitters" whenever a "fly-ball"
j came near him). Catt was called upon to
take catches anywhere in the vicinity of
short-stop and second-bag; a job which
j he handled with great success. This was a
good selection.
Billy Rankin, third-baseman-cum
pitcher, had a splendid carnival. To those
who knew Rankin of previous years, his
display in the 1938 Perth games, was ex-
tremely disappointing. However, Rankin
turned on splendid games this year, and
well earned his place in the Australian
team.
Another first-year player, Reg Corby,
forced West Australian "Mick" Carr out
of the short-stop position. There was
little to choose between the two men, but
probably Corby's amazing display in one
game during the week, where conditions
were impossible, turned the scale in his
favour. Corby is a strong left-handed
batsman and finished the carnival bat-
ting .348.
Left-field went to the Smith Memorial
Trophy winner, "Jay" Dennison. The
Victorian had his best carnival for several
years, and thoroughly deserves his place.
Dennison is one of the fastest "garden-
ers" I have seen, and his batting showed
a vast improvement on previous games.
Centre-field rightly went to "Jumbo"
Blanch, who is probably Australia's most
consistent "hit getter." Blanch is as safe
as the Bank of England in his position,
being fast and having a splendid "peg."
In each of the last three carnivals Blanch
has impressed me as the best bat in the
game. A correct batting stance and a
beautiful "swing" is the secret of his
continual success.
Sid Yum, who plays left-field regu-
larly for New South Wales has been
moved to right-field in the Australian
team. Yum is a wonderful outfielder and
completes a strong trio of "gardeners."
Although his batting bas slipped a little
this must be regarded as a purely tem-
porary phase, as Yum is another who
possess a good stance and "swing."
George Borwick is a sound choice for
the utility job. Borwick played outfield,
short-stop and third-base with equal suc-
cess in the games. There were many who
thought this player a "lay-down-misere"
for the Smith Memorial Trophy, because
of his versality and brilliance.
The second battery, while not meeting
with unanimous approval, is a very strong
one. Charlie Puckett is* well known to all
baseball enthusiasts, and his capabilities
need not be discussed. He is the second
West Australian man in the team, and j
his choice is a fitting reward for several
years of fine play. "Specs" Goodwin ap-
peared to be carrying a "glass-arm" and
his work was not nearly as impressive as
in former years. However "Specs" is a
great player and a wonderful inspiration
to a pitcher.
In the possible event of a game being
played, Don Mould, of New South Wales,
was chosen as manager-coach, and this
was probably the soundest selection of the
whole team. What Mould does not know
about baseball is not worth knowing, and
he has the ability to impart his know-
ledge to players, as few other men are
capable of doing. Much of the success of
the last three victorious New South Wales
carnival teams is due to the managership
of Mould, and an Australian team with
this man in charge would be hard to de-
feat.
Carnival Averages.
Averages of the teams were as fol-
lows:- i
New South Wales.-N. Blanch, .428; A.
Goodwin, .400; G. Borwick, .311.
Western Australia.-J. Beale, .333; P.
Carr, .286; A. Barras, .267.
Victoria.-E. Davies, .429; R. Corby,
.348; E. Lynott, .286.
South Australia.-P. Brideoake, .500 ;
R. Moyle, .416; A. Gould, .400.
Queensland.-F. Skodder, .333; G. Mol-
lah, .250; A. Stevenson, .215.
Team Errors.-New South Wales, 12;
Western Australia, 9; Victoria, 22; South
Australia, 20.
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