ed to Manager Stahl. Much of it
unquestionably is his by right, and there is no intent here to deprive
him of any of the high honors he achieved.

To Stahl's arrangement of his infield probably is due much of the
improvement in the team. The outfield trio of wonderful performers did
not perform any more wonders last year than in the previous season, but
what had been holes on the infield were plugged tightly. Many looked
askance when Larry Gardner, supposedly a second baseman, was assigned to
third, but the results more than justified the move, and it made room at
second for Yerkes, a player who had proved only mediocre on the other
side of the diamond. This switch and the return of Stahl, who is a grand
mark to throw at on first base, gave the infield the same dash and
confidence as the outfield possessed, and the addition of some pitching
strength in Bedient and O'Brien did the rest. It is the ability to
discover just the right combination that differentiates the real manager
from the semi-failure.

The Red Sox were in the race from the start, but they were eclipsed for
a time by the White Sox. In spite of that the Bostonians never faltered
but kept up a mighty consistent gait all the way and wore down all
competitors before the finish. Stahl's men never were lower than second
place in the race with the exception of three days early in May. when
Washington poked its nose in front of the Red Sox and started after the
White Sox, only to be driven back into third place by the men of
Callahan themselves. For more than a week in April Boston was in the
lead. Then Chicago went out and established a lead so long that it
lasted until near the middle of June. Boston attended strictly to its
knitting, however. Without stopping in their steady stride, the Red Sox
hung on, waiting for the Callahans to slump. When their chance came in
June the Bostonians jumped into the lead--June 10 was the exact
date--and never thereafter did they take any team's dust.

By the Fourth of July Boston had a lead of seven games over the
Athletics. The Red Sox kept right along at their even gait and a month
later were leading by the same margin over Washington, which had
displaced the former champions. On September 1 Boston's lead was
thirteen games, but it was not until September 18 that the American
League pennant was actually cinched beyond the possibility of losing it.

All season Stahl's men were known as a lucky ball team. Delving into the