Ray Scarborough tosses five hitter. Bob Lemon was once again on the mound. He sat down the first eleven batters he faced. Then up came Gil Coan. Coan pumped a single into left, but didn’t tally there long. On the third pitch to Bud Stewart, Coan stole second and on the next pitch Coan came home as Stewart singled sharply to left. Washington thus ended Bob Lemon’s scoreless streak at 28 2/3 innings. Timely hitting by Washington gives them the game. Over 20,000 are in the stands to welcome Washington home after a fourteen day road trip. Coan goes two for three, scoring two runs. He is batting .255 so far this season.
Player Profile – Gil Coan
Gil Coan, even if he had gone 3 for 4 Clark Griffith would still see the $100,000 price tag that hangs over his head. Once again this year Manager Joe Kuhel has to wonder is his 24 year old fly chaser is worth the price. He can throw and field but can he hit? The young North Carolinian came up for the final eleven days of the 1947 season and he sure did impress. He batted at a .500 clip in those eleven games. He collected sixteen hits, three doubles and two triples. Against Boston one day he socked a triple, double and three singles in give at bats. No doubt even the Old Fox was smiling that day.
This year Coan has the left field job all to himself. He is one of the three players that Joe Kuhel listed as regulars. “If I fail to make the grade this year, I will have no excuse to offer,” Coan said. “I’m in wonderful shape. My feet feel fine. I apply a special salve which prevents any infiltration of foreign matter. I also wear white cotton stockings to keep out the sand. That was what kept me back before. The doctors say I am allergic to a certain fungus in the sand. It penetrates my skin and causes irritation halfway up my leg. I couldn’t run last spring. Instead of waiting until I was well, I tried to play before it healed. I just couldn’t give my best.”
“Back in Chattanooga last year, it was the same story, I couldn’t get going for a month and found myself hitting around .220. Finally Joe Engel, President of the Club, called me aside and told me the trouble with me that I was pressing. He advised me to loosen up and not to worry if I struck out. I followed his advice and finished the season with .340.” Coan, a speedster has been up twice before with Washington sporting those “can’t miss” tags and failed on both occasions. The first time he came up with the skin ailment and developed athlete’s foot. Last year, in addition to the allergy to the Florida sand he underwent an appendectomy before spring training.
Kuhel also blamed Coan’s earlier failures on the lad’s tendency to press. “The first thing I did was to erase any uncertainty in his mind,” Kuhel said. “I told Gil the left field job was his. That should ease some of the pressure. He has looked great in the spring. It looks like he’s ready this time.”
The 1948 Project
The 1948 Project
The 1948 Project will be a winter long project Karen and Kevin Flynn will be running in conjunction with a bigger project the folks over at DidTheTribeWinLastNight.com are running this winter.
Did The Tribe Win Last Night is a wonderful website that covers everything about the Cleveland Indians baseball club. Starting September 22, 2013 they are going to start winter project where they are retelling of the Cleveland Indians 1948 World Series Season.
