Branch Rickey Baseball File Scouting reports 1955 5 Box 53 Folder 5 Name: Salcido, Carlos Home address: Av. Revolution #59 Hermosillo, Sonoro, Mexico Position: of Playing Record Year: 1954 Club: Mexicali League: Ariz.-Tex. Class: C G: 34 AB GS: 132 R CG: 25 H W: 29 TB L: 44 2B Pct.: 7 3B IP: 1 HR H: 2 SB R: 3 CS ER: --- BB: 11 SO: 33 RBI SHO: 14 Pct. ERA: .220 NAME SAICIDO, CARLOS FIRST CONTRACT IN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL: CLUB? Mexicali LEAGUE SEASON 1954 FIRST CONTRACT WITH PITTSBURGH ORGANIZATION: CLUB Mexico City SEASON 1955 DATE SIGNED 7/5/55 SALARY $2,812.50 (M. C.) BONUS No Bonus BONUS PAYMENT DATES 1. 2. 3. NEGOTIATED BY Mexico City Club EXECUTED BY DATE APPROVED PLAYER SCOUTED BY AT CONTRACT TERMS CLUB DATE SIGNED TERMS CLUB DATE SIGNED TERMS Paducah 1/18/55 Albany, Ga. 4/17/55 Hazlehurst 5/17/55 Tifton 5/17/55 W. Palm Beach 6/6/55 Mexico City 7/5/55 $2812.50 (M.C.) CONTRACT RECORD DATE ASSIGNED TO HOW ACQUIRED CONSIDERATION 1/26/54 Mexicali Free Agent (1st Contract) 6/17/54 Released Outright by Mexicali 1/18/55 Paducah Free Agent 4/16/55 Albany, Ga. Outright 5/17/55 Hazlehurst Outright 5/17/55 Tifton Optionally 5/26/55 Hazlehurst Returned 5/31/55 W. Palm Beach Optionally 6/6/55 Released by West Palm Beach 7/5/55 Mexico City Free Agent Name: Sanchez Robert Guillerno First Contract in Professional Baseball: Clube? Batavia League: Pony Season: 1953 First Contract with Pittsburgh Organization: Club: Batavia Season: 1953 Date Signed: 3-12-53 Salary: $150.T Bonus: none Bonus Payment Dates 1. 2. 3. Negotiated By: Executed By: Date Approved: Player Scouted By: At: Contract Terms [table] Club Date Signed Terms Hutchinson 2-11-54 $175. Tr. Waco 4-13-54 $200. Tr. 235/40 das New Orleans 3-1-55 $275 - Tr 350/40 days Hollywood 4/15/55 $300 500 5/15 Opt Waco 5/6/55 Hollywood O $300 - Tr. Waco 6/1/55 $325 - Tr Contract Record [table] Date: Assigned To: How Acquired: 3-12-53 Batavia Free agent (1st contract) 5-2-53 Suspended Reinstated 5-0-53 1-8-54 Waco Selected under working agreement 1-8-54 / 4-12-53 Hutchinson Conditionally - $100 / 30 days xxxxx Waco Returned by Hutchinson 9-27-54 New Orleans Conditionally -($500 case and $2,500/30 days) 4/1/55 Waco Returned by New Orleans 4/11/55 Hollywood Conditionally $1000 30 days 5/4/55 Waco Optionally 5/14/55 Waco Outright from Hollywood cancelling otpion 10/8/55 Mexico City Outright Branch Rickey Papers Series - Baseball File, 1906-1971, Scouting Reports, 1951-1964 Routine Player Record Card remove to protect private information.l MEMORANDUM OF JANUARY 19, 1955 FOLLOWING GAME IN HAVANA, CUBA, BETWEEN MARIANAO AND ALMENDARES. SANCHEZ He belongs to Bob Maduro, and Cincinnati will get the first crack. Sanchez has speed, plenty of it, and that's all I know about him from the one inning he pitched. Almendares won the game 8 to 3, and Sanchez was complete master in his one inning. POZA RICA VS PUEBLO AT PUEBLO, MEXICO, ON NOVEMBER 17TH AND 18TH, 1955. PUEBLO VS MEXICO CITY REDS AT MEXICO CITY ON NOVEMBER, 26TH 1955 SANDERS Tall, right hand hitting shortstop on the Pueblo Club. Young, runs fairly good and has a good arm. Looks like he might hit. Belongs to the Yankee organization and just came out of two years service in the army. Not yet reinstated. B.R. [*[1955]*] COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS ON PITTSBURGH PIRATES AND HAVANA CUBAN ALL-STARS GAME OF SATURDAY EVENING, MARCH 14TH, GRAN STADIUM, HAVANA, CUBA. Cole Cole is supposed to be a smart player. With Castiglione caught off second in the fourth inning, he only went half way to second, and then went back to first. He could have easily gone to second. Sandlock Lindell was wild and difficult, but if I ever saw a catcher handcuffed, this was it. His one throw to second base had nothing on the ball. The runner simply outran it. He must be supurb defensively every minute in order to stay with this club, for he will not hit a lick. The sooner Fred comes to know that Castiglione, Cole, and Metkovich are impossible as starters, the sooner the Pittsburgh Club will be started in the right direction. Everyone of these boys are simply last place players. POZA RICA VS PUEBLO AT PUEBLO, MEXICO, ON NOVEMBER 17TH AND 18TH, 1955 AND POZA RICA VS MEXICO CITY REDS AT POZA RICA ON DECEMBER 1ST AND 2ND, 1955. SANDOVAL Poza Rica catcher. A big young fellow, right hand hitter, doesn't get much chance to work. He has a good arm and I saw him hit a couple of balls in batting practice for good distance. He is doubtless satisfactory as a second string catcher at Poza Rica, but I didn't see enough of him to have an opinion about his prospective ability. B.R. MEMORANDUM OF JANUARY 19, 1955 FOLLOWING GAME IN HAVANA, CUBA, BETWEEN MARIANAO AND ALMENDARES. In center field was SAFFELL He looks helpless. Not doing any good down here. Can run and does, and intelligently too. And Saffell can field. Arm good enough. His habits are questionable. I have had some conversation with him and I intend to talk further with him. He reports to our club in Fort Myers on March 1st. MEMORANDUM OF GAME BETWEEN SANTURCE AND PONCE AT SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, ON JANUARY 25, 1955. SANFORD, an infielder belonging to the Giants, played second base. Does not impress me at all with his running speed. Played well in the fielding practice at second base and was also good in the game. He is a right hand hitter and showed some power. Hit a ball four miles into the left-centerfield stands, but it is my guess that that hit was an exceptional stroke for him. July 7, 1955 SANFORD, JACK 6' right hander from Springfield College. All his actions remind me of Murray Dickson. A pretty good fast ball and pretty good control of it. Curve ball fair. Fine person, good intelligence, and might go into the money, and if he gets a really usable third pitch, - of course he might go anywhere. He needs work with me or somebody who will try to help him get this third pitch. B.R. St. Louis-New York Game, May 13, 1955 at St. Louis, Mo. SARNI (Catcher - St. Louis Not a great arm. He is a faster runner than most catchers and he hits the right hander's curve ball pretty well. The change up curve ball bothers him, - in fact any change up ball bothers him. He is a better hitter than he is rated in the average baseball mind. Hits mostly to left field, I would say, but you cannot play for him. Do not underrate him as a hitter. B.R. February 18, 1955 Fort Myers, Fla. ROGER SAWYER I am just as strong on this boy being a major leaguer as I have ever been, but his progress is disappointing. He has not perfected his change ups to the point where he is willing to use them and his lack of control of these change ups may be sufficient reason for his unwillingness to use them in a game. I chance to think that he has not applied himself assiduously on acquiring control of these pitches. He still pitches his regular curve ball high, - too high, and if he can throw the ball consistently high, then if he really wants to do it, he could throw the same pitch consistently low, and that's all there is to it. He needs to go to the target and work on his changes every day. BRANCH RICKEY Fort Myers, Fla. February 25, 1955 ROGER SAWYER I am as strong for this fellow as heretofore. He can have remarkable control and he knows what it means when he is told to do something. He not only tries to do it, but he does do it. For example, originally as a pitcher, he held his glove sidewise in covering up. That habit is completely gone and the full back of the glove faces the batter on every delivery. He has good control of his side arm, I call it, fast ball. Throws it a little above side arm. The pitch is usually low but in the strike zone. He has a curve ball that talks. Doesn't break all the time, but much better regularity on it than Brown, and a great deal better than Rosello. These boys have great curve balls, - - - when it curves. Sawyer's curve will break much better than one-half the time. He has a dandy change up on his fast ball, but he doesn't have control of it. If he could get control of this pitch, I think he could go anywhere, - right now. He is working on it. He is also working on his change up on his [fast] curve ball, but his change up on the fast ball is a darn good pitch, and I believe he will get useable control of it very soon. He could pitch for me at New Orleans beyond any question. BRANCH RICKEY July 11, 1955 Burlington, N.C. SCARTH, JIM Tall, slender, 21 year old boy, weighing around 175 pounds and about 6'1" tall. Infielder-pitcher. He told me he wanted to pitch. Got a fine fast ball and it does something. Curve ball so-so. No change-up on his fast ball at all, but can throw a slow curve which could become effective. It is simply a sort of let up on his regular curve. This chap is a long ways off. You cannot tell what he might become if he were to go to a small league for a year. He might come on his fast ball, but he would have to spend a year in Class D. He is going to have another baby in September. He already has two children. B.R. Burlington-Greensboro Game Burlington, N.C. July 20, 1955 SCARTH He is hardly a good high school player. He should be given his unconditional release. B.R. July 12, 1955 Dublin, Ga. SCHAMMEL, GEORGE Left hand pitcher from around Baltimore. Got out of school on June 4th and joined the club on June 6th. Good size boy, fair speed, less than any of the other boys I have worked out in Dublin. Curve ball is so-so, and no control of it. Schammel has nothing else. A change-up on his fast ball could be acquired and he might get control of it in time, - probably the long time. This boy should pitch semi-professional ball for a year or two. He has enough strength. He might amount to something but it won't be right away. He could have his release without fear of quick disaster to anybody. B.R. June 22, 1955 SCHMIDT, BILL 225 pound football tackle from the University of Pittsburgh, with another year to go. I don't believe he has a good arm, but I bet he can hit with power. There might be a doubt about the "hit" but none whatever about the "power". The boys tell me that he now has a sore arm. This could make a lot of difference in my opinion. We will follow him. B.R. SALINAS-CHANNEL CITIES' GAMES OF MAY 17TH AND MAY 18TH, 1955 AT SALINAS, CALIFORNIA SCHNEIDER Saw him in just one game. Not tall, but stocky. Has good power. Bad throwing method. Makes complete circle. This boy has a doubtful reputation as a receiver. I see no faults in this respect, - nothing certainly that experience will not correct. He stands up at the plate in good style and his form is good. Has no palpable faults. In other words, he should hit. Comments on his power as a batsman are conflicting. I am inclined to go with those who have seen his power. I have been told that he has an exaggerated idea of his ability. If so, time will correct that. B.R. St. Louis - New York Game, May 13, 1955 at St. Louis, Mo. SCHOENDIENST, RED This player is, [practically through] not what he used to be. I don't believe his arm is as strong as it formerly was and most certainly his legs are [decidedly] slowed up. He is dangerous at the plate and I believe he has more power right handed than left handed. If I had a club in the race, I would take him, but for the Pittsburgh club I doubt if he is worth [the] much more than waiver price. Schoendienst is still able to get a good lead and gets a good break. He must be held on the bases by the pitcher, and yet he is the kind of runner that I would like to see try to steal if I were the catcher or the pitcher against him. This is one player who, in my judgment, responds at the plate to the score and the men on bases, particularly if it seems up to him (Schoendienst) to win the game. He will hit at bad balls. He is extremely anxious to hit and with two strikes on him, it has always been true that he will hit bad pitches. In all such cases the pitcher should bear down and put a lot of stuff on the ball, whatever he throws and know that the ball doesn't have to be in the middle. He will pretty nearly swing at anything with two strikes on him when men are on base. It has been his biggest fault all these years. B.R. July 13, 1955 Brunswick, Georgia SERAFINI, IRVIN (Ed) About 6' tall, 165 pound boy, comes from Dubois, Pa. His father is dead, and his mother is now in Italy and will return in October. He is the youngest of four children. Married, one baby two days old. I would judge him to be a very modest, - almost shy boy. Good appearance, seems to have good aptitude. This boy has no fast ball to speak of. It is not good enough to carry him to the majors. He would have to spot pitch his fast ball, keep it away from good hitters and never pitch when he, himself, is in the hole. It is the weakest pitch he has. The fact is that his whole picture depends upon his variety of stuff and the usability of the variety. His curve ball is very good, and his change up on his [fast] curve ball is very good also. Let him alone with both of these pitches. He can get and will get a change up on his fast ball. The one he has been throwing is too fast, but he gets a semi-palm pressure change-up on his fast ball that is plenty slow enough and he will, of course, in time get control of it. This boy, in my judgment, must master the knuckle ball to go anywhere. I would say he needs the pitch to go into the high minors. He has a good knuckle ball. If he had good usable control of it, he might go all the way. He does not need a great deal of work on the perfection of the pitch itself. He simply has to come to have strike zone control of it. It will be interesting to watch what he does within the next season. B.R. MAZATLAN VS CULIACAN at CULIACAN, MEXICO, ON DECEMBER 8TH AND 9TH, 1955. SERRELL Culiacan second baseman. Tall, slim, colored second baseman. Right hand hitter. Runs pretty good, hits pretty good, fields pretty good, but really no good. He is a show boat player. He is not a prospect for anything, but apparently a very popular player in Mexico. B.R. February 17, 1955 Fort Myers, Fla. DONALD SCHULTZ About 6'3" tall, 180 pounds, fine boy, very honest. Took a full semester's work at Elon College this year. He has a good fast ball and splendid control of it. He has two curves, both are good, and he should be able to pitch either one a great deal. However, he tells me he didn't have confidence in either curve, - not enough at least to pitch it when he is in the hole. He thinks he would be a much better pitcher if he were able to throw his curve ball when he is 3 and 1, as he put it. He is most certainly right about that. We discussed the difference between a pitcher and a thrower. This fellow, depending upon whether or not his fast ball is the remarkably good fast ball [.] has a chance to stay with the Pittsburgh club. BRANCH RICKEY July 11, 1955 Burlington, N. C. Pitchers MALCOLM, OLSEN, and SCHULTZ should have been able to help the Burlington club. Their records are not good in any respect. It is the consensus of opinion on the part of the press and the radio, citizens, ownership, baseball scouts, and what-nots that the present Burlington club is the very worst that has ever represented the city. Dorton says that, in his opinion, there is nothing on the club worth my time in seeing the team in a game. I don't believe that in fifty years that I have ever had a team in Class B with so many uniformly bad reports. Fowler will take another big financial loss this season. He doesn't complain, makes no accusations against anybody. He takes any player we send him on whatever terms anyone makes. I feel very sorry for him. His savings of approximately $50,000 will probably be wiped out by the end of the present season. B.R. Burlington-Greensboro Game Burlington, N. C. July 20, 1955 SCHULTZ, DON Right hand pitcher. I like him, but it must certainly be that he doesn't think I know very much about baseball. Down in Fort Myers in spring training I talked to pitchers, all of them, and Don Schultz in particular, about the non-enforcement of the balk rule, and I explained in detail, both in language and in physical demonstration about "coming set" and the "slow movement", etc. I explained that a pitcher did not have to come set; that he could pitch when he started into the slow movement or at anytime during the slow movement, or that he could continue the slow movement until he did come set; that when he did come set, he should frequently throw to catch the runner from the set position. Tonight Don came set on every pitch. In the first inning, with McCarthy the Greensboro center fielder on first base, with one man out, Don came set and held it. McCarthy had such a lead and break that catcher Flynn could not have shot him out with a high powered rifle. Moreover, his arm movement from this set position gives the base runner a lot of time for his break. Schultz must be saying to himself, "Well, the old man is a lot of hot air. He doesn't know what he is talking about. I don't intend to learn any kind of a move such as he has suggested. I am going to be the old conventional type pitcher that lets the base runner get all the lead and break he can." Then Don proceeded to give them the first run on a ball that was hit at him, and which bounced off his arm and rolled back toward the catcher. The catcher ran up to retrieve the ball and could have retired the man at first, but he fumbled, and then the runner on second turns third and goes for home. Catcher Flynn turns to toss the ball to somebody or other, - the runner being half-way between third and home. Flynn was 30' away and he has the ball. He got up, made a couple of fake tosses, but nobody covered the home plate. Schultz was standing a half a foot back of catcher Flynn. If he had covered home plate, the man would have been out by 20'. The umpire missed some of his best pitches, that is true, but when he got into trouble he came with the fast ball, acting like a young, 18 year old, thinking evidently about throwing the ball by the batsman instead of trying to think how to outsmart him. The result was that they knocked Don around very badly. DON SCHULTZ (Continued) This boy could become a pitcher -- there is no question about it. He has a variety of stuff and it is all usable. He must spot pitch his fast ball, and it may be necessary for him to have a distinctive additional pitch in order to reach the majors. The distinctive additional pitch could be the knuckle ball, and probably it is just that. Schultz must have a lot of confidence in Flynn's brains. I never saw the catcher change a single signal. B.R. February 25, 1955 Fort Myers, Fla. RONNIE SHEETZ This boy has a good fast ball, a good curve, a good change up on his fast ball and will have a change up on his curve, but he doesn't have control of this last pitch. His pitching movements are perfect. He holds men on. I think he is a pitcher from the neck up. He has one fault and that is that he doesn't straighten up after his pitch. He can do it. He knows how. It is a habit that must be broken and a new one formed. I have told him to go to the target on this change up curve ball and he should work a lot on it. He has three pitches he can use and could go very good probably on any minor league club, but he might come to Pittsburgh with a 'bang' if he has the fourth pitch. I don't believe he is inclined to stage fright. I wan to see more of him. BRANCH RICKEY Fred Haney's comment: "This boy has more poise than any boy in camp." Ronnie Sheetz March 10, 1955 Observations in a game with the Kansas City Athletics at Fort Myers, Fla. Sheetz must pitch his change up or use his curve. He DOES NOT ("Does not" is underlined) have the fast ball to pitch against major league batters. Sheetz should never pitch his fast ball to a good hitter. he simply doesn't have a fast ball. If he doesn't learn that he can't pitch his fast ball to good batters, he will be in the minors all his life. Sheetz without change-ups is a Class B pitcher, - not even Class A. BR/b WILLIAMSPORT-BINGHAMTON GAME AT WILLIAMSPORT, PA ON July 9, 1955 SHEETS, RONNIE A good fast ball and a good curve and pretty good control. Judging from the last two games I saw this boy pitch, he was a two pitch pitcher, - just the fast and curve balls. Indeed, that is all he or anyone needs if the two pitches are good enough. In the case of Sheets, he will never go major with these two pitches. This boy has a change-up on his fast ball that is exceptionally good, and he could easily get to control it perfectly. He seldom uses the pitch. Probably thinks he doesn't need it, - therefore doesn't use it, and therefore has faulty control of it. Without a third pitch, he 'ain't', and the fact that he doesn't have a usable third pitch could be strong evidence of mental opaqueness, whatever that is. I choose to think, however, that his lack of pitching efficiency is more the fault of managerial inattention than it is the fault of the boy. If his work keeps up the balance of the season in line with his present record he should go to the draft at Williamsport. B.R. June 14, 1955 Shelestak, Michael Just graduated from high school. Left hand pitcher, 160 pounds, 5'9" tall, 19 years of age. Fairly good fast ball, nothing great. No curve at all. No change up on his fast ball. No change up on his curve ball. Has never tried either. His best pitch is a knuckle ball and it really 'knuckles', but he has no control whatever of this pitch. It goes everywhere. Very seldom over the plate. He is a long ways off. Not worth trying to sign at the present time. This boy has exceedingly small hands. The fast ball, also the curve, - both of them indeed, are full tight in the sock. I don't believe he is worth fooling with. B.R. BR/b WILLIAMSPORT-BINGHAMTON GAME AT WILLIAMSPORT ON JULY 9, 1955 SHEPARD, LARRY Shepard has no control of the 'take one strike' situation. It probably has never occurred to him. If he wanted to make a player take one strike, he would have to pull him out of the batter's box and hold a conference. Shepard probably does not feel that he has any right to control the 'take one strike' tactic, and of course the importance of it has possibly never occurred to him. He is on all fours with Haney in this respect. The boy is industrious, loyal, and I believe he would have the courage to control the 'take one strike' situation, for example if indeed he thought 'control' was advisable. In the above respect, Shepard is not at all out of line with most managers. Only the exceptional managerial mind does this job correctly and they are the winners. B.R. POZA RICA VS PUEBLO AT PUEBLO, MEXICO, ON NOVEMBER 17TH AND 18TH, 1955 AND PUEBLO VS MEXICO CITY REDS AT MEXICO CITY ON NOVEMBER 26TH, 1955. SIEBERN Tall, left hand hitter. This fellow looks like he can hit and with power and he can run. Just out of two years service in the army. Belongs to the Yankee organization. He showed me no throwing arm at all. Atley Donald told me later that the boy had a very bad shoulder and was instructed not to try to throw. May be so. Anyhow, he didn't throw. This fellow is impressive. He should be followed, - just in case. B.R. MEMORANDUM OF JANUARY 18, 1955 FOLLOWING GAME IN HAVANA, CUBA BETWEEN CIENFUEGOS AND HAVANA At first base was a Class B ball player by the name of SIERRA I say Class B because I know the boy from away back. He is probably a better ball player today than he has ever been, but I have a very great doubt if he ever is a AAA player of any real value. SIERRA must be 28 years of age. Brunswick-Albany Game Brunswick, Ga. July 18, 1955 SISOLAK, FREDDIE He might be a fair ball player in a Class D league. That's the way he looked to me in this one game. B.R. MEMORANDUM OF JANUARY 19, 1995 FOLLOWING GAME IN HAVANA, CUBA, BETWEEN MARIANAO AND ALMENDARES Marianao's shortstop is DICK SMITH We know all about him. He simply lacks real major league class, but particularly he lacks something at the plate. He really has no power stroke. I think that we should carry him as a utility man on our club this coming year if the choice should result between him and Curtis Roberts. He can outrun Roberts, and he can get more bases on balls, and he has a stronger arm than Roberts. However, Roberts will occasionally hit the ball harder than Dick. He and his wife are to see me tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 P.M. June 14, 1955 DONALD REGIS SMITH 18 years old. Dressed terribly. Looks like a circus tumbler. Everything is tight except his shoes. They are at least four sizes too big, and his shirt sleeve drops clear down over his hand on every pitch, - far over. He was pitching out of the mud. That made no difference to him. He acted as if he never pitched but out of the mud. No apologies or excuses for anything. Definite sidearm pitcher. About 5' 9" tall and weighs 180 pounds, - he says. If he would take his tights off he would still probably weigh 190 pounds. He has a pretty good fast ball and he has "Dead-Eye Dick" control, - right out of the mud. He has a curve, - just so so, but he controls it. Throws a slow curve, he calls it. Not much of a curve, but he gets it over too. This boy throws a knuckle ball. It is a change of pace pitch. Rotates the same all the time, - sort of a downer. He could use it. This kid shows a lot of sense. He has a mother and father living. His father does something for Otis & Company. He has an older brother, married, who lives hereabouts; also an older sister, also married who also lives hereabouts. He has a younger sister who goes to school. This kid is worthwhile. I would have him. B.R. BR/b If he had another point, he would have graduated with honors. Out of a class of 143, he was 37th. I don’t know how he looks in ‘civies’, but he would have made that point if he ever got rid of those tights. I like this boy. Brunswick-Albany Game Brunswick, Ga. July 18, 1955 SMITH, FREDDIE (Outfielder-Albany) No power at all at the plate, - none whatever. B.R. April 28, 1955 LINCOLN-WICHITA GAME AT LINCOLN, NEBRASKA GEORGE SMITH (Wichita Pitcher) A big, tall right hand pitcher, - threw a 1-1/2" curve, - another thrower on the Wichita club. Fair speed, but I don't think he is the prospect that Gonzales is. With a man on second, he pitches to the plate looking at second. He is a long way from becoming a major league pitcher. February 25, 1955 Fort Myers, Fla. JACK SMITH Graduate of University of Oregon, just out of the army, about 5' 11" tall, and weighs something over 210 pounds. Weight is his biggest problem. If he could come down to 190, he might go all the way. He can throw good enough, and he will come to catch good enough. He is intelligent, and he is game and he wants to do it, - and the surprising thing is that he is not a truck horse. He handles his avoirdupois pretty good. B. R. July 11, 1955 Burlington, N. C. SOLOMKO A second year, 5'8" tall, well built, little fellow. According to the books he has power. He can run very good. When we go back through Burlington, Kenneth will take him to the hat store. This boy beat Buheller in the 60 yard race by a foot and a half. Solomko does not have a great arm, or what could be termed as a strong arm. He must throw the ball low and he has the habit of not doing it. I doubt if he needs protection from a B draft. B.R. Burlington-Greensboro Game Burlington, N. C. July 20, 1955 SOLOMKO In two practices and one game, - Solomko looked good to me. His arm is not bad at all. It is not a great arm, but it is a whale of a lot better than Mejias' arm. I see nothing wrong at all with his batting form and he has some power, and he is a good runner. B.R. SALINAS-CHANNEL CITIES' GAMES OF MAY 17TH AND MAY 18TH, 1955 AT SALINAS, CALIFORNIA SPENCE, JACK Right hand hitting outfielder, about 20 years old. Can run good enough, and has power enough, but has impressed me always as a strike out batsman. Arm not at all great, but I don't think that the arm would keep the boy from going into the money. He is satisfactory at Salinas and should be watched for advancement next year. B.R. June 25, 1955 STENHOUSE, DAVE 6'1" tall, 190 pounds, right hander, from Rhode Island University. He has finished his eligibility. On May 18th, this boy got a pulled tendon below his elbow that came on a curve ball pitch. He is unable to pitch the curve ball since that time without pain, and if he bears down on his fast ball , he gets the same thing. In other words, he is, at this time, unable to throw hard. He looks to me like a boy with excellent control and he is intelligent. He has aptitude. He can get a usable change up on his fast ball right away. He throws a change of speed pitch by knuckling. The ball deviates regularly and I would say that he has good control of it, - indeed exceptional control of it. Beyond any doubt, this fellow, when sound, is a corking prospect, and probably a quicky. I didn't see his curve of course because he is afraid to throw it. The probability is that the boy will, sooner or later, fully recover from his present injury. However, the hazard of that recovery is the gamble in his case. B.R. July 11, 1955 Burlington, N. C. STERNS, ROLAND The hot dog right hander from Milwaukee. He has a fast ball, - a good fast ball, - velocity is good enough, but the ball bends. His curve ball is so-so. This boy is so utterly ignorant from a baseball standpoint that it is hard to classify him. He insists on keeping his whole foot in the middle of the pitching rubber. The fast and curve ball signals of one finger and two fingers respectively are not simple enough for him. I did not know until the workout this morning how really ignorant this fellow is. He ought to be pitching in Class D and immediately. B.R. Name: Stevens, R. C. First Contact with Pittsburgh Organization: Club: Batavie Season: 1952 Date Signed: 4-15-52 Salary: $150 Per Mo. Trans. Bonus: No Bonus Subsequent Contacts in Pittsburgh Organization Club: Batavia Date Signed: 2-27-53 Terms $165 - T. $175. - T. Club: St. Jean Date Signed: 4-27-53 Terms: $200/30 days Club: Denver Date Signed: 2-25-54 Terms: $250 Club: Burlington Date Signed: 4-17-54 Terms: $250 Tr. Club: New Orleans Date Signed: 2/3/55 Terms: $300 (400/40 days) Club: Hollywood Date Signed: 4/1/55 Terms: $300 (600 5/5/55) Playing Record: Year: 1952 Club: Batavia League: Pony Class: D G 110 AB 414 R 60 H 102 TB 140 2B 14 3B 3 HR 6 SB 13 CS 5 BB 48 SO 63 RBI 56 Pct. .246 Year: 1953 Club: St. John League: Provincial Class: C G 121 AB 448 R 97 H 140 TB 212 2B 26 3B 5 HR 12 SB 9 BB 82 SO 62 RBI 77 Pct. .313 Year: 1954 Club: Burlington League: Carolina Class: B G 140 AB 509 R 106* H 149 TB 261 2B 31 3B 3 HR 25 SB 12 RBI 115* Pct. .293 Branch Rickey Papers Series - Baseball Files, 1906-1971, Scouting Reports, 1951-1964 Routine Player Record Card removed to protect private information. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS April 23, 1955 SAN FRANCISCO- HOLLYWOOD GAME AT SAN FRANCISCO R.C. STEVENS Fine fielder. Still overweight. Average runner. Everything he does or says indicates lack of orientation. I don't believe he is anymore at home on the Hollywood club right now that if he were sitting in the chair of the President of the United States. April 27, 1955 HOLLYWOOD-LOS ANGELES GAME AT LOS ANGELES R.C. STEVENS This boy is not at home at all. He is really a colored boy in a strange country. He strikes out, highly nervous, so anxious to hit that he is inclined to hit at anything, particularly the high inside fast ball. He has played perhaps a dozen games with Hollywood and he still shows high nervousness at the plate. If and when he settles, and takes off a little more weight, he should be a good man here and eventually might become quite a hitter. If he doesn't get orientated pretty soon, he won't help this club. JALAPA VS AZTECAS AT SECURITY STADIUM, MEXICO CITY, ON NOVEMBER 17TH AND NOVEMBER 19TH, 1955. R. C. Stevens 21 Years old, 6'2" tall, right hand hitting, left hand throwing, first baseman. If this boy ever gets over being scared to death of white folks, he would be a good ball player. He has played great ball so far in the winter league, - hitting hard and often. He should go, say, to Lincoln for 1956, and that decision should probably hold regardless of how he looks in spring training. B.R. July 11, 1955 Burlington, N.C. STRICKLIN, TOM Comes from Mississippi. Right hander. Slim boy, little over 6' tall. Got all the aptitude in the world. Can learn anything. Not much of a curve, but he will get some sort of a usable curve because he is intelligent and will want to do it. Has a change-up on his fast ball which is OK. He should use it. His fast ball is good, - not great. He has a knuckle ball. Never has had one. The very first on he threw knuckled. Everyone of them knuckles and he has remarkable control of it. As a matter of fact it does not rotate enough. It is a positive non-rotating pitch. He might be a knuckle ball pitcher deluxe. His change-up on the fast ball and his knuckler should equip him for rapid promotion. His curve ball is an added starter and might become usable. I hope it does. I tried this boy later on a change-up on his curve ball. He can get it. He really can. I doubt if he will need it. This fellow is a prospect. B.R. February 25, 1955 Fort Myers, Fla. RICHARD STUART A boy who could be and probably is misunderstood. He sincerely wants to do good and be good. His inexpressible contempt for anything disagreeable to himself is reflected only in his facial expression. To me he is a natural comic without intending to be or without knowing it. His arm is good enough, and he runs medium, - perhaps a bit above it, and he has power at the plate. It is my judgement that we should give up on him as a third baseman or as a first baseman. Surely he belongs in the outfield, nowhere else. BRANCH RICKEY August 20, 1955 ARTHUR "RED" SWANSON About 6'2" tall, 180 pounds, right hander. He can throw from 19 different angles of delivery, and with good control on everyone of them. His fast ball is good, go enough to go anywhere, and his curve ball is good. He doesn't have the control our of his curve as he does out of the fast one, but the curve ball is very usable. He has a change up on his fast ball. It is too fast but he will slow it up. This chap is intelligent, has big hands, long fingers and enough sense to go with his physical set up to make him undoubtedly a fine pitcher. His slow curve is not acceptable, but he showed me remarkable aptitude in learning the thumb change up curve. This chap at 19 years of age this past March could be a major leaguer easy enough at 21. I am a bit mystified because no one has signed him up. Where has he been all this time? I would like to have him. B.R. Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.