Thirteenth

The New York Yankees' famed outfield has been hitting a piddling .249. Nevertheless, last week the Bombers were leading the American League by seven and a half games. The player they could thank for this was right-handed Pitcher Ernie Bonham, called Tiny because he stands 6 ft. 2 in., weighs 215 Ib. Last week Tiny chalked up his seventh victory in a row--four of them shutouts.

Bonham is no strike-out specialist like Bob Feller, Dizzy Dean or Lefty Grove. He has neither a fireball nor a tantalizing curve. But two weapons he can rely on are control and a freak pitch known as a fork ball (a slow ball that sinks and sometimes breaks away). Oldtimers say Bonham's fork ball can't compare with the one Bullet Joe Bush used to throw for the Athletics and Yankees. Still, used as a change-of-pace ball, Tiny's forker has fooled plenty of batters.

Bonham's great asset, however, is his uncanny control. Two years ago, in the last eight games of his rookie season, he faced 85 batters before he allowed a base on balls, faced 89 more before he yielded another. This season--still clinging to his peculiar practice of fingering an iron ball before pitching stints to loosen his muscles --Bonham has allowed only five walks (one of them intentional) in seven games.

In six games, only six runs were scored against him. Then, against the Philadelphia Athletics last week, he yielded three runs in one game, which hiked his earned-run average to a still remarkable 1.28.

"I'm just lucky," drawls Bonham, who was born in 1913, the 13th child of a California wheat rancher. "Anyone could win with the Yankees behind him." Skillful Tiny Bonham will need luck to bear out his fans' predictions that he may win 30 games this season.

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