Читать книгу No Money, No Beer, No Pennants. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression онлайн

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On August 31, Hudlin made another appearance against St. Louis, this time in relief. With the game tied he pitched seven scoreless innings to record his first major-league win. The Indians stole the game in the bottom of the twelfth when Homer Summa scored on an error by the Browns shortstop. Cleveland fans were delighted in what they saw from the young pitcher.

The second-place Indians still had a chance to catch the Yankees, which meant Hudlin would ride the bench for the remainder of September. He trekked back to Wagoner to compete his high school education, but had a rough time paying attention in class and ultimately gave up all thought of finishing school. He would later tell reporters, “It is pretty tough work trying to study geometry when you are thinking of how to throw a curveball past Babe Ruth.” That winter he did a different type of studying. He built a wooden ballplayer and put canvas behind the dummy to stop the baseballs. Hudlin added a wooden strike zone from the knees to the chest, then practiced throwing strikes throughout the winter. If nothing else he would get an A for effort.