Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-13

CAPTAIN ID. L. EOUTZ OF ElspDkLNN.
 out regard to price, size or quality, spend
 money as if their fathers owned all the
 sugar stock in the country, and kick like
 bucking bronchos if therc arc not nt least
 six entrees on the bill of fare. Unlike h.
 boring men, they go to bed about midnight
 and get up when they awake next day.
 Their work" consists of not morc than
 three hours activity out of the 2i, and
 when they can't get paid for such service
 they usually follow 1t as n pastimc Such
 is n baseball players life, and yet we arc
 told that labor organizations arc in loving
 sympathy with tho men who compose
 National league teams If that bc true, it
 is one of the incomprchcnsiblc phases of
 the mind of man with which we some
 times come in contact
 While on this subject want to sny that
 no other class of men dare practice su much intcmpcrancc without interfering
 with their vocation aS baseball players. The word intcmpcrancc k u>'d hCrc in its
 broad sense and Is not r'striCtCd tO the
 uso of liquors. Among the mass of pro fessional baseball players temperate habits in sleep, diet and general conduct is very rare. It Is this evil of carclCssuCss which
 to n great extent turns the victorious rccr of a home team into defeat aS s,IOn !lS
 it goes out upon the road. Unnatural hours, indulgence of appetite and CarC-
 
 players stop at first class hotels, where the faro is much above their home supplies. As n consequence they cram their stomachs
 with the luxurics of the hotel table and
 then try to play ball. I heard n manager
 recently complain after the defeat of his
 team that his players persisted in filling
 up" on puddings, pies and ice cram, and
 then while thus stuffed tried to play base
 ball.
 We are all familiar also with the sight
 of a team coming in from the field. in ming after inning, each man helping himself libcrally from the contents of the water kcg. Did anybody ever hear of n prizcflghtcr eating five pound dinner of six or seven courses two or thrcc hours h'- fore he went into tho ringf If sn, was tho foolish man ever known to win? Did they ever hear of . pugilist drinking a half pint | of water between each round; Why, even race horses arc not permitted to cat or drink for n long period before each race. A baseball players skill lies largely in a bright, steady accurate eye, and thCr'- | fore wo hear the coachcrs frequently cry out, Good eye, old man-GoOd Cyc!'' Net an overfcd stomach or one that iS swCllCtl with water is sure to i'll affect the eye and
 consequently the players skill. The man agcrs of ball teams will never get the game | down to its perfection till they take steps | to restrain players from UvcrindulcCuCc | of their nppctitcs by III ans of sUmc CiliCa- l cious rules which can bc carried out with | general application.
 Two years ago the Cincinnati club lost | the morning Fourth of July game ly thc terrific bat punishment of their pitcher, Frank FuPman, ana the defeat was dis | graceful that 1t cust the club hundpCIls | of dollars by reducing tho size of the after l noon crowd. Foruman excused his pOur | work on that occasion by declaring that | he had eaten two many batter cakes for
 breakfast and felt ''loggy'' while he was | in the box. O'ConnOr of tho Clcvclands
 received the nickname of Peach Pie" b,'- | cause ho ate thrcc pieces of peach pie for
 dessert before going out to play game one
 day and as n consequence had thrnc or four passed balls for each piece of the pie
 Tho players who know the benefit of
 diet and practice 1t arc n very small per | centagc of the whole. Guy HCckcr was one of the minority class. He seldom ate moro than n plate of soup for luncheon or | dinner before n game in which he pitched
 Jim White, George Wright and 0 O'RourEc | werc players who controlled their appc- tites in dcfercn Q to n desire to play good | ball. On the other hand, Rusic, Mullane, | Stiyetts. Burns, Boyle and others whom
 could put on tho list almost ad infinitum
 are almost gormnnds in their habits while |
 The greater tho skill displayed by tho | players of n game the greater naturally Is the attraction of the game to the public. | Is 1t therefore not strange that the base | ball rule makers do not devise means to compel baseball players to subordinate | their animal nppctitcs to the interests of | the profcssionf It can bc done and should | Do done.
 The unsettled dispute has again como to tho front whether n player manager Is better for a clubs interests than mana ger who sits on the bench. Anson and Comiskey concluded early in the year that
 their ball playing days were over, and that | there was Q soft berth reserved for them on
 tho bench as Q citizen manager. But the
 i'll success of their respective teams forced | both of these veterans back into uniforms, ! and then came better results for their clubs
 and comparatively good ball playing for | themselves.
 It Is doubtful whether a good ball play | CT can sit on the bench and be a good
 team manager. Irwin of the Philadelphias
 is not making a success of 1t, and Harry Wright would have been much moro scrv-
 iceablo as general could ho have kept his uniform on. Nash Is really the team manager of the Boston. and Ward Is in full control of the New Yorks So Is Foutz | of Brooklyn
 Tho last named must be given credit for | getting great deal out of team which | is not considered individually or collect | lively strong Tho Brooklyns havo really