The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-02-01
TOO MUCH DOPE IS
 BAD FOR THE FANS Sporting Editor Explains Why Facts Should be Withheld MIGHT HURT THE CRANkS They Must be Brought Up to High Stage of Proficiency by Degrees,
 Otherwise They Might Be-
 come Gareed.
MIGHT HURT THE CRANkS

The sporting editor of the Age-Herald has been stopped on numerous occasions recently by prominent members of the Rooters club and asked for an explana- ton as to why he was not giving the fans the proper amount of dope. These re- quests, which are practically demands, have grown so numerous that the sport ing editor feels 1t his duty to make an explanation.
 When pushed to a corner by an ordinary reporter last night the sporting editor said: "1 fully realize that the cranks are in need of dope, in fact, they are sW- fering for a lack of a baseball tonic, but there are several reasons why they should not be allowed to gorge themselves. As the physicians will tell you men are ire quently made i'll by eating too much at the wrong time Now this is true with baseball cranks or course l have the dope at hand, but l fear that if 1t Is given to the fans they will eat 1t too hastily and gorge themselves Then again. they would be robbed of the pleas- ure of getting the real article when It is fresh Nothing tastes good out of sea son and it is altogether too cold just TOW to hand out the information in big gobs. In ether words the spring sap has rot risen to the proper height for too much baseball talk and this matter should be handled very cautiously. The cranks should be brought Up to nigh stage of rrohciency by degrees and # we tell theI everything right now, it will cause great suffering as many will find themselves in position where they can't wait for the actual h,stihue5 to begin
 "As an instance, suppose you give the fans the lineup of the first game be- tween Birmingham and the New York Giants. Many of them would brood over this at day and night and would be i'll long before the time for the game ar rived They should be kept in ignorance for several weeks and then have the full information two or three days before the rattle of the willow was heard at old Slagtown. The heavy snow did much to quell the ambitious ideas of the cranks, tracking rabbits in the snow at the same time The two ideas don't work well together and I think it better to wait.
 T don't mind telling them that Bir- mingham is going to have a heavy hitting team cut out to order and that O'Brien v:ie certainly be able to deliver at the proper moment, but as for details they must be kept an inviolable secret by those l who are hardened and immune from phy- sical injury.
 Feeling as I do the great interest In 
 the welfare of the Birmingham rooters, l think it but right that we should pro- tect them in every way possible and allow them to wait assa boy does for Santa Claus. If they knew -what was going to be put in their respective stock ings the enthusiasm on the opening day would fall flat and everybody would cry why did you tell me?' There Is certainly something doing and that is enough to give out at present
 'I will say, however, that several of the big league clube will train in the south, and that Birmingham will have the New York Giants, who are expected to win the National league pennant next year. All of the chack twirlers will be here and the fans will have an opportunity of sec ing Mathewson, McGinnity and other prominent citizens of Gotham work out''
 Following is list of the National and American league clubs which will train in the south at the places mentioned:
 National league;
 Pittsburg at Hot Springs
 New York in Birmingham.
 Brooklyn in Columbia, S. c.
 St. Louis in Texas.
 Philadelphia in Savannah.
 Cincinnati in Dallas.
 Boston in Thomasvile, Ga.
 Chicago in Los Angeles.
 The American league clubs that have announced their plans for the southern training season are:
 Cleveland at San Antonio, Tex.
 Boston at Macon, Ga.
 Washington at home.
 St. Louis at Corsicana, Tex.
 Philadelphia at Spartanburg, S. c.
 Chicago at Marlin Springs, Tex.
 New York in Atlanta, Ga.
 Detroit in Shreveport La.