The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-08-21
FORCED TO PLAY BALL
Sailors of U. S. Navy Com
PEELED TO Get Into the Game
When Possible.
Baltimore SUM-


Baseball may be the great American
came. and-as such it may appeal to al;
but TO be obliged to play ball whether one
wants to DO so OF not-Well. that certainly
IS a different matter. And there arc a
great many men IN this land OF the free
who are forced to play ball without re-
gard to their ability OF their tastes These
rnfortunstes are the sailors and marines
of the navy. The national game has been
made part Of the setting up drill, of the
service, and the crews OF the lighting
craft are expected TO devote so many
hours to baseball. when the snip is in
harbor, as a regular feature Of the duties
OF the day. On any fine afternoon. bu.
particularly on SATURDAY the tscSies and
marines OF the warEhips can be seen
marching to the bail ground. carrying
Will them the paraphcTnalia of the great
game BY the side Of the column marches
the bugler.
It is an done in military fashion So
many men arc detailed TO carry the bats.
masks 6aiis AID gloves: one little squaa
set apart as nelders. another as pitchers
and catChers a third as umpires. Moth
ing IS left TO be WranEled over on the bali
ground Everything Is cut and dried as
systematically and carefully as though
,-e national game were one OF the impor-
tant features of the management Of a
great ship of war
To listen to the conversation Of the
gaches as they swing along toward the
BAH ground one would think that some OF
them regard the compulsory playing or
the national game as an unmitigated nui-
sance. Not all of the men who enlist on
american SnlDS OF war are native born.
and some of the sailors have never PLAYED
baseball in their lives These find Ii a
decided hardship to be compelled to take
their place at the bat and fan the at
mOsDhere IN abOTtiVe attempts to find the
elusive ball. Said a German sailor who
was vending his way to the ball field at
League Island navy yard the other day:
NOt for iSs dis fOolishness- Shan I
make worse gunner for not being able to
hit der baseball already2 I hit der target
az gun practlce better as anyone on
board by. den. must / make sport for
der oders by playing ball ven l know
not hoW2'
Whatever their feelings about it. how
ever the sailors mustpiay ball so 20 the
grounds at the navy yard they go when
time Tor play comes. AT the grounds they
are notified by signal from the bugle
when the games may begin The tackles
are divided INTO squads SO as to form az
many mines as possible. AS the grounds
used for the baseball setting uD drilT'
at the League Island navy yard are very
Comm0oiOus, there is usually room for all
and plenty 10 spare The sailors are not
allowed to remove their uniforms As
they 80. about the ship so must they go
about the ball grounds during the base
ball drill. and the unusual sight IS pre-
Sented of jackies flying around the bases
with their wide trousers threatening to
Trip them up at every step Of the pitcher
performing gyrations that were never
meant Tor ankles envelODed IN flowing
white duck. and Of men accustomed to
nit target at five miles persDiring pro-
sphere at as many yards.
There is great rivalry among the men
OF the various ships 20 surpass each other
IN the scores. and so far as is possible
games are arranged between the rival
teams for Saturday afternoons. On these
special occasions Il is not difficult to GUST
the poor players from the teams on some
pretext, leaving only the crack men to
uphold the hOnOrs Of the ship.
When the 'dTill' is over the bugles are
sounded once more and the men gather
up their belongings and fall into line for
the march 10 the ships. Apart from the
small amount of grumbling on the part of
nose who have never played the game.
the compulsory baseball is regarded as a
great relief from the mOnot0ny of life
aboard ship and the meaningless exer-
cises of other forms Of setting up drill =
by playing baseball the jackies and ma
rines derive all the benefit of caIistheuic
movements while enjoying the excitement
of the national game
Baseball is made part Of the setting I'D
exercise whenever American warshfDs are
near enough to land for boating parties
TO reach q convenient ground. II is a
curious drill. but on the whole the most
popular of al the exercises arranged for
the setting up Of the American sailor.