The Washington times., 1906-07-01
Responsibilities AS Manager
Seriously Affect Useful
ness AS Player.
WORRIES ABOUT THE TEAM
Paying Too Much Attention TO the
Other Men Causes Him to
Forget First
By THOMAS s. PICF


/ Washington club. take a rest for awhile
and let somebody else play first base?
( mis- question is being asked seriously
/ by his best friends and by those most
anxious 70 see him make a success of
the responsible position he now occu-
pies.
II must be admitted that among the
! fans there is scarcely one who does not
! think that StahI should put another
man on first until he has recovered his
/ batting eye and gotten his nerve back.
Has Had Bad Luck.
Things have been breaking very badly
| for him. When baseball fate gets a
/ man down 1t likes to kick In his ribs
and this is a case of that sort. lust
because he has been in bad form re-
Gently he has had more critical mo-
ments at the bat than any other mem
/ per OF the team. and the fact that he
mas oeen receiving the short end OF the
deal from Lady Fortune has rattIeJ
him and detracted from his best EFFORTS
Stahl Is not the worst ballplayer in the
world, and there are a number Of major
/ MN. but Just at present he Is away of
| his game. and II would be to his own
] benefit 20 take a rest.
! Although his friends were delighted
that he should receive the signal base
1 ball distinction Of being made a maior
manager so early in his career. those
/ OF them who stopped 10 think were
agreed that IL was a mistake and an in
I justice to him 10 appoint him. He was
young player with lots TO learn. and
! TO have the added duties and RESPONSE
bllitteS Of a new organization like Wash
ington thrust upon him was almost GER
tain to interfere with his best efforts
on the field. That this estimate was
right has been proven many, many times
In Washington this season. and was
also much in evidence last season.
Reason for "Rattles."
Close observation will reveal that the
instances in which he has become wool
gathered" and has done absurd things
or failed TO get back TO his base have
been due to his anxiety to watch the
efforts of the other men during exciting
plays, and worrying about whether they
were going to be successful has caused
him to forget that he had an impOr-
tant station to cover.
sample case was on Friday when
ne didn't get back to the bag at all
when Monte Cross was forced at second.
with the result that AltiZer threw the
ball over his head and there ensued the
ridiculous scene in which Cross. already
ont, was chased up and down the line
between second and third. Instances of
a similar kind have been frequent and
are due 10 nothing except the 'rattles''
caused by his position.
In the mechanical fielding StahI stands
fourth in the American League and IS
a good man. He Is tall. has a long
reach and has deVelODed a sDIeudid
faculty this year for digging IN low
thrown balls, and when Nil and VIII
liams were playing short he saved them
many errors and also many runs In
batting Stahl has an average of 1856
which is lower than his real ability. but
being manager and knowing that so
much is expected of him he has lost con-
up in tight pinch is buffalOed before
the first ball is pitched. a good rest
would sharpen his eye wonderfully.
If Stahl takes TO the bench the prob
most usual suggestion is to get a new
first baseman from the outlaws, or put
Hickman there. Hickman is not a bril-
liant infielder aQd apt TO boot the ball
when boots mean runs
Who'll Succeed Him.
Anderson has also been suggested. but
he has been doing weH in left. and like
Stahl is prone TO become confused when
rapid plays are in or Ter
one fan suggests that it would be a
good idea to put Kitson at first because
OF the excellent hitting ability he has
displayed this season. This would be a
doubtful experiment. to say the least.
The answer would probably be TO put
kitson in right field as long as his bat
ing streak continues, and switch Hick-
The Washington ball club is not dis
tinguished by any great variety of in
side Elay- Mechanically the work is
very good. Every catcher on the team
has good arm. Stahl, Schlaffy, AL
uzer. and Cross get pretty near every
thing that comes their way while Hick-
man, Jones, and Anderson have done
some really great deeds In the outfield
II IS In the development of the finer
points % the sport, the using headworx |
IN the relations between runner and bat
Ter. that the team is weak. and when it !
has paid more systematic attention 10 /.
games.
The retrogTession of Kitson as n /
pltcher as the season has grown older 1
Is one OF the big surprises. He is es- 1
Sentialy hot weather pitcher, who 1
was supposed TO do his best work on I
such as yesterday and the day before /
When he went in the box in the spring |
II was always as a last resort but he /
proved the steadiest of the Washinztonl
twlrlers in the cold. damp days. Now
that the conditions are supposed to he I
just right for him, he is not as good as
he was then.