Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-06
ROASTING BY THE
BASE BALL /" FAM"
How Blame is ThoughtIessIy
and LavishIy Bestowed on
Players by Spectators.

Nobody was out. There was a man on
first Mr.. Hickman came to bat.
Line 'er out. Charley bawled the fans,
frenziedly. Slap 1t! Spank 1t over the
moon signI Loosen the cover often that
pill!'
Mr. Hickman, apparently quite deaf to
the demands of the rooters, essayed to
bunt AS he did not get by with 1t the
fans howled at him some more.
"Aw, flag thatr they shrieked. You
know you can't lay EN- down, Charley!
Paste 1t! High the high-ball! Jolt It
through one Of the hospital windows! Jar
it out of the lot! You know you can't
bunt toy balloon with snow shovel,
Charley, so why don't you take and slam
the old thing out of the yard?"
Mr.. Hickman, still seemingly Obvious to
the orders being hurled at him by the
hoarse rooters, once more essayed the bunt
thing The result was little bit of a pop
fly that went right into the pitchers hands
without the moundman being obliged to
move quarter of an inch from his tracks
Mr.. Hickman walked to the bench, and
the fans muttered miserably.
DIDN'T we tell your they groaned.
what Kind o ball dye call that? Making
man bunt that never could bunt, but
who can wopSe 1t out of the lott Hey
what kind O ball playing dye call that?'
when the side was retired Lave Cross on
his way to his station at third, was sum
moned TO the front of the left field 50-cent
pavilion by bunch of fans who knew all
about the game of ball. Being an agree
able kind of a person, Lave walked over
to those summoning fans and inclined his
ear to them
Say, look here, Lave" said one of them.
affectionately addressing the third base
man by his first name, although he'd never
happened to meet that gentlemanly ball
player before, was that bali pIaying-hav-
ing Hickman bunt?"
Yes" replied Lave, courteously, but
briefly, that was ball playing
He didn't feel called upon to go into a
long explanation just why it had been ball
playing. After man has been playing
the game for twenty years or so he is
bound to lose a certain amount of his
earlier enthusiasm in explaining the reason
why of things to inquiring fans. But Lave
was polite about it. He replied that the
move had been ball playing, and then
started for his station.
But" persisted the fan who had asked
him the question as to Hickman Charley
can't bunt-you know he can't"
Cross turned to the man with his rather
winning broad smile
y know a man." he said quietly to the
persistent fan, who didn't begin to study
law till after he was fifty years old. He's
now one of the leading lawyers in Phila-
delphia," and then Lave walked over to the
third sack
Not such bad answer. that, either,
when you come to analyze 1t. But the
persistent fan didn't appreciate it's sig
nificance at all. When Cross had gone
away he turned to his companions and
said:
''Well, they can call that ball playing
but they gotta show me. Making q man
bunt that couldn't bunt a Chinese lantern
with broomi Huh
The Players Become Callous
This is only a sample of the sweet rea-
sonableness of that element among the
fans who know more about the way the
game of ball ought to be played than the
men who play the game. The ball players
themselves do not take these things to
heart They become calfoused to all that
Il they didn't become calloused to 1t they
wouldn't be able to stay in the game, for
| their nerves would be on edge all the time
They don't even allow themselves to COM
ment very much on these hoarse sugges-
| tions and criticisms of the dead-wise fans
| who know all about the way the game
| ought to be played. Jake Stahl only re-
| lieves himself of a weary sort of sigh
| when such an incident is presented to him
| for his expression OF opinion.
What's the user? he inquiries. 1.-The fans
| have got a right to their opinion as tc
| plays. They pay their way at the gate
and in the game of base ball that confers
upon them the privilege of shouting any
suggestions or criticisms that they choose
| to make. If some OF them ina CINE them
/ selves to be inside ball players of the most
scientific sort, where is the harm? I will
| say this however: / would feet consider
able hesitation In directing a plasterer how
| to apply the plaster to a wall. cant
| imagine myself attempting to show q pa.
perhanger how to do his work, nor would
/ I have the hardiiood to point out to 9
| practical plumber that he didn't know how
| to trace leak In the bath tub waste pipe
/ II there Is any inference to be drawn from
| this, all right To play ball is the bust
| ness of ball players-peculiarly their bust
| 1t reasonable to suppose that they're goinp
| to last In the game? The fans will Away:
| shout suggestions and they will always crit
| icise. That sort of thing Is feature o.
| the game. When man who imagines thai
he has In him the makings OF fine actor
| goes to the theater and sees q performer
| play a part in a way that doesn't appeal L
him, he doesn't get up in his seat and tel
| the actor how he thinks the part ought L
be played. This Is because a visit to thu
theater has never been supposed to confe,
such q privilege. At ball game how.
| ever. 1t Is both privilege and traditional
right for the highly informed spectator Il
direct the players as to how the game
ought to be played, and, II they enjoy 1t
where can there be a possible objection"
| Inconsistency Of the Fans.
good many OF the fans carry their en-
thusiasm to an even greater degree Of eff
| fervascence. They not only feel impeIlet
tn direct the nlava from THAR seats h,s