Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-14

right then
Mind. I'm not advocating this scheme
for all hands. | never advocate anything
for anybody except myself But nicotine.
and a whole lot of 1t. seems to be a poison
that my system requires and ye!ls for 1t
acts as sedative me, and keeps me
tuned up to concert pitch. / don't drink at
all and never did. but | sure do seem to
require the stimulus of all the tobacco 1
can inCinerate between the time l get UP
In the morning and the hour l seek the
feathers at night
The reason, no doubt, why what you
might call the excessive use of tobacco
doesn't affect me in any but an actually
improving way is probably that l never by
any chance inhale any tobacco smoke
don't believe that tobacco smoke ever
meant to be inhaled. There isn't any doubt
in the world that inhaling the smoke does
affect. and seriously affect. the batting
wicks of plenty of players. They them
selves admit it, and they ought to know.
1t doesn't make any difference what kind
of smoke is inhaled. y hurts. Plenty of
players knock off smoking cigarettes dur
ing the playing season for the purpose of
giving the batting lamps a chance to keen
up. and take to smoking pipe. But they
inhale their pipe tobacco. and that hurts
just as much inhaiing the cigarette
smoke. and maybe more. because of the
greater strength of the tobacco smoked in
pipes. ! believe that smoking is not In
furious at all to the batting eye of any
body II the smoke is not inhaled. but 1t
sure is deadly when the smoke IS pulled
into the lungs
The Cap-Lifting Habit.
Keeer has some opinions of novel
character. too. with respect to what he
calls the hatlifting habit 1t has been OBJ
served around the circuit for number of
years that keeer absolutely declines to
dOff his cap in response to the widest
cheering over brilliant plays that he makes
When ne ScamperS down to tn right field
fence and rObs Sc ne unfortunate of fine
hit by taking two or three steps UP the
fence and picking the sphere out of the
CircUmambicnt Just as it sails over the
palings ne gets the big hand. of course,
and when he comes in from the garden the
bunch on the home lot-and on the foreign
grounds. for that matter-Set up the long
roar of acclaim for him and demand that
he remove his bonnet.
Snatch off that bonnet. Willie" they
howl at him. and let's see if you've got
any hemp on your Conk!
But Wee Willie DursueS his Choppy. dap
per little trudge to the bench and permits
the cap to remain just where it is on his
hair.
I'm willing to let that hat-tiltng thing
go for the boys that like it," he replied in
response to a question to this peculiar
ity of his There was a time as no doubt
many of the fans remember. when | fum-
bled the peak of my cap Just as any OF
out of some years ago. There isn't
anything on two props much more tickle
than a fan, you know. and they at length
taught me to be afraid of their cheers.
Their hOwled praise was at one time music
in my ears. but hardly so much as hear
it any more. although it took me good
many years to learn that wisdom.
II kept the dope on it for long. long
time. and I finally figured it out for
cinch that I'd never be called upon to
hist my cap in response to the acclaim
of the crowd that wouldn't later on
make some kind of a bad break thatd
cause them to wish me to get off the earth.
even IL they didn't actually come right out
and demand It Maybe 1t was because l
got the puffywuffies or something after
getting away with stunt that caused
them to call for me to take off my cap
but it invariably happened that. after
doing that, before the finish of the game
I'd get to booting everything that came
my way and earn the groans Of the very
fellows who'd been the loudest only a lit
tie while before in demanding sight OF
the hair on top of my head
The tidy work that ball player does in
game is soon forgotten. But his mis-
smell to heaven long after the game Is
over ball player feels mighty cheap
and foolish when. after taking off his cap
to please a crowd. he gets the groan and
the boot from them only a little while
later.
1T was about four years ago when 1
made up my mind not to do any more cap
doffing unless a bunch of the fans abso-
lutely put me under the gun and made me
do it. I was playing in game on a holt
day in New York and during the first few
innings was Jerry RightThere. and
nothing was too hard for me to pull down.
/ took three difficult ones in row out in
my garden. and then. when l went to the
bat, l cleaned up and drove in three runs.
They made me thumb the peak of my cap
lot while 1 was getting by with all of
that grandstand stuff Maybe l got swelled
up something. but, anyhow. from the
minute that / drove those runs In and
doffng point from the gang l became a
veritable bum on the lot. l dropped four
drives that were hit right at me and played
like a shoemaker. In fact. l cleanly lost
the game for my club. My bootings let
in all kinds of runs and the way the crowd
got at me when l began to hash the game
taught a whole lot. They called me
everything they could lay their tongues to,
and tossed pop bottles at me. and there
were some minutes when it looked If a
lot of them were going to bulge over into
my garden and beat me to death.
And only little while ago, said / to
myself, dismally. as | plugged around. try
ing to steady myself in the garden. these
same chaps We're hollering for me to pull
OFF my headgear. and did it for them like
a mullet-hedd. and here l am. just tramp
to them and all of them thirsting for my
hearts blood
Il devoted considerable thought to that
phase of it for the remainder of that day
determined to cancel the cap-rasing
habit"