The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-03-29
MODESTY AMONG
BALL PLAYERS
Best Stars on Diamond Today
Are inclined to BeIittle
Their Own Work.
BY M. w. sINeAY.

Are stars of the diamond modest?
Are men like Lajoie. Donovan, Craw-
ford, Cobb, Chase Joss and others
who have their pictures and names in
big type all year around "swell-head-
ed?" That question has been asked
a thousand times. There's only one
answer for it: they're not. The ball
player who is stuck on himself
won't last long. because nobody is
more critical than another bali play
err and the roasting he'll get will
either make him reform or drive him
out of the league.
A King Today; Tomorrow?
You are a king today and deuce
tomorrow. says the old-time ball
player nobody who gets swell
head in this game viii do well. You
must have confidence in your ability,
of couUse. but coneeit is different. AS
soon as you show any on the bail field
the fans are wise to it. And as soon
as you overestimate your own ability
you are going to make mistakes. No,
sir. No major Lacquer who is an ac-'
head If he has it won't last, be-
cause it's bound TO get him in bad
The writer has often heard Bill
Donovan say when he was making
his world record last year:
We'll. they hit well behind me to-
day. Pretty lucky. I was"
Modest Larry.
Here are some stories told by the
Tigers to back up this theory:
Larry Lajoie, great ball player as
he is is greater even than the public
imagines," declared, Eddie Siever. on
the veranda during the nightly fam
ming bee. What manner of man can
you imagine that would see a four
column picture Of himself in the pa
per and a column Write-up clarifying
him and not even bother reading it.
That's the type of ball player the
Frenchman is.
Il was in the Griswold house in De-
trOit one day while Cleveland was
playing there. Larry had put a
wonderful game the day before and
the whole town was talking about
him. / watched him as he bought a
paper at the stand and he sat near
me. He ran his fingers through the
pages and as he did so he passed the
sporting column. There the entire
page was practically devoted to him.
He just gave it a heeting glance and
turned to the front page When he
was through with the story he was
reading there he threw the sheet
away and went in to his dinner. He
didn't even bother finding out what
the paper had said about him.
Something About Joss.
"Lajoie is not only great as a ball
player. but he knows his greatness in
such a way that nothing ANYBODY can
say will affect him. If he were at all
cOnceited its certain he would have
at least glanced through that article.
Not one ball player or any other hui
man being among a thousand would
do as he did.
The work of Addie Joss last year.
when he opened the season by winning
ten straight games, was being SOM
mented upon.
He is certainly not only one of the
greatest pitchers i'm the business. but
a dandy fellow said George Muliin.
The Tigers were the ones who broke
his winning streak. going to Cleve-
land and beating him. After the game
was over we saw Addie
We'll, boys. he said with laugh.
you finally got me. 1t was pretty
good streak of winning, but | was
mighty lucky. Three or four Of those
games that l landed were not by any
means good ones
The fellow is so blamed modest he
didn't want even the credit that was
due him"
No Spotlight for Chase.
Speaking of modesty among ball
players added Ira Thomas, you've
got 10 go some to beat this fellow.
Hal Chase. He will make the most
wonderful of plays, game after game.
with never a sign of an error. He
VIII hit and run and field until all
New York is at his feet. And then he
VIII make souse ordinary little error.
or fall down at the plate. All the
other work that he has done is for
gotten by him He's so ashamed of
himself that he wants to hide under
me bench. He has less knowledge of
ms own greatness than any star |
have ever watched"