Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-09
TRYING THE STARS
OF MINOR LEAGUES
Small Number Found Good
Enough for Fast Company.
Why They Fail to Make
Good.
By Billy Evans.

their own in the big leagues are dev inped
slowly.
Considering the great Number of anna
teur. semi professional and minor league
teams. this appears To be a rather strong
statement. Yet it's true.
Every year the ma jor league clubs draft
and purchase minor league players with
reckless abandon. and half of them are
touted as the greatest ever but how many
really make good? The much-heralded
phenoms a rule are sent back to the
bushes long before the season opens. If a
manager of a big league team secures two
men out of all his recruits who show big
league ability lie is satisfied.
There are in the minor leagues today a
number Of ball players who appear to be
plenty fast enough to hold their own
in the majors. In the minor ranks they
look to be the real stars Of the future.
Some of them have been tried and found
wanting. while others will spend the rest
of their days in the bushes without being
molested. It's peculiar fact that ii lot
of the minor league stars simply go 10
pieces when they break into fast com
pany.
There is sonnet hing bout the big leagues
that seems to make a lot of the recruits
forget all they ever knew about base ball.
Some critics insist that it's the great
difference i'm the crowds that throws thu:
| youngsters off their stride. others think
| the big league atmosphere makes them
| self-conSciOus and greatly affects their
work. while still others believe that the
! very name of the famous stars on the
same team frightens all the base ball out
/ of them. Every man is constituted differ
| emily and no doubt every minor Lacquer
who has failed to make good i'm the
| majors could advance some good reason
| WHY he didn't stick. These reasons. CT
| course. are to be applied only to men who
| really appeared to have the ability. y
| large percentage of the recruits who fail
are simply not ripe for fast company.
| If dozen men are retained by the
! eight managers in each league out OF all
| the recruits gathered during the winter
| and each league generally enlists a couple
of hundred-the crop is regarded as 4
| good one. Players who can hat are
wanted in every league. and it's the men
/ who can swat who are retained It's re-
| ally surprising the way the averages or
! the minor league swatters shrink once
! they stack UP against the hlS las
pitching of the big fellows.
Not over dozen recruits were given
| berths in each of the majors last year
and few of them succeeded in winning
| regular positions
Experience of Managers.
|
pat with his worlds champions and the
| White SoX were in the running all the
time The infield was composed of Davis,
| DonaEue, Tannehill and Isbell. except
when George Robe was subbing for one
of them Mike Welday. the utility out
fielder ma mayed to break into a couple of
| games as did Lee CULLEN at third. When
| Billy Sullivan was right he did all the
| catching and the same old pitching stan
| did the whirling.
Connie Mack replaced one of his vet
Grams. Monte Cross at short gave way 10
Nichols. Mack also sent Oldring into CEN
| ter field in place of Lord. Oldring. now
ever had been carried by the club for
| a couple of years. Outside of these two
changes it was the same old team.
Jerry Downs was the only Detroit re-
cruit to break into The game. Downs
| took SchaefeDs place when the German
was injured but gave way just as soon
as Jennings decided he wanted the cheer
| full Teuton back in the game.
Bailey and Stephens. a Texan battery.
made good for St. Louis and ought to be
valuable men for the Browns this year.
youngster on his New York team AT
Boston Wagner and Sullivan were the
only youngsters to make good With the
cultured fans of Massachusetts.
The sale of Jimmy Jackson to Columbus
| by Cleveland and an injury TO Harry Bay
made two holes in the Maps outfield.
Lajoie filed these two vacancies with
Birmingham and Hinchman Both OF
the newcomers made good and established
a reputation for themselves all over the
circuit by their ability 10 throw. This
pair Of strong-arm men and Flick make
the Cleveland outteld the greatest throw
ing trio In the country.
Joe Cantillon picked up the big jewel
of the year in Walter Johnson. a pitcher
from the far west Though still in his
teens and really without bit of expert
ence. the husky Ida no twirler made good
with the mig fellows from the start. The
leading pitchers in Ban Johnson's league
say that Johnson is one of the great est
young pitchers who ever broke into fast
company. Cantillon also secured two
good-looking outfielders in Kay and Milan
The latter made such a hit with the
Washington manager that he has decided
to use him regularly instead of the vet
eran Pickering.
About the same number of players were
retained by the National League man
ayers as the American. The most prom
inent among them were Mike Mitchell
the wonderful throwing outfielder of the
Cincinnatis: Mowry, Kane and Lobert
also of the same team: Storke. who
played the difficult corner for Pittsburg
in great style: knabbe, who surprised
the Philadelphia fans: Maddox. a Central
League pitcher picked up by Dreyfuss
late in the fall. and Konetchy. who prom
Uses to make a good first baseman for
the ST. Louis Cardinals.
Perhaps no player who has been Sc
cured by American League club will
be watched more closely than Thoney.
secured by Boston from Toronto. Thoney
has already been with three teams in
the American League. Cleveland. Wash
ington and New York. and has been on
the reserve list of the Cincinnati team
vet he enjoys the distinction of being
the costlest ball player in the history
of the game According to a reliab
authority. he cost the Boston manage
ment $4,000. OF this amount $500 was
paid in cash, while Schlafiy and Grim
shaw. two players valued at $1,000. were
also thrown ia to bind the bargain. Thus
1t will be- seen that the Boston club had
to turn over fat sum for player who
had been the foot ball for a trio of
American League managers. Great things
of him are expected in Boston At pres
ent he can't read the figures offered him
in his contract. He claims they too
small for the naked eye.
Cost No Criterion.
The cost of ball player in no way de-
termines his value. as Fred Clarke the
manager Of the Pittsburg team well
knows. The Pirate management paid
over 81 500 for Pitcher Adams of Denver
and something like $500 for Maddox TO the
Wheeling team of the Central League
Great things were expected OF Adams.
while little was thought of Maddox Ad-
ans had little or no success against big
league teams. while Maddox was the real
thing from the start. His best feat was a
no-hit game pitched against Brooklyn on