Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-15
HOW BALL TEAMS
GET IN CONDITION
PLAYERS Are Not Trained Like
Principals in Other Ath-,
Ietic Sports.


drifted this way concerning the training
Of base ball teams in the spring 1t seems
that the general sporting public has lit
is really done.
Base ball players are not trained like
pugilists, foot ball players or oarsmen.
In fact. if you come down to the real
understanding of the word training" as
1t applies to sports ball players are
not trained at all. They merely practice
and are coached in team work by the
manager.
The ball player has no compulsory
hours for sleep. has no certain diet and
no attention is paid to certain muscles,
as is the case with the fighter, the oars
man or the foot ball player.
Still. in a certain way 1t Is training.
for the men are drilled in team work,
and that makes up 90 per cent of the
spring work.
It's like this: The ball player shows up
for work. He is usually stiff from mus
cular inactivity through the winter. and
he has to be loosened up SO that his
muscles will not become stiff and remain
sore for any length of time. He attends
to that part of his work himself. All
players DeCOIlc very sure dIteT
workout no matter how many years
they have been playing. To relieve this
soreness In a. cold climate is impossible.
That's why the teams always journey to
a semi-tropical country.
Balmy Air Relieves Soreness.
Nothing relieves soreness in muscles
like balmy atmosphere. The men can
perspire without consequent colds and
rlo Of; &c no ho0 n
in the world for taking the soreness out
of muscles. and to get good results the
player must be warm within and without
at the same time. Otherwise the per-
SEPARATION would cause him to be chilled
and all kinds of ailments would follow.
So far as base ball is concerned it is
very unfortunate that this country is not
uniform in its temperature. Coming from
warm climates the players frequently
suffer from the cold air of early spring
when they reach the north. and some
times their muscles are bad all season
mate where they train such things as
charley horses" and glass arms would
be practically unknown.
The first thing a manager has to do
is to find out If the new players have
real ability. In this they are often mis-
more quickly than others. Usually,
though. a ball players natural actions
show whether he has ability or not even
before he goes on to the field for regular
work A.,
These young players have to be tried
out in every possible way SO as to test
them. So far as the old players are con-
cerned, they need no training. The mere
act Of warming up and getting rid OF
early soreness is enough for them. One
of the most painful sights in the world
is collection Of ball players on the day
following their first appearance in uni
form. Some of them become 50 sore
that they cannot sleep and others are un-
able to walk.
No matter how able player may be
or whatever may be his past record, he
must be drilled In team work. because
he is likely to be working alongside
different man than the one he played
with the previous season.
Elberfeld and Williams worked to-
gether so long that they did not have
to use signals. Each knew instinctively
what the other would do. Now that
Niles goes in at second, he and Elberfeld
will have to work together for some time
to understand each others ways The
same is true with other players.
On the Giants either McGraw or Doyle
will have to work around second base
with Bridwell 1t will take several weeks
to get them working in harmony. Any
fan knows what a bungle it is when
both the shortstop and second baseman
fail to cover second. He also knows
how crude it looks to see any player
leave a bag uncovered. The player has
got to be continuously drilled to prevent
just that kind II thing. No man can
read another's mind, and it Is therefore
necessary to have some kind Of I'M
derstanding. and the entire team must
know the system thoroughly. This is done
by a regular series Of signals.
No Dieting Necessary.
AS to diet and sleeping hours. the old
player Is allowed to use his own judg
ment. The men eat anything they want
and they usually want enough to give a
dyspeptic heart disease. The main goal
of ball player in training is the dining
room. Remarkable as it may seem, the
very things that other athletes are de-
nied-pastry and desserts-form the prin-
cipal part of a ball players diet. They
are all very fond of sweets. 1t is not un-
common to see a strapping athlete sit
down at a table and order four kinds
of pie in addition TO ice cream and cake.
They are also fond OF salads. like lob
ster and chicken, and they are al
lowed to eat all they want.
In other words. the ball player is Oh
his own responsibility. If his playing
is affected he is the one that has to
suffer. If he drinks to excess he knows
that his pocket will be the sufferer. Con-
sequentiy he does not drink.