The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-09-01
BY OLD SPORT.
TXYHEN you hear a person give
w voice to the expression, Ban

-"HEN you near d peieon ~
w voice to the expression, Ban
players have IN easy time OF
it, you are doubtless inclined TO sloe
in with him and agree hat we get our
money without al awful lot OF trouple.
But. permit me to say, you are far
from the truth in your belief. A pan
player-I mean, of course, a pis
Lacquer. for In the bushes they VIII
often hold INTO a man who Is not what
he might be simply because he's cheap
and good enough to get by-has a me
full of real hard work. In fact, It's
safe to declare that of all ~cupatlon
entailing a remuneration of, say so,ooo
per mum, that of the diamond artist
Is fraught with the most hard work
and trouble. Men in business who re-
ceive large salaries, and go about at
their leisure, with seemingly nothing
to do, work, We are told, with their
brains. But to use the popular
phraseology the ball tosser gets out
every day and enjoys himself for a
couple of hours playing a good, healthy
game, and Their has the rest of his
time to himself. 1t all sounds very fine,
but it comes a long way from hitting
the target.
Baseball is a good healthy game all
right, and there's much enjoyment TO
be had playing it, but when you have
to get out, day in and day out, for six
or even months, and play, think you
not it is likely to grow rather monot-
onous and wearisome? No matter
whether you feel lively or l~istless, so
long as you can stand up, you have to
keep at II, and turn out mighty perfect
work, or you'll find yourself looking for
a new occupation. It's no joke when
you're feeling in the dumps to trot ont
on a field, with the sun beating down
on you, and the temperature at 80 or
thereabouts, and jump around and act
as though the greatest pleasure in the
world for you consisted in running your
legs off, Inc getting in front of balls
tina are coming your way at the rate
of a mile a minute. A persons brain,
you all know, is quite likely to become
weary when worked too much. In
most cases, the brain worker, when OBJ
sessed by this tired feeling, takes him.
self off to the country, and enjoys him
self for a couple of weeks, until his
mental mechanism has recovered its
equilibrium. But the baseball man,
VINO is GSSeIlldllN u ial WIZ pAo
to stick right to his job, no matter how
worked out he feels. Many hold the
opinion that the great qualification for
the baseballist is physical strength.
But they are wrong. To be successful In
the national game, one must be plenti-
fully endowed with gray matter. It's
a ease of think, think all the time, and
the fellow who trusts to luck and does
not see to it that he has his brains un-
der full steam every minute will not
last long.
You have to study, both from per-.
sonal observation and from books n
the peculiarities of every
man who plays on any of the teams
in the league with you. You have 10
know just where his player is likely
to hit an inshoot, and where he is
likely to send a straight ball or an out
shoot. You have to know how much
lead a certain player can be given OH
a base before you can catch him nap
ping. You have to discover what play
er is likely to lay down a bunt, and
what one will always hit 1t out. Then
you will have to make a long eX-
haustive study of the pitchers, so that
you will be able once in a while, TO
outguess them. If a player can be
reasonably sure of what a pitcher is
going to serve up to him, 1t will I'M
prove his batting ability a hundred per
cent. Their you have to get into your
head a long and complicated series Oh
signals. which cover almost every
imaginable twist and turn of a base
ball game. You have to have a pretty
good set of brains to get a whole lot
of signs down to such perfection that
you car recognize them on the instant
and act Immediately, though you may
be almost crazy with excitement, ana
nave a mob of twenty or thirty thou
sane people shrieking at you.
Ball PLAYERS, like all other human
beings. have nerves, and again. as In
the ease of these other humans. those
nerves are apt to go bad when TOO
much strain is placed on them. Ana
what greater strain can you imagine
on the nerves than to know that upon
you alone depends the winning of a
game which may perhaps mean the
capturing of a p%ennant and the addi-
ton of thousands of ollar to your
employers profits. and h salaries OF
your fellow players and yourself. The
great uncertainty of baseball makes
every player have the feeling that to
him alone is likely to come the chance
to make or maj the work of in entire
season. A little error at a critical mo-
ment and everything will be lost. Don't
you think that it is quite liable TO
worry a person, who has-to stand there
~, a. AZ. 1000. n oo,,,zla 80 hnttrc a dow