The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-02-24
|WURk IF SLUUIS
is ALL IMPORTANT
Has Become Necessary Adjunct
to- the Game
IT IS NOT AN EASY JOB
Good Men Are Scarce and Com
mand Real Money-SuIlivan
Is Keen One


| From the Philadelphia Bulletin.
| No part of the great system of de-
veloping a baseball team has grown
faster in the past few years than that
of the scout" The hiring of such an
attache of the club is no longer
luxury; it is a necessity.
There have been scouts" like Ted
Sullivan for many years, but they were
| few in number and might be said to be
unattached" Ted Sullivan, one of the
keenest judges of young ball players in
the country. for many years did not
work for any one club. On the con-
trary, he distributed his tips to many
clubs.
In the good old days." when the
Chicago White Stockings won PEN
nants with great regularity, it was
said that the teams success was due to
the fact that the club had scouts"
everywhere. The reason for this was
that the Chicago club was owned by
A. G. Spalding, the manufacturer of
sporting goods, who had agents in
every large city. 1t was declared that
these agents were instructed to keep
their eyes open for budding baseball
talent and to tip off the White Stock
ings. In this way, it is said. the Chi
cago club got many youngsters who
developed into stars.
1t is only within recent years,
though, that scouting has become
business. 1t is usually taken up by
former ball players, although some men
who never had any experience outside
IN min laac do M hot
ter scouts than others who have
played on teams which have won
championships in the major league.
There are many things about the
business that prevent all old players
from being successful at it, 1t requiring
sort of instinct or sixth sense, to
enable a man to tell almost at a glance
whether the young player has the prop
er requisites to some day be a major
league star.
Quick Action Required
scout has to have his wits about
him all the time, and his judgment.
while frequently of the snapshot yarie-
ty, is put to severe test. In the first
place, if he studies a player too long
he may find that some rival has slipped
in ahead of him. "a delayed telegram
prevented the Pittsburg club from get
ting Honus Wagner and his being Sc
cured by 1ouisville)
In the second place, if he reports
player as not up to the standard and this
youth is snatched up by some other club
and develops into a top notcher his EN-
ployer naturally loses faith in his ability.
Frank Baker, of the Athletics, is said to
have been reported upon adversely by a
man who looked him over at Reading for
the Phllies. Then again, the scout"
must not pick up too many youngsters
who fail to make good, for if he does his
value to a club diminishes accordingly
Good Scouts are scarce, but the man
who can make good year after year finds
that he is coveted by other clubs just as
much as a star player. For instance, a
few weeks ago the Cleveland club signed
Sam Kennedy, who has been successful
as scout" for the Athletics, to two
year contract. 1t was the success of the
young players credited to Kennedy's abil-
ity as scout that caused the Cleve-
land management to land Sam.
Connie Mack the other day, announced
that he had signed AL Maui, the former
heavy hitting pitcher. to a contract. In
the past scouts were merely hired, and
it is a new wrinkle in the national game
to have them sign up for one or two
years.
OF course, friendships count much in
the work of scout" Perhaps no man
gets more tips Oh young pldyeTs espe-
cially collegians, than Manager Mack.
On this account Connie has had two
scouts employed regularly during the
past two or more years, one to make long
trips and the other for emergency duty,
so to speak, as If he is not quite sure
from one scouts" report he will send
the other to look the player over.
scouts Avoid Publicity
A scout usually travels around quiet
ly and he is more careful to keep his
name out of the sporting column than to
get it in. Too much publicity is likely to
spoil his plans.
Scouts have some queer experiences
in travelling around and in deciding what
player to look up first.
One of the great bunch of tips on
record came to the Athletics a few years
ago. A follower of the club wrote In
that he had seen game in a small
Maryland town a few days before and
that there were three men on one team
that he was sHre would make good in the
major leagues. The men he named were
Isl" Nichols, Herzog, now Of the New
York Giants, and Pitcher Maddox, now of
Pittsburg.
Before Sam Kennedy could get to the
Maryland town all of the players had
left the team and gone elsewhere. and
as he had other tips to follow up he lost
later all three of these men were with
major league teams, and Maddox was
scarcely with Pittsburg before he startled
the baseball world by pitching a no-hit
game, Brooklyn, I think, being the vic
| tim.
But what cluster Of stars that would
have been for scout to have landed
with one swoop of his drag neti
In the past scouts" have not been
handicapped by the number Of men they
could sign or get their club to draft or
purchase. but they will be limited in the
future. This will be caused by the rule
adopted this winter by the major leagues
| that hereafter club will be limited to
IS players from August 20 to certain
date in May of the following year, and to
| % from the date in May to August 20.
with a limit placed on clubs list 1t
will have to exercise great caution in
| the future in selecting them by the dozen
and then wedding them out during the
| winter months.
The Proof.
| From the Kansas City Star.
Mrs. Rose Pastor Stokes, discussing
| social questions in her usual interesting