The Washington herald., 1910-01-23
PLAYERS SHUN
THE COACHING JOB
Boston Manager DiscourseS on Points That Upset
the Man on SideLineS- for Leniency

ball, declared Manager Lake, though
we all have seen 1t worked on the best
Of them. The runner is on the bag and
only has to keep his foot on the sack
until he discovers where the ball IS.
No game can 90 on until the ball is
produced, yet when a man is caught
walking away from third or first, being
tagged by the baseman, the fans set 1t
down to the solid ivory skull Of the
coach.
When Player Is at FauIt.
IF the coach happens TO be the man.
ager his mind may be occupied at that
moment IN trying TO determine who 10
send up 10 bat in a pinch. Suppose he
turns to yell 10 the bench for a pinch
hitter 20 go up 10 the plate, who is TO
blame If the runner gets caught? The
player, not The coach.
with q man at second and hit TO
center or right IL is certainly I'D to the
coach TO give the player the tip; it Is
for him TO decide, and quickly, whether
that man is 10 come alOng easily. 70
stick 10 second. or 10 take chance
and slide for third. There are signals
well understood between players. and
these are usually regarded, but when
player takes the bit between his
teeth and starts for third against the
advice Of the coach. il is the coach who
gets the blame from the fans. not tbs
player
Sometimes the play is such that the
base runner is justified IN coming along,
but only when the drive is into left
field, where he can see the ball and
know Just what kind OF an opportunity
Ae has 10 reach the corner. Ball players
know how the outfeldeTs can throw on
the various kinds of hits and figure
their speed against the arm and ao-
curacy Of their opponent.
My judgment is that mors plays have
gone wrong through base runners disre-
garding the advice Of the coaches than
through any blunders in Judgment upon
the part Of the men or the sIdelines.
The reason the cIeyerest men on a
team dislike 20 coach IS that they find
themselves Up against the yeIls Of the
crowd and the ioshing OF their team
mates A base runner may have disTe-
garded the advice OF the coach and be
put out. In his heart he knows he has
! been Al fault. yet 10 cover himself and
/ incidentally 70 get the others goat he
! Will open Up a volley Of abuse just 90
see the coach swell up He doesn't
mean anything yet the man who has
been coaching lakes little oath all by
himself that he IS through with coach
I r,-t-r Fr1
/ by the manager. he viii take the first
base line every time.
Managers Are Wise Ones.
Managers Of teams who do not don
/ the spangles' are wise ones. They usu-
ally have a few old-umers on their
team. however who take instruction
Hand do the work The fans cannot
realize the feeling Of humiliation ex-
/ perienced 10 have 10 face a bleacher
filed with enthusiasts yelling at you
for what really wasn't any fault OF
yours.
Yes many times a coach viii advise
/ a runner 10 come along. figuring that
the man is fast enough 10 make the
play being influenced by the knowledge
tlaL ne LlllstL cptlt accomplish Ut.
All bali players are not fast on their
feet. so the coach must be a level
headed individual with an ability 10
think quickly. basiHg his Judgment upon
correct knowledge Of tie proves Of the
man he ie coaching. Give the coach
more of a chance pay more attention
{ othe baserunner. and be charitable IN
criticism Thus one Of the disagreeable
features from players and coach 5
standpoint Will be removed"