Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-06
art May Play Another Year at Georgetown Sporting News
BIG LEAGUE MANAGERS WELL
PAID, BUT EARN EVERY CENT
Vexatious Problems That Come Up Cause
the Club Leaders to Lose Many a Nights
Sleep During the Heat Of Season.

OF the sixteen managers of big league
ball clubs not more than one draws an
annual salary of less than 5000 Pretty
soft? Well, If 1t is steer us away from
soft job.
The manager earns what he gets, just
as an umpire deserves the $500 or $50
month that he pulls down during the
playing season. An umpire works abou
two hours day on the average. mana
ger twice that long. Those are short
hours. Yes, but are they the real ones?
Ask an umpire about it and he will tell
You that his labors begin when he gets
up in the morning and last until he re-
tires at night, and sometimes for spell
after he has retired. He is worrying
about something that happened yesterday.
or something that may happen tomorrow.
His mind is busy. and with no pleasant
task. all the time he is awake.
And every manager will inform you,
with straight face. that he actually
works twenty-four hours day. including
the one or two hours devoted to sleep.
When his eyes are open he is figuring,
figuring. figuring
In the early morning there is a question
to be answered Which pitcher shall I
start this. afternoon? It is answered
three or four times and We. never an
swered at ALL At s o'clock Jones is the
selection AT 8, wouldn't 1t be better to
start Smith and save Jones for tomor-
row! At 10. no. / guess Jones is the
one. At II, but how about Johnson?
He's always been effective against this
club. and even though he did pitch
against this club day before yesterday
he will have a good long rest after this
one game.
AT noon the three men had eoual
choices.
At /. it is Smith; at , Jones, and when
me game begins johnson is the pick.
Johnson goes in and loses. The entire
evening and night are left for the mana
ger TO employ in finding fault with him
self for not choosing Jones or Smith. and
wondering which one shall be started to-
morrow.
Which Pitcher to Use.
At midnight the boss crawls into
bed. and that problem and many others
crawl In with him. They all get under
the covers together and the bed is so
crowded that nobody can sleep The
worst OF it is that when one puzzle
has been solved correctly others
spring up to take its place. The pitch
er and the catcher-and the umpire
conhde their guessing to the field Of
play. The manager does his at all
hours OF the day and night.
AND don't think that pitchers are his
only worries. although it's a cinch
they are his chief ones. Brown. a
sweIi outheider, is suffering horrible
slump in batting. Thompson, a good
hitter, but an erratic defensive player
Is on the bench. How would it be to
suck Thompson in today's game and
give Brown rest? But Thompson may
pun on some senseless play in the out
fhn
TOO, Brown may recover from his
slump this very afternoon. SO Brown
had better be left in.
brown is left in. He strikes out a
couple Of times with the bases full.
and, worst of all. he drops a fly ball.
1or the first time this season, and loses
the game. Why didn't we follow I'M
that bunch and star Thompson?
Then there's 4 tough problem of SUBJ
stltutions during the game. If you take
blowing, his successor is just as likely
as not to be a little worse If YOU leave
the pitcher in. against your first jude-
ment. he may go through the whole
brought forth too late, may be tremen-
dousy effective
You may take out fairly good bats
man because he isn't having any sue
cess against the opposing pitcher. and
then have your substitute hit into a
double play. Your ball players and the
fans have that second guess" and
are privileged to find all sorts of fault
with you, when it's a pipe they would
nave made a terrible mess of things
themselves, il it had been up to them.
OF course, there is the compensation of
huge joy when your guess proves the
right one. But it is more often wrong,
even with the wisest leaders
Ihere are seven major league mana gers
and ex-manaeers who will always look on
the season Of 1908 as a nightmare. The
seven are Frank Chance of the Cubs
Clarke of the Pirates, in the National,
and Jimmy McAleer. then of the Browns;
Larry Lajoie of the Maps, Hughie Jen-
nings of the Tigers and Fielder Jones of
the White Sox in the American.
Final Game Won Pennant.
1t will be remembered that the cham
pionship fight IN the American League
was settled by the final game, October g.
between the White Sox and Tigers at
Chicago. that the Maps were in the race
until the day previous, and that the
Browns had been out of it less than a
week.
In the National, Pittsburgh could have
cinched the flag by winning from Chi
cago on Sunday, October f. the Pirates
last game The Pittsburghers lost, and
then the Cubs won from New York in
an extra game. at the Polo Grounds,
Thursday, October
No one will contradict the statement
that the managers of the seven clubs
SO vitality interested in the two races
had plenty to worry about during those
last two weeks of the season.
The Chicago team was not as strong
as some of its rivals. and the leadership