Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-06
BY J. ED GRILLo.

Washington players will not receive
their contracts for the season of 1912
until after January 1. On or about that
date Griffith will send each man on his
list q contract, and the chances are that
there will not be the slightest difficulty
in signing all his players. The fact that
Walter johnson signed a three-year con-
tract with the local club last spring
means that there are no negotiations with
the star twirler this spring. Griffith will
personally attend to the signing of his
players. There will be no cuts. but some
few raises. and the chances are that every
man will come into the fold without the
slightest objection.
Some of the young players who showed
lot Of energy and gave promise Of i'm
proving with time will get raises in pay
just to encourage them. The old players
on the team are all getting as much as
they can expect, hence there is not apt to
be any kick from that source.
Manager Griffith has leased a suite of
offices In the Southern building, 18th
and H streets northwest, where he will
shortly open permanent headquarters for
the club.
ChI1sty Mathewson does not believe
that the present system of compiling a
pitchers record does the tw1rlers justice.
Here is what he says:
Pitching averages as they are now
compiled mean little or nothing in COM
putting a pitchers real ability. A man
like Rucker. on a second-division team.
may pitch better ball than any man on
the mound, and yet be ranked no better
than tenth or twelfth. AS matter OF
historical data, the present system has no
value whatever. as 1t fails to show the
comparative worth Of the different peo-
pie.
i've figured out this proposition, from
every possible angle" continued the
luton in sight that can see."
1.-The idea is this-to find the correct
pitching average of any certain slabman,
take the total number of games won and
lost by the club, and from this subtract
the games won and lost by the slabman
whose record you are after. This will
give you that club 8 average outside OF
the games in which the pitcher worked.
Then from the pitchers average OF games
won and lost subtract the club average
answer you are after. and is the closest
thing know to a fair test of ability"
If Otto Knabe is elevated to the man
agership Of the Philadelphia club he will
have justified the opinion held of him
by those who know him best. For years
John Evers Of the Cubs was hailed as
the greatest exponent of inside base ball.
Evers was fortunate in having good press
agents, but there were those who con-
tended that as heady second baseman
and field general none surpassed Knabe
It is fact that last summer the Gin
cinnati club tried to get Knabe, offering
three players for him. one of them being
Dick Egan. Knabe is a young man
who has much confidence in his own abil-
ity. and he is far from being a swell
head, as has been claimed of him because
of his swagger on the field.
Hughey Jennings was born April I, 1870,
at Pittston Pa. and first played profess
sionally during the latter part of the sea-
son Of 1880, when he caught for the AL
lentown team of the Eastern League and
had an excellent record both in fielding
and batting. Jennings commenced the
next season as catcher Of the Lehighton.
Pa, club and while with this team he
distinguished himself to the extent that
Manager Jack Chapman signed him fol-
the Louisville club. then of the American
Association.
He started as Louisville's first baseman
and made a good impression. When Har-
ry Taylor returned to the team Jennings