The Washington herald., 1911-12-05

"f Hughes Makes Good,
He Will Stay"- y"---Griffith
Nationals Manager Believes Veteran Twirler
Will Deliper-Becker Looks for Good Sea-
son Next Year-Other GOSSIP
By WILLIAM PEET.

Manager Griffith was pleased to hear
that the Nationals would be welcome
guests at Charlottesville next spring. He
said: Looks as if everything was settled
for us, and [ am glad of it, for l be-
lieve Charlottesville will prove to be an
ideal place in which to train"
Griff made several visits to various
Office buildings yesterday in search of a
place TO locate for headquarters, and VIII
probably decide on rooms to-day.
This report that l intended to get rid
of Tom Hughes is not So said the
Washington manager. Il know all about
Tom, and always considered him a good
pitcher. If Hughes can convince me that
he can come across with the stuff, you
can bet he will be with us all season.
Tom knows that he will have to deliver
the goods, and I feel sure that he Will.
Furthermore, l am not going to let any
body out until l have ! have seen them
work"
Buck Becker, the Washington boy
signed by McAleer last summer, and who
pitched a number of creditable games, is
helping Sam Steinberger run his Eleventh
street cafe this winter. Buck looks as
if he had taken on a little weight since
the close of the baseball season. and
says he has been invited to play indoor
baseball with one of the militia teams
this winter and will probably do so in
order to keep in condition.
Il feel surc>>that | shall have A good
season next year" declared Becker. Il
will nave more confidence in myself, and
believe me, l learned a whole lot about
pitching l never knew before, and should
be much more effective next summer
As Griffith is pitcher. hE should be
able to smooth off a number of the rough
spots and il Becker has the stuff in him
Grlff will be able to bring it out.
Hugh Jennings will he with us again,
the doctors of Scranton, Pa. said last
night And a rare thing for the Ameri-
can League it is that such is the case
Had Jennings been killed in the auto ac
cident or even permanently hurt, the
Junior organization of the major base
ball world would have been left with but
one tried and proven ger-Co Connie
Mack With the inspiration of Jennings
gone from the Tigers, that club, already
shaky. would probably have fallen apart,
leaving not a team in the League able to
even get within hailing distance Of the
WOrld : champions.
Tn Cobb says the Maps will play much
better ball next season under Harry Da-
Wis. but will be lucky to finish better
than fifth.
The Maps need to be reorganized,"
says Cobb. 'Gregg's great pitching kept
the foam ND last year. hut he can't do it
ALL and the White Sox and Boston will
be much stronger"
Ty picks the teams to finish this way:
Detroit or Athletics first, Chicago third,
Boston fourth. Maps fifth. New York
sixth. Washington seventh, St. Louis
eighth.
Some time ago Mr.. George Van Hal
tTen, once a famous portside pitcher, or
hurler, or slab artist. in a burst of conf
dencc and cocksureness informed a
newspaper man that the alleged inability
of the average left-handed batsman to
pitcher is almost entirely due to a fig
ment of the imagination, an optical illu-
sion a superstitOUS hOOdOO. But is
it? That's the question. He contends
that there can be no more reason for a
left-handed pitcher to battle a left-handed
hitter than for him to trim the right
handler.
In support of his position he refers to
Dan BrOuthers and Ned HanlOn. left
handed batsmen, and himself and Lady"
Baldwin, portside pitchers of the long
ago. who sewed the right-handers in a
horse blanket, but failed to puzzle
BrOuthers and HanlOn. even little bit.
And that's all right But it doesn't
prove his case by a wide margin. Han
lon and BrOuthers were good batsmen in
their day all right, but they were largely
sluggers of speed. and that's the story in
nutshell. And what's more, if they
could be brought back to-day and made
to face the corkscrew curves of Nap
Rucker and Rube Marquard-and they
shoot - to the batter exactly opposite
to - h