Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-10
GR|FF BELL EVESM
ENCOURAGING KIDS
New Manager Proposes to In
crease Salaries of His
Young Players.
WANTS THEM TO FEEL
THEY'RE APPRECIATED
Figures on Foster at Third,
Flynn at First and SChaefer
in Right Field.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

There is more than one way of
courag ins q young ball player. Kind
words, consideration and Ignoring ap-
parent faults is 10y no means the only
system to help inject confidence into a
base ball recruit There is a much more
effective and at the time sub
stantiaI system. and this is the one Clark
Griffith proposes to adopt for the young
sterS on the local team.
When the local manager sends out
tracts to his players for next season,
which is to he one of his duties as soon
the league meetings are over, every
document bearing the name of one of
the young players will call for an in
crease over last season. The increase
may not be great. but it will be a rather
convincing manner of letting the players
know that Griffith sees a future for them.
In most cases the young players on the
local list who We're with the team last
fail are by means certain of their
jobs. They will report in the spring only
hopeful of holding their own, but if they
ind that their pay has been increased
they will have reason to suppose that
their efforts have been appreciated, and
it is believed that this will do much to
help them to make good.
Incidentally, such a course is sure to
be noised about and the impression will
be created among those players who are
coming for trial that If they can make
good impression there is future for
them here.
Encouragement means much for a
SounE ball PLAYER trying 10 get a berth in
the big leagues SAYS Griffith ana much
OF our efforts 10 build up winner here
With youngsters viii depend on how these
players are treated and received. No
team under existing conditions can hope
build up a hiSh-class ball team rom
any other source than the development
Of recruits. The time when YOU could go
out and buy championship team has
long since passed Realizing this fact
! propose to give my young payers every
chance in the world. ! will make every
condition favorable for them, and if they
TAIL - hold their own il Will be no fault
of NINE.
The Nationals have a mascot last.
IL is an AnGora goat. which arrived at
the Griffith residence from Craig. .,.ont..
yesterday afternoon. and on wniCn, In
c.dentally. there We're $50 express
charges. on the crate in which the pur-
Veyor OF good fortune was shipped his
ment: Mascot of the Washington ball
team He = good specimen, and
was at once assigned TO the ball park,
where ne will be expected to keep the
srass in good shape until the training
season opens.
MOI III the FeCOlleCtlOn or the Oldest pa
irons of the game in Washington has
there been Sucn effective welding of
the managerial al this season OF the
ear as Manager Gri1hth has displayed
s-nCe taking charge of lie Nationals
As rule. manager hesItates about
making drastic changes in his lineup He
IS very apt to hold on TO lot of worn
out material until he has assured himself
that some of the youngsters are capable
OF hllinS their places. Not so with Grif-
nth, however. He made up his mind at
the very outset of his connection with the
loo al club tina; there was but one chance
10 improve conditions here, and that was
TO start wedding out the old players and
MI their places with youngsters. regard
less OF What the immediate effect might
Dc iWo days afte- he reported here he
lad made arran s;e:nentS to get rid of CON
E'S. I<lbeTieid. Gray and I.eliveit and il
l# only a question Of time when Ciessier
Too, Will be frCpceu
There is question about the nonu
!aritE OF the move. 1t is the very thing
that the public has demanded here. Vet
Grllnth Is The first manager to take the
QUIZ by the horns and hold genuine
h"uSecleanlng. Time NAV show that this
plan has. so far as the immediate future
Is concerned. been a failure but there is
no doubt what the ultimate outcome of
such policy will be
notwithstanding that on paper the team
Will not present 80 formidable a front as
~ dld last spring because OF the absence
go
pail, II rs a safe prediction that thu. team
IS whole Will te stronger than i, has
nccn IN several years No one is making
any predictions as 70 where the Nationals
VIII finish The unexpected NAV ha npen
and the team finish last. and vet tina,
would not mean that the policy OF RELYING
entirely on youngsters To build uu a team
- wrong II takes time To make any
roadway But the chances are that the
Nationals won't finish any worse than
seventh next year and during ones on
uneiStic moments il could ne Inquired that
they had a chance To do even better. But
that IS neither here nor there. The fact
remains that the Griffith system Of tr,,inp
TO accomplish something here is entirely
different from what has ever been in
vogue and as the team has been a fail
ure from artistic standpoint hereto
fore there is at least hope that it will i'm
prove under the new or.er of things.
There is hardly chance for IL To do
worse,
Notwithstanding denials. when the team
takes the field for its practice games next
spring Herman Schaefer will be stationed
IN right field. while Jack Flynn will cover
first This was Manager Griffith's posi-
tive announcement yesterday Just how
long the lineup will be kept I'm that no
sition depends entirely on what the play
erS mentioned show What Griffith IS
trying TO do is to strengthen the hitting
of his in and outfield by this move. He
figures that if Schaefers batting last sea
son was not a ndSh IN the pan, and he
does not believe il was. that he will be q
most valuable man in right. On the
other hand he has every confidence in
Flynn. He saw enough of the former
PIttsourgher to form the opinion that h,
Is a mighty strong batter. and while per
haps not a sensational first baseman. h.
can hold his own in that respect The
switching of Schaefer 10 right and the
placing OF Flynn at first looks good OF
paper. and il might he added that il ap
pears to be a popular move with the pub
lie
II the Washington club figures in any
deals during the coming league meeting