Evening star., 1911-06-03
By "Curley' Byrd.

are many things which must nrst De
taken into consideration before those who
attempt to Judge the ability Of the. sew
eral players who are to compose the
mythical aggregation make their choices
and construct what they believe to be
the best squad of performers which
could be selected.
Primarily. the first thing which must
be considered when such a team is picked
IL that 1t shall have strong offense. be-
cause there is nothing more true than
the old maxim that a strong offense is
the best defense. But in selecting an
aggregation Of players who would con-
stitute q strong offensive base ball team
care must also be taken that it shall be
strong enough defensively to balance the
offensive strength. Every man must be
fast on bases and able to diagnose a play
the instant 1t is made. The pitcher must
not only be able to pitch the ball to
the batters well, but he must also be
able to hold runners on the bases and
field his position. The catcher must not
only be able to catch. but he must throw
accurately to the bases, and, above all,
be cool and have good Judgment.
In selecting an All-High ball team it
Is not expected that everybody will be
pleased with the choices, but 1t is GER
tain that IL 1t Is seen that the mentioned
maxims are adhered to. and the club Is
picked with the mentioned aims in view,
there cannot be much OF a controversy
raised In regard to the ability OF the
men who are chosen.
Taking the most important position
first. tho pitcher, 1t Is found that there
ts wealth Of material to choose from,
there is not. Four men in the different
schools were able to toe the slab and
pitch ball that on the face Of it was
good enough to win games. Ligon OF
Eastern. Holden of Western. Boteler of
Central and Garland of Tech are the
men referred to. OF the four Holden
and Garland both pitched good ball from
the box, but both have their serious
faults. Neither Of the pair is able to
field his position. and neither is able
he pitched great ball against Western.
did not come up to the standard In the
other games In the school series, and can
not be considered seriously for the posi-
ton on the basis Of what he did in one
contest. Boteler Of Central, while he
failed to deliver as he did last year. be-
cause he did not have any kind OF
team behind him, still pitched good ball
for the fact that he received some of
the worst support in the series.
As every ball club should have three
twirlers, Holden. Boteler and Garland
would be the men to be chosen, and in
any one game Boteler would be the logical
man to be depended on. as he not only
Is able to pitch good ball. but he can
field his position to perfection. has per-
feet control, something which Is decidedly
lacking In the repertoire OF the others,
and can keep the base runners from
stealing at will. Boteiers only weakness
lies in the fact that in the games he has
pitched he put too many balls over the
plate. The Blue and White twirler. If
would be a star in scholastic ranks.
Holden and Garland would make excep-
tionally capable substitutes, in that at
any time either would be able to step
into the box and stop q batting rally on
the part Of the opposing nine.
For cAtchers there are three men who
might lay claim to the piace-Morris OF
Tech. King OF Central and Parker OF
Eastern: OF the three Parker is the
best. The light Blue and White back
stop has more judgment behind the bat
than all the other catchers in the schools
put together, and IL Is judgment more
than anything else which should be taken
into consideration when backstop is Sc
lected. as that position is without doubt
the most important on a ball team, the
pitcher barred, and the man with the
ability to think In that position Is the
man who counts.
For shortstop there are three good
men-Howard of Western. Varela of
Eastern and Dodge Of Business. While
there will be many who will disagree with
the selection. the place Is given to How
the Eastern game. but the fact that the
games in which he played were allowed
to stand should entitle him to a chance
for the position. varela Of Eastern Is
undoubtedly just as good q fielder. bu,
Howard Is q good hitter and that would
give him the position over the Capitol Hill
lad. Dodge would make a strong bid foI
the job. but he Is to be placed in another
position. Howard, besides being q good
hitter and fielder. is fast on bases. There
is no doubt that his work helped q great
deal to keep Western UP In the race.
Fuller OF Western and Mccarthy OF Cen
trail are the only two candidates whf
could be considered for the place at THIRD
v the men who played In that position
were the only ones to be taken into CON
sideration. But Dodge OF Business /:
given the place because he has had con
siderable experience around the thire
corner. and besides is one Of the bes
hftters in the schools. Dodge Is alst
fast on the bases and can field in good
style.
d. Fuller OF Western is a mighty good
fielder. one Of the best that has ever beer
developed in the local high schools. but
| to Dodge. although Dodge himself is not
far behind the Red and White fielder In
ability to handle the ball.
On all the teams, the second base posi-
L NioA - th0 WcdhcStp there HUI DclS
! single man on any team who can take
care of his position properly. OF the
! bunch Bethel OF Western and CoIly Of
Tech are the best but both unable II
| land on the ball consistently. and to of
set this. Meyers OF Western is SHIFTED
from first to second. The Red ant
| White first sacker Is the best hitter II
the high schools, and has been almos
unanimously chosen to cover the frs
bag. but he Is shifted to second in thii
| instance to cover what otherwise would
be a weakness In q strong offensive team
| Meyers Is good fielder and covers sec
ond we'll. as shown in some Of the prac
| tice games when he played the position.
/ King of Central 10 given the place or
first. The Blue and White player, who
was shifted from the position to catch
has shade the better Of Meyers in hi
fielding around the first sack. Meyer.
| would be given the preference for tht
place II there were a good fielder and
good hitter to cover second base. but a,
II Is King Is the best man for the place
He not only Is one Of the best fielding
| hrst basemen ever developed In the higi
schools. but he II also a good hitter
| which would give him q position on tn,
team In the outfield IL not on hrst.
The outheid positions are not difficul
| to select, because Of the poorness OF tn,
material from which to choose from. Tn
men who are the good hitters canno
neid worth anything and those who NJ,
the best helders are not strong at bat