The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1911-11-01
The Big League
opyrght 1Oif by Small Maynard Company, Incorporated
. BY CHARLES k. VAN LOAN.

and prayer, so he prepared him
self for a new position.
Days after day DUSTY" Moles,
his chum, put in his spare time
hitting up "fungoes" to the out
field, and Hardy galloped after
them. When Slug was ready to stop
pitching he was a seasoned out
fielder, and 1t was as an outfield-
err that he Joined the Blue Sox and
entered the big league.
There was only one thing the
matter with Slug. He was born
without sense of humor. On the
other hand, John Henry Patrick
Callahan, "Jaggs' Callahan of
blessed memory. had too much
humor. That was where the trou-
BILE started.
Jaggs was not the worst fellow
in the world, and not the best,
either. His humor, largely of the
Islapstick variety, often palled up
on his team mates, but they en-
,dured him because he could pitch
baseball in seven different Ian
guages. His best joke was the one
he saved up for whiskered yokels
at country stations. When the
train stopped, Jaggs would spy out
a bucolic loafer with long whis-
kers and beckon him to approach,
engaging him in close conversa-
ton about the town and the price
of real estate. Still talking when
the train began to move, Jaggs
would lean far out of the window,
entangle his iron fingers in the
rustic's beard, and hold on for
dear life. The sight of the out
ragged citizen, racing along and
screaming with pain and rage, was
one which never failed to fill
.Jaggs with pleasure. Sometimes
the pitcher lost his grip. Some
times the yokel lost his lace cur
tains, but whatever happened III
was very fine joke.
The first encounter between
Jaggs and Hardy shows what a.
small thing may put a ball player
Gin wrong" with his associates.
When a player begins by getting
"in bad" he nearly always gets out
worse. Hardy got out worse.
Jaggs selected the big, red-faced
white eyebrowed stranger as the
softest thing among the recruits,
and scraped an acquaintance with
him. One evening on the hotel
porch at the training camp, Jaggs
told his famous story of the goat
and the tin can. Hardy, silent and
thoughtful by nature, overlooked
the improbability of the incident,
and concerned himself solely with
the baseball problem involved.
"Y'see, 1t was like this" said
Jaggs. 81 was playin' right field
that day, an this blame goat kept
edgin' in an edgin' in-YOU
know how the country fair ball
grounds arej no fences or nothin'
and he got in my way. I chased
him, an he picked up the can he
was nibblin' at and started to run
toward the diamond. Just then
Maginniss hits a line drive right
down over first, an the ball hit
square in the can an stuck! Ma
ginniss tried to make a home run,
but l got him."
Ball rolled QUIT" suggested
Hardy.
Nope" said Jaggs. "Had to
git 1t out with a can opener after
wards. I just picked up Mister
Goat, run to the home plate, an
touched the goats foot to the rub
Der. ling! The jumps allows as
how Maginniss is out!"
There was a deep silence and
then Hardy broke into speech.
why, the rule says"
That settled 1t. The new man
was a farmer or worse. Hardy
was amazed when he saw the
papers from the home town. The
war correspondents seized upon the
incident of the goat and the tin
can, and made it good for any
where from two sticks to a whole
column. Hardy was angry. He
Ireproyed one of the reporters.
But didn't say all that stuff"
he persisted. at makes Newell,
ridiculous. 1t isn't fair!"
Then that reporter told his fell
low workers that the new outfield-
Ter was a rube who objected to
Ipress notices and had threatened
Ito punch the head of any CORES
lpondent who took his name lightly
between the bars Of his typewriter.
Hardy was already Gin bad"
with several members of the team;
he was now Gin bad" with the
press.
IF he drops dead on the field,
we'll print ten lines about him, "
said the press gentlemen. "Other-
wise. niXtb