The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1911-11-09
The Big League
BY CHARLES f. VAN LOAN.
Copyright 1911. by Small Maynard Company Incorporated
- BY CHARLES r.. VAN LOAN.
CONTINUED From Yesterday

Continued From Yesterday
The next day Blush" Jones, al
he was Immediately christened, fit
ted out in a secondhand uniform
went to the ball park with 3tht
squad. He was sent into righ
field, and Mulligan the star "fungc
hitter" of the team, amused him
self for twenty minutes trying tt
hit the ball where the bushel
could not get 1t.
Jones was just as awkward in
baseball suit as out of one, but
he had a loose-jointed, numbering
way of getting over the ground
which accomplished results, and
two or three times he Strengthened
up and whipped the ball from deer
right field on a line to the plate
"Ha-ay!" yelled Johnny. What
you want to do? Throw your arm
away before the season opens?
Save one of them until 1t will dc
some good"
81 allus throw hathaway" said
Jones, when he came Looping in to
the bench, covered with a gentle
Precipitation. KANT throw nc
other way"
You're a wonder!" said John
ny with a wink at the others. LET
me see you hit few"
Then he gave the practice pitch
er the signal to put on a little
steam. 1t happened to be Doc
Culver. Doc was a hard man on
Ibushers. This was because he
came from Iowa himself The
Doc was proud of his change OF
pace. His enemies said of him that
he had been in the Big League for
seven years without anything but
change of pace and a chew of
but without his battling mixture
of fast and slow balls Doc Culver
could not have held his place on
a first-division team.
The Doc stood on one leg and
clawed the air, letting drive with
his fast one.
Jones, with the bat held high
laround his neck, snapped at the
ball with fullarm swing and
knocked it on line into center
field.
Doc Culver grinned as he picked
up an extra ball. Any free hitter
is likely to kill fast straight ball.
Once more the pitcher wrapped
himself up in a knot. There was
nothing in his delivery to indicate
that the next one would not be ex-
actly the same sort of a fast ball,
yet when the sphere left Culver's
hand it wobbled slowly up to the
plate as if undecided as to how
far it was going to travel.
The busher made ready to swing
checked himself for the fraction of
a second, and then dashed out sud-
denly as the ball spun lazily over
the plate.
The cannon-ball liner smacked
Doc Culver squarely on the instep,
and he went bowling to the club
house, with Bush plucking nerv-
ously at his elbow.
81 didn't aim fer to do that,
Mist Culver" said he APOLOGIZE
cally. II shore didn't aim fer to
do that"
Bush was a gold mine to the
newspaper men. There were SO
very many things which he did not
know. All the venerable old
spring training jokes were fresh
to him, and he was worth columns
of copy. While on the road with
the SQUAD squad" he slept for
two nights in a Pullman berth
with his right arm In the hammock
which he had been told was put
there for the particular benefit OF
the baseball players.
81 wouldn't keer so much," said
Bush after the second night, "but
the doggone thing is on the whong
side an I neveh could sleep on my
stomach"
The only thing about which they
could not fool him was baseball.
He knew that game by instinct,
and Johnny, being a wise manager
did not try TO teach him too much
about hitting. Culver argued that
Bush should chop more and swing
less but the manager turned on
him with mighty roar.
81 don't see you hittin' any four
hundred round herei" barked
Johnny. LET that boy alone. He's
natural hitter"