Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-13
THRIVE IN WINTER
Many Young Men Would Like
Umpiring in Cold Weather.
NERVE FAILS WITH SPRING
When Salaries Are Considered the
Aspirants Are Not
Numerous.
NERVE FAILS WITH SPRING

| 1T seems as though the crop of umpires
thrives in the winter time, writes Umpire
| Billy Evans in the Sporting News. Many
| young man Is seized with a desire to
| shine as an arbitrator when the snow is
| on the ground. League presidents are al
ways flooded with applications for jobs
when the thermometer stands around the
| zero mark. For some reason umpires do
not prosper under the hot sun Of the
summer months. About July umpires are
at premium. Presidents who had a
hundred applications for half dozen
jobs during the winter find trouble pick
ing up couple of men to replace va
cancies on their STATS.
In this connection | recall a letter / re-
ceived from well known minor league
| umpire the other day. The umpire had
signed to work in the Northwestern
When Fielder Jones was elected to the
position he feared he might lose out. AS
we had worked together in the bushes
and | had been thrown into contact a
great deal with Fielder Jones when he
mahased Chicago. the umpire wrote to
me for help. He requested me to write
President Jones booming him for the
| position.
Now. the umpire in question is a
mighty capable fellow. l feel certain he
League if given chance. 1 couldn't fig
| ure, however, that my recommendation
would do him much good. When Fielder
Jones managed the White Sox it was
rather customary for him to disagree
| with me on any number of rulings On
| that basis l feared he didn't think very
| much of my umpiring. Such being the
case. l didn't think recommendation
| by me would boost the stock of the UNI
| pire in question.
| II Mr.. Jones makes half as good a
president as he was a manager the
Northwestern League will have secured
| a great leader. While Jones and 1 had
many a run-in on the diamond, which
often resulted in his exit to the club
house, there is no denying the fact that
| he was wonderful manager. He got
the results, and was always a contender
no matter how poor his team looked on
paper.
| Ability to hit the ball will no longer
| hold down a berth in the majors unless
| the player can do the other things fairly
| well Athletes who can only clout the
pill are almost certain to spend most of
| their days in the minors In these days
| of modern base ball other things just as
essential are expected of the players. A
| player who can hit, but who is very slow
| on the bases is really of no use. for
whe nhe gets nthe bases are practically
| blocked because Of his lack of speed.
! Perhaps no better example could be
cited to illustrate the assertion 1 am max
| ing than that Of Dode Criss. American
League pitchers will tell you that Crisis
] could hit that ball. Yet there was little
else that ''Dode' could do up to major
| league form. His wildness killed him as a
| pitcher. while his slOwness of foot hurt
| his fielding. He was tried in the outfield
and at first base, but failed to come up to
| expectations.
Perhaps no team needed players who
could hit more than the st. Louis Browns.
| yet this club turned loose a man who
could hit them high and far away. simply
because that was his only strong forte.
With his teammates Crisis was a very
| popular fellow, and all of them regretted
| his departure to the bushes. They hoped
| to the very end that his ability to hit the
ball would keep him in the big show, as
| it had done for several years. His pass
| ing only served to impress on the play
ers that you must be able to do other
| things besides hit to remain in the big
leagues.
Another case that proves this fact is
| that Of George Stone. When the Browns
| let him go he could hit better than seven
| out Of every ten fielders in the league,
was a fair fielder and faster than the
average player on the bases. A weak
| throwing arm was the cause of Stone S
undoing as a big Lacquer. Just as soon
as the athletes got wise to Stones fault
| they took all kinds of liberties on balls
| hit into his territory.
/ received a letter from a fan in Bastor
| the other day, in which he asked a rather
| unique question. He wanted to know