The Washington herald., 1912-07-28
GRIFR TO SECURE
MlNoRLEAGUECLUB
FOR USE As Farm
Nationals VIII Have Place in the
South to Develop
Youngsters.
NOTES OF THE TEAM


Special to The Washington Herald
Cleveland. Ohio. July q. = Manager
Clark Grifith announced tonight that he
would buy minor league ball club
somewhere In the South before the 1872
season was over, using II for farm to
develop young players
II cannot tell Just now which club 1t
win be- said the Old Fox. and added. y
have several In view, and they can be
bought at a reasonable price l prefer
the South to the North. for the reason
that players accustomed to working
south of the Mason and Dixon line are
better fitted to the hot weather in the
Capital during July and August"
Grif declares that with a sure enough
farm. he can always have rlcnty Of first
class talent from which TO draw at a
moments notice. and also that If care is
shown in selecting the right city, club
can be maintained at a profit
Boston, Detroit. and Cleveland all own
minor league clubs, which they use for
their farms. and next year Washington
win be right in line
The real prize story of the day was
pulled during tanning bee in the lobby
Z Of the Colonial Hotel here, and has to
do with young Ray Morgan. In other
words. Ray was the goat" and forced
to stand a whole lot of good-natured
joshing from his team mates Here's
the story:
During an exhibition game in Baltimore
early this season, Morgan was caught
mapping OF first base. A quick throw
from the pitcher snuffed him out and also
broke up a promising batting rally.
One OF the Washington papers. in de-
scribing the game, printed the following
headline: Morgan Asleep on First.
Rays mother. who follows the Wash
ington club in general and her son In
particular. through the medium Of the
press, happened to- read the account OF
MoYgan's disgrace, and the good lady
at once got busy with a long letter TO
her son, which in part reads as follows:
My boy, i see by the papers that You
were caught asleep on first base. i have
frequently warned you to get to bed
early, for an athlete needs plenty OF
sleep. Perhaps after what happened IN
that game you will see the wisdom OF my
advice and act accordingly"
OF course. Mrs Morgan is not familiar
: with baseball lore or the expression.
asleep at first" would have had
vastly different meaning.
Griff has the idea that a manager can
not afford TO overlook a single young
pitching recruit He has tried out at
least a dozen in practice at National Park
this season and more are to follow.
You never can tell when you will pick
up diamond in the rough" seems TO be
the motto of the Old Fox, land / for one
viii look over every young pitcher recon-
mended If they show promise can
plant them somewhere and propose to do
So"
Mike Kahoe and Jack Ryan are at pres,
ent scouting for young and promising
pitchers Roxey Roach has recommended
twirler who viii be given a try-out
when the club returns to the Capital, as
have several other players and fans.
1t would not be surprising If Grif car
ried, in addition TO his regular twirling
corps, at least a dozen youngsters to
Charlottesville next spring. An old pitch
er himself. Griff's judgment is worth
something. He believes that he can spot
a big league twirler in the rough as
quickly as anybody, and that by pur-
suing this policy he will some day land
a second Walter johnson or Christy
Mathewson.
Who knows but what he may At any
rate, the experiment does not cost a
whole lot of money. and is worth taking.
Bill Kimban is with the team on this
trip, and is already hitting $50 in the
moving picture league. KimDaI will not
pull OF a Hughey Fullerton" until the
DOyS redcn LOUIS. Inc act Will be
committed during the last night of the
visit.
The Nationals did not tote along Battle,
the colored boy, Schaefers mascot, for
the reason that when the collection was
added UP, the pot was shy about so iron
nren, and the baseball management re-
fused to kick in with the remainder of
the dough.
II Jim Saffel, the venerable telegraph
operator who has charge of the wires at
National Park can put through a petit
tion he has drawn up, the Washington
club will provide better quarters for the
working newspaper men.
II is fact that Washington has the
poorest press box accommodations Of any
ball park in the American League. A
wire screen surmounted by a two-inch
piece of steel tubing cuts of the plate
from view, and even by standing up the
catcher can Just be seen.
The press box seats are in deplorable
condition. and with big crowd in the
upper tier. whe insist upon keeping up a
rapid-flre of questions with working re-
rorters. IT is next to impossible to score
a game correctly.
Mr.. Saffel's idea is a good one. and 1t |
is hoped that the management will get
busy just as they did several years ago |
when the thirsty scribes asked for ice |
wster, and the drinks were forthcoming |