Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-14
z PITCHERS ENOUGH
John N. Ward Gives interest
ing Views.
WARM-UPS HARD ON ARM
Strong Twirler Should Work Every
Other Day, Says New Bos-
ton Owner.
WARM-UPS HARD ON ARM

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, January l3.-one of tho
topics batting around the winter league
these dull days concerns the size OF a
pitching staff required to fully equip
a major league team. Apropos OF this
discussion, John NJ Ward, president Of
the Boston Nationals. expresses some
interesting views And whatever lie
says carries some weight, for he has
been through the mill.
When johnny" Ward was a kid
he pitched every other day. and kept
up that clip after he went TO the Ma
tional League. The first winter after
his debut he fired a stationary engine.
and found that occupation useful for
conditioning purposes.
1t is Wards theory that big league
pitchers OF this epoch waste too much
energy in warming up and pitching tn
the batters. He believes that practice
pitching is harmful
Two strong, willing pitchers oughc
to carry team through "A hard cam.
paign," says the former manager OF
the Giants. hut nowadays every team
carries from five to eight boNmen. The
result is that some capable men seldom
hit their strid" through lack of work
''Of course, there should be extra
pitchers. but to my mind "A staff Of say
five men working regularly is too big.
In my day the extra men were regard
ed as substitutes. and seldom worked
unless one of the star men was in
capacitated And furthermore, star
man felt Inundated if young pitcher
was sent to the box when he (the starr
was sitting on the bench ready To-
work. Nowadays headliner thinks
than two games every ten days.
Il suppose the younger generation Ill
regard this old-fashioned talk, and
will say that conditions are not the same
| then now. Some things have chaneed.
I'll admit. but it was just as hard work
to pitch nine innings i'm the days when
Radbourne and myself worked for the
Providence club as it is now.
You go to the Polo Grounds now ana
see a flock of pitchers tossing Them over
to the batters in practice, or warming
up for twenty minutes on the side lines.
The man who is to pitch the game al
ways takes 1t easy. III he should pitch IN
practice or spend fifteen minutes batting
fungoes the chances are that he would
not be effective.
Now here Is a theory: A pitcher in
game works with every muscle tense,
and he doesn't relax unless the game
goes to smash. The incentive that does
not buoy him up in practice Is there /" men
| base hit means some damage. lie Is
on his toes, to speak, and frightened
up all the time. His nerves are alive
and unconsciously his muscles respond.
Take the man who is pitching to the
| batters in practice or laZiiy wa ming up
on the side lines. He doesn't care
| whether they hit his offerings or not be-
cause he Is there to give the batters some
exercise. On the side lines he just tosses
the ball and puts nothing on 1t.
Il contend that a pitcher working That
way puts more of a strain on his arm
than the man who Is frightened up IN n
game. His nerves are not tingling and
his mentalities are not aroused. he IL
| not trying to outguess the batsmen as a
rule.
From my own experience I know
that such pitching is harmful In prac-
tice the muscles are not taut. with
every delivery they stretch. In pitch
ing delivery, while in game, tho
movement is repressed, because inc
pitcher is bending his energies toward
getting speed or a break on ball.
II firmly believe, therefore, that q
big. strong fellow could pitch every
/ other day without getting sore arm
II he did not tire his arm with prac-
| tice pitching. You often have seen q
| twirler hold team to two or three
| hits, and then be clouted all over the
| lot when he attempted to come back
| with only one day of rest. In the old
| the games.
Maybe that's why good pitchers OF
| twenty-five years ago were NOT 30
numerous as now, and maybe that's
why they lasted longer tnan the aver
age big league pitcher does now. OF
course, the 'spitball' delivery was un-
known in the old days. and ! don't
believe that the proprietor Of a splitter
could pitch every other day, because
that delivery is extremely wearing on
the arm.
When John NJ. Ward was an active
manager he was considered one or tho
smartest men in the game. and he has
kept pace with 1t since his retirement
In, Il,rf vxyhf la hq
his own opinions about conditioning
and running a team, he does not intend
to act as manager in Boston. He has
hired Johnny King for that purpose.
and has confidence in Killing to meet
the problems that must be solved in
getting the BeaneaterS out OF last
place Having been a manager himself
he appreciates that too much advice
from an owner is not an upbuilding
factor