The Detroit times., 1912-12-24
Has Failed Thus Far to Pro.
duce Results Expected
OF 1t
SIX STARS IN MAJORS
- WERE ONCE PASSED UP
Scouts Returning From Inyesti-
cation Called Men "Un-
finished"
Bp RALPH L. YoNKER.

The extensive scouting system the
Tigers have employed in the past
hangs In the balance. Whether It will
ss continued during the coming sea-
son or curtailed is yet to be decided.
s'ut this much is certain: 1t has failed
10 produce the results expected OF 1t
and It's retention is doubtful,
Manager Jennings, OF the Tigers.
says that right now there are six stars
IN the major leagues who were tipped
on TO the Tigers, looked over by
ncbuts and pronounced unfinished. L..
Unfinished as they were, they were
passed up by the Tigers, grabbed by
other major league clubs and are now
stars.
Furthermore the stars the club has
now were men tipped off by players
i'm. various miior league clubs and Sc
cured through the draft.
Last years crop is an example OF
those obtained in this way. First there
vas Dubuc who was secured from
Hontreal by draft Bill Louden was
NcWhIh III bhc ouAhC
way. Witt came from San Francisco
by the same route. Veach was the
pick of the Indianapolis club.
OF course the Tigers Will always
have two or three men upon whose
Judgment they have come to rely to
send out To look over men before Man
eger Jennings gets a chance at them
hut that there will be six or seven
l<x~ l.xs t.d lfsnl
ing over and oy erlooking players
seems improbabie.
! The results OF this years crop will
Ne the final test. The club has spent
over 100000 merely to get a stock OF
are needed but the Tigers will feel
fortunate II they get one brilliant to
aid to their constellation.
Last year the Tigers had as ex-
tensIve a scouting system as any
major league club. IL the results do
not prove to be satisfactory this
spring II is probable that II will be
c,lrtailed greatly and new line OF at
tack in capturing material tried out.
Among the six stars in the major
leagues which the Tigers had a chance
10 cop Is Joe Jackson, OF the Maps:
whom Manager Tommy Strouch, OF
the Greenville, s. c.. team tipped of
TO Manager Jennings.
: Jackson was certainly an 'unfinish-
ed, player when he joined the major
league bunch. He was copped first by
Philadelphia. He had not yet learned
10 keep his shoes on when batting.
He had to have a companion from
the Greenville team with him, so
Kelly. a catcher. was engaged to ac-
company him TO Philadelphia. When
the train stopped at one OF the sta
tons going to Philadelphia Joe slip
ned out OF the coach and took the
rext train back home.
He was a mediocre fielder when he
6rst broke into the big league and as
he had had no education to speak OF
IN the south he was looked upon as a
man who wouldn't learn fast. But he
; knew how 10 whale the balls he learn
cd IN field. Now he covers the right
Geld for the Maps about as we'll as
any of them.
Jennings says that the fact that
men are .upanished. should have but
.sttle weight They must be grabbed
nowudays before they are finished
and trained in the big league. The
days when player could grow to
baseball maturity in the bushes and
he passed up to the majors a polished
article Is In the past.
The fact that they are unfinished Ia
one big reason that they are In the
ainor leagues They wouldn't be
mere II they were finished.
This brings to mind the fact that
scouting now isn'f what II used to be.
Eefore there was much competition
among the majors for the services cl
the better men in the minors. the
scouts had only to detect the polished
diamonds In the bushes. Now they
must fnd the diamonds In the rough.
everyone must admit that II is
much more diffic lit to detect these
malities which will make up future
stars than Il Is to recognize a star
when one sees 1t twinkle.
The hardest thing TO decide upon is
whether a man has that baseball in
stinct which is going to make him "go
iigs Ito steal some OF Jennings the
atrical stun in the big show.
- A scout can see whether man has
sDeed. wh4ther- he cam field. whether