Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-11-09
PITCHING SHORT
ROUTE To FAME
IN BASEBALL
By Damon >Runyon.

il> ul ople ueSlTe 10 become a
baseball player, and you find
MIN fooltng around first base, or
the outfield, or the second or third.
or even peering with infantile ear
erness through the meshes Of a
mask, lead that youthful party ont
behind the barn and have a speech
with him.
Put on catching glove and ex-
anime the condition Of his shooting
arm. He may have a wholly I'M
suspected hope to his fast ball
along with a nice curve and some
change Of pace. Such being the
case, 1t becomes your parental duty
to admonish him to enter life as a
pitcher of baseballs.
Speak to him as, follows:
Son, there Is a great deal OF
class to a Cobb, but consider the
skinned thighs which come from
the sliding appertaining to the run
ming OF bases. Consider, too. the
daily labor-the 1874 games of base
ball, during which the man who
would be a Tyrus must pound the
pill for better than 400, or lose
caste among his people
Consider the enormous amount
of energy which must be expended
every two hours out Of the "a bv
the Hal Chases, and the Honus
Wagners. and the Larry Doyles of
our time. Each and every day they
have the same old strain and wor-
ry; each and every day they must
perform their work with marvellous
efficiency or be PANIED to a whis-
per. No alibis go in their cases.
And then, my son. pause and
think of the life, of the slothful
ease of the pitcher, who works two
or three times week, but who gets
practically as much money, and
exc as much fame. He wins his
game and the labors of the Cobbs
and the other men behind him are
forgotten in the gossip of his Prov
ess; he loses and the men are sacrf-
feed for their shortcomings, and he
is excused on the ground of an off
day.
BE a pitcher, my son-be
MatheWson, or a Wood, or a John
son. and you will find the path to
the vaudeville stage as easy from
the mound as it is from the out
field"
Scout Sent to Take Peep.
Having concluded your lecture
all you have to do ik to turn your
son loose with a baseball in his
hand and let him wander through
the bushes until such time as some
big league manager locates him or
the advice of friends. A big league
scout may stumble across him &C.
cldentally. but nowadays the man
ager usually hears about the phe-
mons and then sends the ivory
hunter to confirm or deny the news.
The demand for pitching material
is never satisfied in the big leagues.
The box is the surest short cut to
fame. A manager may have two
or three men sitting on his bench
who are better in sheer ability than
men playing in his regular line
and the manager may know that to
be a fact-but lack of experience,
or other reasons, may keep them
long in the background, whereas
the pitcher usually finds big league
opportunity crowding him at all
stages.
1t is sometimes only after two
or three years OF steady playing
that an infielder or an outfelder
reaps the reward of ability. where
as young pitcher may step I'M
nediately into the limelight. Claude
Hendrix, two-year man; Larry
Cheney and JEFF Tesreau, who have
had only year Of big league ex-
perience, are the pitching leaders
Of the National league Hugh Be
dent gained great fame after
few months on a major bench, while
Jimmy Lavender, another firgt-year
man, mopped up much glory this
last season.
~ OOuAoct IN CODD OF lis
Speaker can not long be denied,
but these are exceptional cases,
Every big league manager is
grooming youngsters who will one
day be stars of the baseball world,
but meanwhile, while they are gain
ing their education. young twirlers.
who Joined on after they did, are
slipping into sudden fame
1t might be argued that while the
pitcher does not work as hard as
the other players, neither does he
last as long in the big league, but
that argument is answered by the
fact that several of the foremost
figures In the game today are vet
eran beavers.
Mathewson in Harness II Years.
Christy Mathewson has been
pitching for twelve years, and is to-
day one of the highest salaried
men in the game. He is accounted
well off in this worlds goods. He
is good for several years more. Ed
Walsh is a comparative veteran.
and still one Of the five greatest
beavers in the world. There is no
reason why man Ike Walter
Johnson should not go on as long