The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1913-10-03
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The BALL PLAYER.
He Faces Many Trying 0rdeaIs
In His Early Experience.
MAKING A BIG LEAGUE CLUB.

Tribulations Of . Veteran Star Who
Started IN With . "ewsllsd Head"
and Got Fired and Thsn Worked HE
Way Back Into Fast Company.
In the American Magazine Hugh 8.
Fullerton writes an : article entitled
The Making of q Big Lacquer" 1t IL
a true story Of the development Of one
Of the greatest ball players in the
United States as told BY himself to
Mr.. Fullerton. This player, Of course,
began the game as a boy and passed
through all the stages from amateur to
minor league teams and then into the
big league. In this early experience be
became a great victim Of the ''swelled
head" hit the FIRST ball pitched when
he wentsto bat after being told to wait
for two strikes and finally lost his posi-
ton on the big league team. After
many vicissitudes he lost his ''swelled
head" and got into the big league
again, where today, at thirty-four
years Of age. he is one Of the great
veterans Of the game. OF his finaI en-
trance into the big league he says:
In June ! was purchased for q
large sum BY the club which then was
the strongest in the country. | didn't
say a word about money, although the
club paid over $4,000 for me. The new
manager sat down with me in the
hotel the night I Joined his team.
"'All l want be said, is for you to
get out there and hustle and behave
yourself. I've heard you're hard to
handle. but I'll take a chance
You won't have any trouble with
me- I assured him. All ! want ia q
chance to show that I can play
"'YouM get all the chance you want
he said quietly. You're In the lineup
tomorrow
stage fright! Did you ever suffer
it? did that night. My nerves yer
jumping. and q thousand times I fg.
ured out plays-yes. and made them
In planning what I would do the next
day,
I'VE were playing q game against a
team which we figured we would have
to beat out to win the championship
I pictured myself hitting home runs
and making triple plays. and when |
awoke In the morning I was nervous. a
shaky. uncertain and scared ball play
er. In practice before the game every
thing hit my way ! either fumbled or
threw wild. AZ my nerves were rags
The crowd seemed to be sorry for me
when they weren't mocking. It was a
! relief when the game started.
II was second at bat in the lineup
on . foreign 6eld and with a hostile
roaring. The first man died
ont. Wait him out. Take two said
the manager as ] picked up a bat. The
6rst pitched ball cut the heart Of the
plate. saw it all the way up and
knew it would have been easy to hit it
hard. yet ] let it 60. Strike one.' the
umpire yelled. and the crowd howled
I was cool as q Boston east wind. The
second ball came whizzing up straight
over the plate With nothing on 1t. and
itched to bit 1t. vet let it go for the
second strike.
.Then settled 10 hit. expecting a
curve ball. The curve went wide. A
fast one went high and wide. figured
that the pitcher thought he bad a suck
er at bat and would curve one over.
he came with q fast ball a foot high.
and I swung at it and struck out. My
heart nearly got spiked as It sank into
my toes going back to the bench.
THAT'S the boy said the manager.
Wait him out. Make him pitch
~ could have kissed him for those
words. ! went to short with my nerves
steady and my system full Of conf.
dence. The first ball hit was q stzaler
over second. | got the hail with one
hand. and there wasn't q chance to
throw the runner out il ! stopped to
atraiRhten up. 80 | threw without look
Ing and without waiting and plunged
forward onto my face The yell from
the crowd told me- the first baseman
had caught il. and Al ! scraped the
dust out Of my eyes and trotted back
to position | felt at home
~ wasn't excited O elated. but the
c0n6dencap that had carried me through
the minor leagues came back with q
rush and all fear vas gone. was q
big Lacquer and knew It. The next
time .at bat I crowded the plate. jock
eyed with the pitcher and watched He
whipped a curve inside the plate. J
pretended to dodge and let the ball bit
me. II hit hard and | sQuirmeds but az
the suanager bent over me ! winked at
him and. letting him lift me. ] limped
down to 6rst-a and stole second on the
Arnt bah pitched. sliding clear around
the baseman. On my third trip to the
plate l cracked a clean bit over second
bsase and. after being sacrificed to sec.
on6. stole third because ! figured 90
oueswould expect . recruit to do that
I'm the clubhouse that night ths
manager, said. You'll do. hid. Il you
1ons1 set sweiled.' And replied. I've
gone through that"
One 70 Five Meals . Day.
~ England people are sometimes ID
| A1cfad 70 Ave meals q day-broakfaet.