The Washington times., 1913-07-07
Detroit Star ExceIs Climbers
Gardener Only in Work With
the Willow.
By SENATOR"

NEW YORK. July This fel-
low Shanks. playing left field for your
: club, is going to be the surprise Of big
league baseball before he gets through y
says Frank Leroy Chance manager OF
the Yankees. I've never seen a young
ster with as little experience show SO
much class
when Ty Cobb broke in with the De-
troit club. IL you will remember, he did
not set the world on fire. He had TO
show what he could do before he became
the great star that he is now. He oc-
cupied then much the same position that
Shanks does now. While Shanks may
never be the equal Of Cobb. neverthe-
less he is right now a better allaround
player than Cobb, If you bar the hitting.
AS a batsman Cobb is a wonder, but
when you end there, this kid Shanks is
as good If not better.
Without Cobbs speed on the bases,
Shanks pulls more wise stuff on the
bases than any other player in the
league He knows to a fraction of an
inch just how much distance to take OFF
base, and his delayed steal calls for
absolute perfection. He doesn't think
anything of setting opponents by the
ears on the bases. making them throw
around wildly In an effort to get him
This calls for headwork of a superior
nature.
The best outfielder in this league to-
day is Iris Speaker, the Red Sox star,
but after him / place Howard Shanks.
In the field the Washington player is
Just as fast, just as sure on ground balls
or flies, and can throw like a shot to
any base His stunt Of breaking into
the infield and making putOuts is un-
equaled by any player in the big leagues
and only goes to strengthen my belief
in his greatness. There are not many
players with the necessary speed to do
this and the fast ones haven't the brains
to think of it.
"Shanks' hitting is getting better all
the time. Give him another year. and
he will be up among the leading bats
men. That's ali he has to improve now
He has everything else necessary in his
makelp."
Shanks' own opinion OF himself is in
terestng to the fans. He has no touch
of the swelled Uranium. He Is just as
youthful now as the first day he start
ed in to make the team at Charlottes-
Vile, in the spring of 1912. The writer,
in a kidding match the other day.
asked MIN what ne meant by breaking
into the infield and making putouts,
saying that the Infielders' Union would
be getting after him II he didn't quit
il.
"Ha. ha," laughed Shanks, maybe
they will. but they'll have to show that
they could have made the plays that /
did. Take that play ! made in WASH
ington. running down Mattick at the
plate. No infielder could have got him.
The play took every infieider away from
him, and l got into II by backing up
third that's all. Every outfielder. to
play his position right. should always
be backing up a base on such plays
The moment a runner starts running
wild on the bases ] get busy backing
up a base. Sometimes it's third and
sometimes second. depending on where
the play is being made. That's all
there is to IL. But II the Infielders'
Union gets after me. it's got to prove
that / wasn't needed in there to make
the putout."
The writer then asked Shanks how he
happened to pick up so many fine
points about playing the outfeld, and
the explanation came quickly.
I've always played the outfield since
going into professional baseball" said
the Monaco Marvel. 81 used to play
third base when in school, though not
always. When ! went to YOUNGSTOWN
and became a professional decided to