The Washington herald., 1914-04-16

ment until after the contest so that
Tom would not have anything on
his mind to worry him and keep
him from pitching his best. The
telegram urged the Philadelphia
pitcher to come home at once be-
cause of the serious condition OF
his wife.
Neither Mrs. Seaton nor Tom ever
forgave the Philadelphia management
for interfering with the delivery of the
telegram. and the result was tina: tire
Quakers lost A star pitcher.
II does not strike me. however. that
this was especially bad treatment, for
many clubs make this same rule, ar.d
even a man who is so consistently
thoughtful of his players as Connie
Mack does not permit them to receive
any wires, telegraph or telephone. after
they have put on their uniforms. But
Mrs. Seaton and Tom thought that it
was bad treatment. so that when the
Federals came around flirting with tie
Philadelphia star. he jumped after icing
urged TO do so by his wife. To be SUR,
Doom did not know the Federals were
going to break out all over the Place
when he intercepted the telegram last
summer because he wanted his star to
go into the box with his mind free from
worry. But this illustrates how a lit
tie thing is liable TO affect the future u
a ball club. and how careful a manager
must be in the treatment of his meE.
Players Refused kilograms.
Doom did what the best manager in
baseball would have probably done under
the same circumstances. but he should
have dome noSSihls aft rfiS
to change the attitude of the player
toward the club Whether he did or not
| don't know. MCGraw will not permit
players to receive kilograms on the
bench. but he will open wires himself
to see whether it is anything very urgent.
Very few men can play good ball with
something on their minds besides the
game. and il is wiser to keep a play.
out of the game than to let him Start
with this mental handicap. In a vrsy
urgent case. McGraw would pass alorc
the telegram.
| saw Joe" Tinker give a remarkable
demonstration of nerve last summer in
a series with the Giants in New York.
Just before the game he received tele-
gram saying that his wife was very i'll
and that it might be necessary for nm
to leave for Chicago that night to submit
TO an operation for skin grating to save
her life. He left directions with the tele
graph company that he was TO have all
wires rushed TO him at the Polo Grounds.
and then. with this trouble on his mind.
he went into the contest and played the
most spectacular ball I had seen him
show all season. But Tinker is a remark
able ball player. / never saw his nerve
broken when he is in uniform.
Probably the most thoughtful manage
where his men are concerned is Connie
Mack When John COombs was i'll last
fall after his Intellectual attempt to come
back. late in the season, Mack had wire
run To the bedside Of the sick pitcher so
that he could get constant bulletins from
the field and follow the worlds series
games. Mack paid for the installing ,.f
the wire and the telegraph tolls. and
made COOmbs very contented. II is his
sort Of treatment which attaches his
players to Connie" Mack and is respOn-
sible for the fact that not single one
considered jumping to the FederalS
Connie" keeps great hold on his men
just from such actions as that one in the
case of Coombs.
McGraw Different.
McGraw is good to his men. too. but
his style is different from Mack's. He is
very liberal and is every bit as careful!
to recognize any good work with rewards.
as he does bad PLAYS with fines. He i
also strictly impartial in his dealings and
PLAYS no favorites For this reason all
the Giants swear by their leader. and his
team is closely knit together. and he is
a success 1t is the man who does not
know McGTaw and his methods who at
taCks him.
So far in my preliminary done. ! have
confined my discussion Of the chances or
the various teams to the ones which
should finish i'm the first division of each
league. OF course. every club has a
chance of winning the pennant when II
starts. but the chances of some are not
as good as those OF the well-known snow
ball in that resort where the tenants are
not forced to find fault with deficient
steam heating facilities.
In the National League. I have figured
the Giants. Brooklyn. the Cubs. Pitts
burgh. and Boston. to he the contenders,
Boston with a very outside chance. Since
venturing this statement, l have made
a closer study of the PhilIies and have
also gotten some line from the inside
gossip on how Dooin's team looks. My
opinion of It has improved. and. while
don't look to sec the Phillies give any
body a close fight for the flag. they will
win many n game that pennant con-
| tender needs badly. In other words,
the clue will be a stumbling block to
any team it faces. There are still some
/ hard hitterS LETT win Doom III MdSee'
| Cravath. and Ludcrus. The oItfield is
! strong with Paskert, Magoc, and Cra-
| Vath in IT.
InhcIders' Loss HURTS.
The most serious blow was the one
dealt the infieId by the departure Of
DooIan and Knabe. Mike was nm
ished ball player. and a dangerous hit
ter although he never batted up among
the 900 boys much. He was bad man
| in a pinch and was a demon for long
waIIops that brought in lot of runs
FKnabc was a nagger Of pitchers at the
bat and managed to get on for TBS rea-
son. He was also very aggressive and
( kept the team full OF pepper That Is
what the Phillies arc going TO need this
summer. lots Of pepper. as some OF the
I boys are inclined to dog Wnen the
wc3ther warns up and one day IN the
race is just like another.
| Irelan has turned out to be md and
may partially fill Doolans place at snort
Syrne has been moved over TO second. but
I he won't make up for the loss OF hnabe.