Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-24
EDDIE COLLINS TELLS HOW
CONNIE MACK MET CRISIS
Athletic Leader Fooled the Fans
and Players When CoOmbs
y Was Stricken.
PENNOCK STRONG IN PINCH
Houck Nearly Won a Suit of
Clothes from Secretary
Shibe.
By EDDIE COLLINS

By EDDIE COLLINS
Last year before the ball season had
been under way a week John Coombs,
the iron man of the Athletic pitching
department, developed typhoid fever,
iand his services were lost to us for
the rest of the campaign. Imme-
diately the serious nature of his ILL
ness became known, fandom seemed
to say, What will the Athletics do
without him? Critics ventured to pre-
dict Bender and Plank can never
win pennant alone, and Muck has
no one else"
that even We Athletics were a bit
seeptical of the future. Connie Mack
alone seemed unperturbed, and, al
though, naturally, he expressed sim
cere sysmpathy for Coombs, concern
= ing his clubs future he simply smiled
and gave this vague reply to the
anxious queries that were fired at him
by players and others, "oh, we've
got pitchers enough. Well be all
right"
New Policy Announced.
The first inkling of the policy he
had resolved upon to pursue with his
of our opening game at home. Said
Connie to the pitchers In our meeting:
Now, / don't want any of you to
feel bad, or to think / am not salts
fed with your work in the box, If l
. suddenly take you out and put In an
other man. But what ] want you all
to bear in mind is that we have a lot
of capable pitchers right here"and
he allowed his gaze to wander TO
NJ
Pennock, Wyckoff and some others
seated in the room-"and want each
one of you to go at top speed and
give us all you've got when you are
in the box. If 1t is only for three
innings, or only one, or even TO one
man, pitch your hardest. When you
feel yourself slipping, remember that
we've got someone else just as good
who can take your place"
Youngsters Must Help.
In other words, Connie realized the
important part that his young and
untried pitchers must play, with
veteran lost temporarily, and in order
not to break their confidence in them
selves he decided to divide up the
work rather than to go right through
with one of them and take chance
that some club would give the young
<ster a severe drubbing, from which 1t
would take him q long time to re-
cover.
So this, in a measure. accounts for
the many, many shifts of pitchers
that Mack made in the early part OF
the season. He realized that he had
a wealth of material at hand, from
the splendid showing of three or four
of his young pitchers in the spring
series with the Phillies, and he de-
cided upon a slow but sure process
of ripening these promising young
slabmen for future delivery. He
argued thus: "An untried pitcher
will learn more, and gain more conf
!. tience by being in one inning nine
separate games, where the situation
than he will If he were to pitch nine
consecutive innings and maybe get
u good beating besides"
,( Connie, do you ever think you
will have a man go the full nine in
hings?" anxiously asked John Shibe,
the secretary of our club, one day
about the first of May, up to which
ime he had not had pitcher go the
iull distance and win.
Connie only smiled. He was not
worrying, as we were in first place,
and going smoothly.
well, I'll give a suit of clothes to
the first fellow you put in who can
pitch a whole game" volunteered
John, apparently confident that he
! to shell out.
"All right" finally spoke Connie.
"I'll send you man to be measured
tonight"
Heuck wins suit-Almost.
AS it happened, that very day
Houck went in and pitched remark
able game against New York-in fact,
he held them to four scattered hits
~and no runs up to the ninth, and two
men had been retired, when Daniels,
VOTERS and Chase singled in quick
succession, whereupon Connie deemed
it wise to derrick Houck and substi-
tute Bender. Chief struck out Cree.
and the game was over. HoueS wa $
4 disappointed not to have been able to
& finish, but as long as we had won he
u wasn't a bit dismayed.
81 John" said he to Shibe that night,
2" ~ think ought to get a coat ana q
pair of trousers for that game. I'll
~ admit I don't deserve the vest" But
z.etill our secretary was not satisfied
81 What Causes Shift Of Pitchers.
q Naturally, the question arises:
5.What is the occasion for SO many
Z changes of pitchers? 1t often hap
pens in a close game, when pitcher
r begins to show signs of weakening
Ind the whole team is more or less
= Shaky, too, and confidence is ebbing
4 last, that the substitution Of new
pitcher, and the time consumed in
making the switch, will do much to
turn the tide and put the team on
4 Its feet again and check the run MAX
Ing Of it opponents.
kH& An Example of Mack's Methods.
IL II recall a very vivid illustration OF
this sort of jockeying which Connie
4Macl1 pulled against Cleveland one
Lay last year at Shibe Park. Houck
Mad started a game, and, given a
Recommending lead, was going nicely
until about the seventh, when a base
bn balls, followed by miscue afield.
khnd three hits in rapid succession,
out him In a bad position. To make
matters worse, jackson was at bat.
Thereupon Connie acted. First of all,
i he knew that Houck was done, and
that he must make q change i'm
rrediately to save the game Bender
Il was his best rescue man. but the
Halter needed plenty Of time to warm
LIP and was not ready, so quickly had
81 our teams advantage slumped TO no.
lEhing. Who was there, to send against
2'Jackson, Cleyeland's star Slugger? A
fhnnuhf Mould no