Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-03-12
BY EDDIE ZIMMERMAN
(Star Third Baseman of the Newark
baseball CIuhN

(Star Third Baseman of the Newark
Baseball Club
COLUMBUS, Ga, March f2-Spring
training is more important to a base
ball team than most people imagine.
It Is the most important stage of the
baseball season, in my opinion, and
will try to explain why 1 think this
is SO. In the first place, how often
do you see teams start off at
breakneck clip and then falter and
fall? Spring sprinters," they call
them, and they are common occur
ences In every race. In a majority
of cases the reasons for such teams
failure to hold a pace 1t sets at the
start is an improper method of spring
training. The manager either hustles
his men in getting into shape, and
they have to work off surplus weight
In too big a hurry, with the result
that the athletes constitution Is
strained, or, on the other hand. the
manager, by making spring training
a drudgery, saps up much of a ball
players valuable vitality, which he
has stored up all winter. AS soon as
the pace becomes hot that team has
nothing to fall back on, nothing in
reserve, and II soon goes to pieces.
Approves of vigorous Methods Sometimes.
! approve of vigorous training
methods in the instance where a man
reports overweight. He has to take
off flesh, but he should do II gradu-
ally and by dieting. 1 have seen
many men who try to do all of their
training on the ball field and never
count the dining table as a necessary
adjunct in getting into shape. They
figure that they have q right to enjoy
all the sweets and dainty viandsl set
before them, and then they wonder
why they have more and more trouble
each succeeding season In rounding
into form, with the ultimate end that
they reach their athletic senility much
earlier than the fellow who takes
good care of himself, particularly In
the early stages of the spring train
ing period.
Smith Has Right Idea.
Harry Smith has the right dope.
He allows the regulars to work out
pretty much as they please during
/ the first few days. just as all sue
cessful managers do. He realizes that
each man knows his individual wants
/ better than anyone else and, like
/ Connie Mack, he knows that 1t Is to
mans own interests to get into
shape He doesn't believe in twice
a-day workouts and his system Is
successful. Too much work VIII
make any man or any machine wear
out prematurely. or in athletic par
lance, ego stale"
When a ballplayer sits down to
figure it out, every year he Is able
to produce the goods in baseball
means Just so much more In hts
pocket, and If he does not take. good
care of himself on spring tr&ining
trips he is not only cheating himself.
but he is endangering his future
health and In the long run, shorten
ing his life. There are many for
mer big leaguers today who could be
drawing big salaries yet in the big
show had they taken proper care OF
themselves. Why can't every man
who has the ability at the start re-
main as long as Cy Young, Hans
Wagner, Fred Clarke and a dozen
others?
Thinks Tigers as Good as Ever.
think that the Tigers are just az
good as ever. We lose good pitcher
in Cy Barger, but If Cliff Curtiss
pitches as he can | know everything
will be O. X. We have a great twirl-
ing staff. George Bell looks great
this spring, and he will win a ma
iority of his games | figure that the
big league races will pan out some
thing like this. National, New York,
Chicago, Pittsburg or Philadelphia
and Boston; American League, Ath-
letics. Washington, Cleveland, Chi
cago or Boston. In my opinion, the
Feds have made so many changes in
the International League clubs that
it is hard to say who we will have
| to beat. ta--