The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-02-16
BALL PLAYERS suPERsTITIoUs.
Giants Saw Empty Barrels and Came
Out of Slump.

AT the corner OF Broadway and
Thirty ninth street ran into Tommy
Ratty, McGraw's former business man
ager, and Arlie Latham, the old coach"
writes Bozeinan Bulger. "They were
waiting for truck heaped high with
empty barrels to pass. As the team
turned the corner two OF the barrels fell
/ of and rolled at our feet. Holy geei' ex-
claimed Ratty. If McGraw knew this
he'd bet his years salary that he would
win majority Of games from the
White Sox.' That's a cinch,' agreed
Latham, and would win, too The party
thereupon gleefully adjourned to Tom
my's Office and sent a postcard TO Japan
telling the Giant manager about the
barrels. What's it all aboutt' did you
ask.
I'm brief, to MeGraw and his players
the sight OF wagon loaded with empty
barrels means the greatest luck in the
world. In fact, it does to ball players in
general But the Giants to this day be-
lieve that they won the 1911 pennant
by seeing barrels. BY playing on that
superstition, MeGraw worked one of the
shrewdest managerial moves in his ca
reer. In 1911 when the Giants struck
their slump and the Cubs had crawled
to within four games of them there
wasn't man on the club who could hit
the ball. One day Larry Doyle came
TO the bench and declared that he had
just seen load OF empty barrels. In
some way this superstititious bunch
gave him confidence or something. At
any rate he went out and got four sim
giles that afternoon. Mcgraw, as a rule,
laughs at superstitions, but this time
he encouraged Larry, and in doing so an
idea dawned on him.
"The next afternoon Chief Meyers
reached the bench with the glad tidings
that he had seen some empty barrels and
he also began to hit with Larry. The
revival of spirit seemed to affect the
whole club. Before the week was over
nearly every player on the team had
empty barrels and the slump was over.
with that squirt they pounded
the ball for the rest of the season and |
won out with ease. TO this day, |
though, said Arlie Latham, as we were |
writing the post card, they don't know |
that Mac sent me out after the first |
day and hired that truckman to drive |
along eighth avenue every Afternoon for
an hour before the game
"And speaking of baseball supersti- |
tions, the Athletics have one all their |
own-one that came near causing them |
trouble in one of the games of the re-
cent worlds series. Those boys believe |
they can change the luck at critical |
by hurting their bats in the air |
and letting them fall where they will. |
Probably you fans have often seen |
them do it. They also believe they can
keep up their good luck by continuing !
this practice. During the first game in |
which Baker hit the home run few |
weeks ago the Athletics started tossing |
up their bats the minute that ball was
hit. As the bats came down Stuffy Nc !
lnnes couldn't get out of the way in /
time and one of them struck him on the |
ankle, causing painful bruise. He |
imped to first base and for while |
Connie Mack was afraid be couldn't go
On with the game.
Joe Tinker, who has just lost the
of the Reds, still holds in
that he got from the Cubs.
Joe believes all kinds of misfortune will
be his if he fails to give something to a
oeggar while passing. Last summer j
vas riding uptown in an English avenue
ar with him and was surprised to see I
him jump off before he got within 10 I
blocks of the Polo grounds. He was so i
anxious to make good by his new job
hat he had left the car to give 10 cents
o a blind beggar that he had seen on
he street corner. From Joe's bad luck
n Redland, it is evident that beggars
tut there must be mighty scarce.