The Washington herald., 1914-02-16
Griff's Young Players
To Report This Week
Advance Squad Will Be in Charlottesville One Week
from Today-Other Timely Sport Gossip
and Comment.
by WILLIAM pEET.

One week from today the advance
guard of the Washington Baseball Club
will be in Charlottesville ready to start
the painful process of eliminating throw
ing muscle kinks, reducing weight In
some cases and building up in others
Headed by Jack Ryan. coach and scout.
Trainer Mike Martin. who put Cherry
dale, Va, on the map. dozen or SO
pitchers including several veterans, TO-
gether with outielders Shanks and
Acosta and Catchers Ainsmith ana
Henry. the players will take to the field
Tuesday morning, February "a. weather
permitting. IS
The work of the young pitchers. Jack
Bentley, Jim Shaw, Doc Ayres, Williams,
and others will be watched with more
than passing interest To the average
fan training camp gossip which pertains
to the pitching candidates is eagerly
deyoured There is always the chance
that a second Walter Johnson or Christy
Matthewson will be uncovered.
With Bob Groom a possible deserter,
the task of developing a man to take
his place is more of a task than most
of us realize, and Grifith himself will
likely spend lot of time watching the
recruit fingers. and sizing them up.
1t hardly seems moro than few weeks
ngo that the Giants and Athletics were
here the 1914 season will be ushered in
this week.
During a baseball campaign, the sew
eral teams which comprise the big
leagues are allowed a total Of twenty
five players. Some manage to finish the
season with a fewer number of athletes
while others are anxious to have the
limit increased, so that they may be
fortified against injury to stars and other
causes which would tend to reduce the
playing strength of the team.
Last year the worlds series entrants
had twenty-five and twenty-three play
ers respectively, and everybody knows
that the managers of the teams in ques-
ton were well pleased with the array of
talent each had at his command. Connie
Mack. especially, was not in need Of any
substitutes, as his feat of going through
an entire worlds series without a sub
stitution will attest
But, instead of presenting the teams
as they are now constituted to take part
in the worlds series after the close OF
the championship season, suppose the
leagues were to pick a list of the best
players from each league, as regards
their hitting only, and let Ii be sttpu-
lated that not more than one player with
the same letter gracing the start Of his
name could be chosen for the honor or
playing on this so-called alphabetical
team, which. team, or rather, which
league do you think would have the call!
From a perusal Of the records of each
league the interesting fact is CLEANED
that in each league the same letters of
the alphabet are without representation.
This would make each team carry the
same number of players, and how many
do you suppose each team would have!
Four letters only. are not represented
in the big leagues, by the baseball boys.
Those which have been slighted are the
Is, as, us, and Ks. Every other letter
has one or more representatives, and
some, notably the ms have enough for
several teams.
The following choices. which have been
picked from the batting records Of each
league, name the man highest in each
alphabetical division. A team, not only
of great hitting powers could be put on
the field from these selection, but the
players picked are these who could be
moulded into a great team from a de-
fensive standpoint.
For instance, the American Leaguers
could line up with Cobb, Speaker, and
Jackson in the outfield, with Mc1nnes,
Lajoie, Baker, and Derrick in the infield,
with such substitutes as Henriksen, Pratt,
1erkes, ana Zeloer on the Dench. FOR
catchers the American Leaguers would
have to worry along with O'Neill,
Thomas, and Nunamaker. 1t Is in the
pitching department alone. that the Ban
johnson charges would be weak, Ray
Fisher, of the Yankees. being the only
finger to qualify at the head of mis-
class.
The National Leaguers would have
pretty sweet team also. Daubert, Viox,
Tinker. and Mcdonald, would cover the
inner works, with an extra infield COM
posed of Konechy, Evers, Fletcher, and
Zimmerman sitting on the bench for re-
lief duty. Their catching staff would
consist of only one man, Tom Needham.
In the matter of pitchers, they would
outshine the American Leaguefs, having
Adams. Rucker, and Yingling to fall back
on To cover the garden pastures. Cra-
Vath. Oakes, Paskert. Walsh, Hyatt, and
Brown would be available.
Taking the different portions of the
team which can be compared, the Ameri-
can League would have the best hitting
outfield, for Cobb. Speaker, and jackson,
have a combined average OF .S7S. The
best the National Leaguers could do to
rival this would be, Cravath, Drummond.
Brown. and Walsh, who can muster a
mark of .356
Infield honors would go to the Ma