Evening star., 1914-03-10
ANOTHER COLLEGE
PITCHER IS SIGNED
Griffith Adds S. J. Collier, Uni
versity Of Georgia Man,
to His Staff.
NATIONALS BRAVE COLD TO
GET..PRACTICE ON FIELD
Work of the -Four Infelders Is Re.
markable, Despite Disadvantagous
Conditions-0ther Gossip.
BY ]. ED GRILLo.


versity of Georgia, who a year or SO
ago pitched for Georgia Tech. Collier
is said to be a big right-hander, who
has u lot of stuff. but, of course, needs
experience.
i Billy Smith, manager of the Atlanta
Southern League team, tipped Griff off
to him. 1t is said that the New York
! Giants made Collier splendid offer.
but that he did not like the idea of
i going to New York. expressing a de-
sire to plaN with Washington. Smith,
hearing this, got busy and notified Grif-
4 fifth. who has been in correspondence
with the youngster for some time. Last
night he received telegram from him
stating that he had accepted terms and
would report at once
4 Griffith now has sixteen pitchers on
his squad. yet its quality will not be
| determined until some real ball games
are played, with real batters facing
! them.
| ing field is not covered with snow and
ice, the chances are that the first game
of the season will be played with Vir-
| will use several of his young pitchers,
for the purpose of getting some sort of
a line on them.
/ If this thing of training in frigid
weather is going to accomplish anything,
IT will be to make the Nationals i'm
nlune from cold snaps during the regular
season. IT present conditions continue
the players will be fitted to play base ball
| In Alaska IN December, and wear moth
ing more than their pajamas.
| Conditions prevailing here are not more
fit for training a ball team now than
they have been at any time since the
players came. 1t is true. of course, that
the squad worked out on the ball field
! yesterday, but it remains to be seen
| whether the men benefited thereby. 1t
| was clear da1 but a wind which SEEM
ed to have been In cold storage among
the snow-capped peaks of the Blue Ridge
| swept across the field and almost froze
! one to the bone. Yet a lively practice of
an hour or more was indulged in on a
| field that was soft and wet. If pneu-
monia or some kindred aliment was
| but for base ball practice it was about
| the last place that would have been
| chosen. Yet the practice was interest
ing. During the morning: four Of the
| termed. worked out with Eddie Aim
smith behind the bat They were john
sen, Engel Cashion and Boehling. 1t
| was so cold that though all OF them kept
in constant action for fifteen minutes.
none could as much as raise sweat.
| In the afternoon both the regulars
and rockies had batting practice, Ayres
| and Mumford pitching to the regulars
| and Schartz entertaining the youngsters.
Then both ends of the squad took a
twenty minute infield practice, and.
almost frozen stiff. the players ran to the
| gymnasium to thaw out. Suggestions
that it might be policy to make arrange
| ments to continue the training at some
| point farther south. where the chances
are the weather would be more spring
| like did not meet with favor from Man
ager Griffith, who says that, no matter
| how the weather is, he Is here to stay.
and that he feels confident his players
| will be ready by the time the season
| starts, though he seems to overlook the
| fact that there is danger of their being
| disabled as result of frost-bitten hands
! and feet. Yesterdays program is to be
repeated today. though the work Is to
| be more strenuous.
| 1t is doubtful if any infield in the
history of base ball on it's first day out
and with a zero wind blowing across the
| field, ever gave SO excellent an exhibition
as did Foster, Mcbride Morgan and Can
| dill yesterday afternoon. After the play
| ers had finished a short batting practice
Griffith got his infield in position, and he
! batted grounders. Had it been midsea-
son no better exhibition of fielding could
| possibly have been witnessed. There was
not the slightest indication of lack of
condition among the four men, and some
of their feats were nothing short of
marvellous. With Ainsmith at the plate
the ball was kept in action constantly
| from one goal to the other while the
most difficult stops we're cleanly made
and the throws were mostly perfect. 1t
1 will undoubtedly be several days now be-
| fore the infield will be able to give an
other such an exhibition, for the chances
are that the muscles which have been
idle for so long will resent the strain
| by becoming stiff and sore. If Eddie
Fosters exhibition in the field yesterday
| can be taken as criterion Of the
+, game he will play this season. then
| 1t Is only fair to predict that he will
\ play the most marvellous ball of his
| career. Foster, who is enjoying perfect
| health, not only displayed, all his re-
markable ability in placing the ball with
| his bat, but he played u perfect game in
the field in practice. though this was
| the first time since last fall that he has
been on a ball field and about the third
day that he had handled base ball in
| months.
| While ball players enjoy batting prac-
/ tice, and prefer it to any other kind Of
training work. yesterdays batting period
brought with it certain hardships. With
the air cold and the hands tender after
| a long rest, "a ball had to be hit squarely
not to sting the hands, while in most in
| stances b1Sters developed from HanuIlnS
| the bats.
The two Smiths-Paul and Wally-are
Il the biggest of the squad OF rockies here
for a training trial. Incidentally. both
| seem to have had more experience than
| most of the youngsters and act more like
real ball players. Wally Smith. right
| handed hitter. has an impressive position
| at the plate. and this. too, Is true of Paul.
| who bats from the opposite side of the
| plate. Holland and Meusei, too, look as
| if they were natural hittcrs. but 1t IS
plain that Lee and Matin have 4 lot to
learn about hitting before they Will break
into fast company. Both have bad
habit of pulling away from the plate i'll
! making their swings. and that sort OF a
batter usually finds his average decidedly
low.
| Clyde Milan did SO we'll in batting prac-
tice that some of the players insist he
| has been practcing before reporting here.
As a rule in the spring even the good bat
/ ters are a bit tirnid and awkward-looking
| at the plate when facing q pitcher. Yet
Milan walked into fast ones and sent
them on line to the field. "Zeb," how
ever insists that he has not played ball
| since he left Washington last fall and
| that his early ability this spring is mere
" a forerunner of how he Is going to
lit during the regular season.
Ray Morgan became SO interested in
the infield practice that he completely
tforgot~to be cautious about throwing,