Evening star., 1915-02-21

world When you
S 49, ~ .aaL believe you have
Iarded the one best bet, it often de-
yeIops that some one has slipped you
th,. BOBBY prize. When it appears that
you have picked nothing out of the
ordinary it often turns out that you
IRE ;h. rossessor of very rare species
oi the base ball family.
lot of clubs were touted on the
srest Waiter Johnson. The Washing
ton club had tip on the younsster
ions. before il was exercised. Perhaps
1. broken finger, rendering Catcher
I;;,.-ke kensnip unfit for service. is what
caused the Washington club TO Obtain
one of the greatest peaches ever
5,luciSeQ in the base ball orchard Since
Walter has become famous. any num-
l,.r OF owners have been frank enough
10 admit that they had received letters
bout Johnson's great ability. Per-
l,aps the greatest knock Johnson re-
,elvel was the contents of most of the
t.ttors which painted Johnson as a
wonder, who had an off day when he
struck out less than dozen, ana VINO
was not in his best form when ne 1ali-
a.! TO shut out the opposition. SO
glowing were most of the reports sent
out from the west that in a number OF
the UISSiNsS received liltic iiIoi
consideration than a smile owners ana
managers receive hundreds of such let
Iers every year; to pay attention TO al
of them would probably bankrupt the
club In most cases the players touted
have no more chance to stick than
SNOWFALL in August. This is perhaps
the best reason that could be offered
Tor the, failure every now and then OF
q number of wise base ball men 10
ursarth some star in the rough.
George Stallings, master judge of
ban pls.yers. says he regards Maran-
Vile one of the greatest infielders In
the history of the game Yet several
clubs had chances to get this star
pinyer before Boston obtained him
Ore club had practically agreed to 'ake
The yourgster. but before closing the
deal decided il would be q wise move
to have its ciiicf scout look him over
thoroughly one Of the clubs scouts
believed il the best policy to have his
most trusted lieutenant pass hnal
judgment. After looking over the
younsster for three or four days the
chief scout reported unfavorably, and
The deal was called OIL
Was Passed Up.
"Snappy player. but entirely too
small and light 10 stand the wear and
tear OF the majors. VIII he lucky il
he hits his weight in the big league
That is the report a scout regarded
as n wise base ball man. rendered on
Nsranville-~ When one considers that
Marai3viIle weighs very little. it can
be readily seen that he didn't regard
his batting ability very highly Maran-
vi11e's wonderful work with Boston
has certainly been an awful knock to
said scout. Benny Kauff. repeatedly
passed up by the scouts while in the
minors. was the Ty Cobb of the Fed
eral League last year. Scores of high
IL touted outfelders were given the
preference over kauf when in the
minors, yet a majority OF then, failed
Kauf. who received little or no con-
sideration. when given chance,
proved 20 be a real star
There is no denying the judgment
of john j. McGraw, the justly famed
manager of the New York Giants. Nc
Graw doesn't make many slips when 1t
comes TO passing final Judgment on
player Yet two Of the players who are
now being touted as the creates III
tie game were once under McGra"
direction. These players were not with
New York only few weeks, but en-
joyed long stays with the Giants. so
that McGraw had q good chance 10 look
them over carefully. He didn't pass
snap judgment, but considered them
trials he decided that Catcher Gowdy
and Pitcher Dick Rudolph were just
irifie shy the major league standard
Proved Stars for Stal1ings.
rs members OF the Boston club,
Gowdy. by his great catching, and Ru-
dolph by mis- brilliant pitching, greatly
aided in the wonderful showing made
by thai club Rudolph was known as
q groove ball' pitcher when with New
York, as a member Of the Boston club
he was credited with being one of the
brainiest pitchers in the business.
ranking second to MaIhewson only.
HcGraw after working hard with
Gowdv cut loose from the big fellow.
only TO nave him be the big noise with
SlaIijngs. Mctiraw had gambled with
Rudolph and Gowdy, figured they
couldn't win and threw them into the
discarded. only to have Stallings get them
on the new shuttle and see thai gentle
man make them win.
Ping Eodie came 10 the Chicago
~ mite Sox with the reputation for
being q fence buster. Larry Chappelle.
The sensation OF the American Associa-
tioa. was bought by CoIniskey for =
t-Ucy price. Advance notices made
both these players strong additions to
the club. Neither one has ever won il
regular berth John Collins came TO
Comiskey without any fireworks at
;ached. When he joined the club some
cG the critics feared he wouldn't do.