Evening journal., 1915-01-04
HUNNEL TEN Years
With THE DODGERS
May Quit This Year to Be-
come a InternatiOnalT cam
Manager
ON WILMINGTON
A. A. YEARS AGO

Ten years ago John Hummel, the
former Wilmington A. A. favorite join
ed the Brooklyn Club. and has been
there since. Next season he may be
with Brooklyn, he may manage a club
in the International League and then
again the Feds may land him. The
Feds have been after him, but have
been given no definite amount of en-
couragement, for John wants to see
just what use the Brooklyn Club in
tends to make of him. He isn't say
ing much about the 1915 season, for he
is Silent John, and If he was any
I thing other than Silent John he
would have been bounced out of games
more than twice in his ten years in
/ the National League.
| An introduction to Hummel as a
! Connecticut Lacquer is probably no
more necessary to fans of this sec
tion than a review of his career with
! Brooklyn. Most fans know that he
has played practically every position
| except pitcher and catcher for Brook
| lyn, and when he was up in Holyoke
he took a shot at five or six positions
| during the 1905 season. His fine bat
ting eye has always brought him into
prominence. for he certainly always
could spot the ball coming, and lar
rup it away to the distant fences.
He does not feel that he is going
back a bit, for as he says himself;
my eye is as good as ever and that's
where it hits you first when you start
to 20 back. Let your eye go back
| &c IN fhA min
with you and out of the game, My
arm was never better. / felt just as
good as I did years ago and nothing
can make me believe that | haven't a
few years of good baseball left in
me-" But of course, the Brooklyn club
cannot view Hummels future so op-
timistically. and it is undoubtedly
planning not to use him as a regular
the coming season. though Brooklyn
appreciates what he has done for the
club and intends to place him right
For that reason Hummel appears to
be in for a fine job as manager of a
minor league
Hummel would rather play first
base than any other position but of
course he does not have the say. He
has been used as a utility man, and
as such has proved one of the most
| valuable men ever in the big leagues.
For a spell the past season he led the
league in batting, which is pretty good
for an old boy. and wound up with
an average of POI, which is certainly
good mark. Strange TO say, with
his fine batting eye he never reached
the 800 mark in the National League,
! though one season he was just nine
points away.
The two occasions when he was
| bounced out of the game for "beefing"
| came when he was captain of the
Dodgers. Once he kicked on a deci-
son and Umpire KLEIN. another Con-
necticut League graduate. heaved him
to the bench for the rest of the day.
Later in the same season he would
argue with Umpire JOhnstone over a
play at one of the bases, and for that
he was squclched. No wonder they
call him Silent John When he was
in Holyoke he was playing ball all the
time and never bothered the umpire.
John would never do on the vaude-
Vile stage, for he is too quiet for that.
Asked why he did not break in with
sketch. he merely smiled and said,
M
His AIl-NatiOnal Team.
But he did agree to break away from
his silence and pick an All-National
team. and he did this with the under
standing that the team would have
nine men only. In his own words he
says: I'D pick Rudolph of Boston for
pitcher, Archer of Chicago for catcher
J Daubert of Brooklyn for first base
Evers of Boston for second, Maranville
for short, Zimmerman of Chicago for
third. and in the outfield, Wheat OF
Brooklyn for left, Leach of Chicago
for centre and Burns Of New York fol
right field" This team is interesting
in more ways than one. and especially
because that grand old veteran, Tom
my Leach, is given a place.
"Who are the pitchers hardest to
hit in the National League, John"
And he replied: Gee. there's a
bunch of them. But Alexander of the
Phillies is the hardest of them all
When he has that side-arm fast ball
working he'll give me more trouble
than any of the rest. and there are a
lot of others who'll say the same thing
if they own up. Then there's Christy
Mathewson. Got good head on him
8 You can always rely on Matty. Tes-
r, reau is good when his splitter is work
/ ing-all those spitball pitchers are
. good when the balls breaking right
James and Rudolph of Boston are both
+ good: so is Doak of st. Louis, and
there's none of them got anything on
4 Pfeffer. one of our new men"
e Times DO Change.
Hummel was asked if he noticed any
{ difference between players of today
and of the time he went to the biz
C show. after the fall of 1905. He re
piled he did, and continued. "Ther
e there were lot of rough-necks in the
game. ana booze went to a certain ex
- tent. But there's no chance for Z
boOzer these days-not only because
they watch you too closely, but the
player. if he has any head on him a
j all and wants to stay in the game
IS realizes that baseball and booze dc
$ not go together.
u The game offers good money, ant
J. so many college men have broken in
l. to the big leagues that the standins
3 has been raised and ball players ar,
d a gentlemanly lot of fellows. Tn,
7; coming of the college fellows has ais,
'e lessened the chance for the plavel
e. who boozes. and you'll find ball play
\ ers today about as clean in tha
Is respect as you'll find in an,
Il group of men,"
Applause never worries Hummel