The Washington times., 1915-05-22
Greatest Player in Base
ball Sees Improvement
Ahead for National Pas
time.
BY TY COBB,

BY TY COBB,
Worlds Champion All-Round Ball
Player.
The championship races in both
big leagues so far have been un-
usually spirited. No particular club
in either organization stands out
top heavy favorite over its field, as
for some years past the Athletics
did in our circuit. No one club has
any cinch for a pennant; and BY the
same token no club can as yet be
counted out Of the fight.
Now, to my mind this is a sure
sign that a change for the better
has come over baseball. And l think
that before the season is much fur
ther advanced you will find the pen
dulum swinging back to such con-
ditions as prevailed in the old days
when every player saw nothing but
an enemy in a rival Uniform. Within
the past two or three years there
has been altogether too much hand
shaking among rival clubs. 1t is
my opinion that the general public,
when it goes to a ball game, pays
it's money to see a scrap, not love
feast.
There were many reasons why the
spirit of good fellowship was toler-
ated by managers to such a degree
that it almost became disastrous.
One was the Baseball Players Fra
ternity and another the Federal
League. The aims and motives OF
the fraternity were beyond reproach,
but, unfortunately, some Of the play
ers were true neither to fraternity
principles nor their employers. They
used the cloak of the fraternity to
cover their shortcomings just as they
used the Federal League as a shield
to evade customary discipline.
In the first year OF it's fight with the
Federal League. organized baseball was
put SO much on the defensive that 1t
swallowed its pride and stood for a lot
a well-known fact that last season
there was little or no discipline any
where in the major or In the FEDERAL
LEAGUES Players whose usefulness was
waning had been able to secure binding
term contracts. and they were not par
ticular to conceal In their playing their
indifference as to whether school kept
or not. In other words. they made no
effort to give their employers the best
that YVES In them. And as for the rank
and file of organized baseball. they kept
In view the prospective haven OF the
Federal League in case of possible repri-
sal.
Today, the Federal League no longer
looms as the promised land OF baseball.
I have talked with many Of the deca-
dent stars Of former American League
triumphs who are now associated with
the Gilmore ring, and none OF them Is
Impressed with the future of the outlaw
cause. The independents met with dis
NAL financial failure when the enter
prise had novelty at least to commend
H. Now that novelty has worn off. I
| am told. Nowhere is the Federal cause
drawing we'll enough to provide more
| than a small part % operating expenses,
And no class OF basel ais followers has
appreciated this fact so readily as the
ball players themselves
The most telling blow landed against
the Federal League was the last worlds
| series. In the excitement over this an
| nual classic the campaign OF the inde-
pendents was entirely forgotten. Many
OF the leading dailies didn't even give
| the outlaws an agate line on their late
| closing games And then, again. the
| rival cause was damaged by failure 10
hold such stars as Walter Johnson, Raw
| aldwen Ivy WinEo. Poll Per-itt. and
| others who had been enticcd away tenn
pOrarily as part of the plan of a serious
| raid. The players faith in the Federal
League ~Is further damaged hy the re-