The Washington herald., 1915-02-06
GRIFFITH REFUSED TO
BUY PITCHER Shore
FOR sum OF $4,000
old Fox Turned Down Cold Jack
Dunn's Proposition Last Summer.
Now He May Be Sorry.
OTHER SPORTING COMMENT
BY WILLIAM PEET.

Ernie Shore. the big right-handed
twirIer purchased last summer from the
Baltimore club OF the International
League by the Boston Red SoX for $4,000.
was offered to Clark Griffith at these
figures, but promptly turned down.
''I am not paying fancy prices for ball
players. especially pitchers whom I have
never seen in action" is what Griff said
to Jack Dunn when the offer was made.
1t now remains to be seen whether OF
no: the Old Fox was stung when he re-
fused to part with a big bunch OF coin
for Shore.
Joe Birmingham, manager of the Cleve-
land club: Branch Hickey, of the Browns.
and Jimmy Callahan, the 1914 leader of
the Chicago White Sox, told the writer
that Boston had landed a wonder in
Ernie Shore. Hes the best pitcher the
American League has seen since Walter
johnson Joined the Nationals" is the
way Brmy talked. The others declared
that Shore looked TO have the makings
of great slabman.
II will be recalled further that Shore
faced the Nationals here during the final
trip of the Red SoX last fall and did not
last more than a few innings. The Griff-
men snapped his string of seven victories
and made him look like a bum amateur
In spite OF all this, Shore is probably
quite a pitcher. He must have a lot Of
stun or else he could not have made such
fine showing after he Joined the Carri-
gan clan.
Grif may be sorry that he did not grab
up Jack Dunn's proposition last summer
and fork over $4,000 for Shore. Time will
tell.
Cleveland baseball fans have started a
movement to make Sunday May ., the
first day on which the Athletics are there
during the coming season, "Lajoie'' Day.
The Athletics will stop in Cleveland that
DAY for one game while on their way
from Philadelphia to St Louis. It will
be the first time since 1902 that Lajoie
has appeared in Cleveland in any but a
Cleveland uniform, and the loyal rooters
wish to show their appreciation for the
great services he rendered in his four
teen years with the former Maps"
college msn are not heady ball
players" says Doc White. who is
coaching the Occidental College nine
of California II think it is because
they are afraid to take a chance"
white ought to know. He was a
college pitcher himself. and coached
Annapolis while playing with the
White Sox'
coach. They will do just what he
tells them. But the moment some
thing comes up that he hasn't told
them they are at sea.
For instance, suppose / sent a man
to bat with instructions to bunt. If
the fielders closed in on him so that
il would be death to- the runner and
him. the college player will still bunt.
He would only have to give the ball
push to send it through the infeld-
ers. But he won't do ii. When I
told him to bunt it was the thing to
do. but while he was at the plate the
other had shifted to meet it. He
doesn't change with them"
White says That college men are
the best to work with in the world.
They obey the coach and work will
ingly They don't lie down on the
job They are not human crabs"
and pull together.
They call second the keystone
sack" said white. And IL is. A
second baseman and shortstOp make
ball club. They get into more plays
than any other men on n team. I
never saw a good baseball club that
did not have strong players there.
The Athletics had Collins and
Barry The Braves Maranville and
Evers The Cubs had Tinker and
Evers. and Portland had Bancroft and
Rodgers.
"A college pitcher does not have to
be such a wonder. When / was In
college l didn't know right field bat
ter from a left. They all looked
alike to me. l Just pitched and got
by all right"