Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-05
GANDlL NOT ONE OF
BEST, PAID PLAYERS
ON WASHINGTON TEAM
Continued from First Page.)
tlally the first year that either Judge
or Jamison played professional ball.

The Base Ball Magazine issue insists
averages needs a complete overhauling
At present the system merely gives
the comparative number or times
player makes a hit without paying
any attention to the hit ITSELF Home
runs and scratch singles are all classed
alike. whereas everybody knows that
one is vastly more important than
the other. The result is the records
are grossly misleading.
John Heydler, one of the best base
ball statisticians in the game, Is quoted
as saying: II admit that the system OF
giving as much credit to singles as
home runs is inaccurate to an extent,
but it never has seemed feasible to
use any other system. How. for in
stance, are you going to give the COM
parative value of home runs and sin
giles"
Besides. it is fact that the runs
tied to the players in the present sys-
tenn of compiling batting records.
Ernest Lanigan. however. keeps tab on
them and gets out special taoies CIV
ing these facts The Base Ball Maya
zine does not claim that an entirely
comprehensive system can be devised
and if this is the case it would seem
that little can be accomplished
though it might be policy to snow IN
every box score which hits were pro-
with productive hitting points In
another column of the averages.
When the two major leagues get we'll
under way there are two managers
who may come to the conclusion they
have overestimated the caliber or the
players they retained from the Fsos5a.
League. These managers are FREEZER
Jones of the st. Louis Browns ana joe
Tinker of the Cubs. Both OF these
leaders of merged teams have given the
preference to the players who were
with them in the Federal circul. las.
season. In doing this they evidently
have discounted the fact that the Fed,
nraI League used a very lively bali
and incidentally could not boast OF the
class of pitchers that were performing
in the two major leagues
When the Federal PLAYERS set GEE Up tp
do some tumbling in the avera ees. ana
then If is that both Jones and Tinker
are likely to attempt TO MI Some ol
their places with players VINO were IN
the big leagues IN the Isis campo ~.
the players who were called stars IN
the defunct league during the season OF
1918 will be successful in the major
leagues this year Entirely dinerent
conditions will obtain. and it remains
to be seen how much the teams which
have relied on strengthening their
forces by the Federal League route
have been benefited.
It may be that the cutting of salaries
and the probable dropping of several
of the Boston Red Sox players VIII not
effect that teams showing In the COM
ing campaign. yet under such condi-
tions a championship team o1ten as
nIavs remarkable reversal of form.
The fact that the Red Sox were too
literally paid last season will not be
taken into consideration by the players
involved. They are likely to lose some
feet their general playing. One essen
tial in the makeup of a winning ball
team is harmony in the ranks. and
there is not a single instance on record
where ball team which has had its
saIaries cut has ever shown its former
enthusiasm.
II is true several teams in the Amer
ican League seem to have been great
lv strengthened, and while this proba-
bly is true of New York and perhaps
ST. Louis, it remains to be seen if eth
er the White Sox or Tigers will prove
more formidable than they were. In
the first place 1t IL not easy to see
where the White Sox have been vastly
imnroyed There still are two weak
spots on the team-at third and first
and so far as the Tigers are concerned.
Jennings must have a better outfit of
pitchers in order to have the proper
amount of defensive strength.
Fourier, Of course. is great bat
ter, but he is so far from being a good
first baseman that his fielding blum
ders will come pretty near to offsetting
his hitting.
It is taken for granted that Joe
jackson, Eddie Murphy and J. Collins
will play the outfleld. Collins is the
only one who can be rated as a fair
fielder. The other pair are not sure
fy catchers.
In the National League there are sure
to be some surprises. The Phi1lies are
not liLeIy tn reneat hecause the taan,