Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-03-03
John HENRY HERE;
IS IN FINE SHAPE
Picks Harry Harper to Be OF
Great Help to Nationals
This Season.
LOCALS TRAINING FARTHER
NORTH THAN ANY OTHERS
Team Has Been Getting Good Start
in Race Because of Being Ac-
customed to Cold Weather.
BY J. ED GRILLO.

John Henry. the Nationals premier
catcher, arrived in this city this morn
ing. john spent most of the winter in
Utah. but of late has been at his home
at Amherst. He is in fine shape and is
ready to begin working as soon as the
regulars start for Charlottesville Il
week from today. Henry signed his con-
tract almost Immediately after seeing
Manager Griffith.
Henry was on the allstar trip last
fall and is loud in his praise of Harry
Harper, who. he says. is a much i'm
proved pitcher.
Harper displayed control and lot
of stuff in the games he pitched on
that trip. Henry said, land | looI.
for him to be of great help to us in
the coming campaign.
The fact that the youngsters who arc
at Charlottesville have been unable to
indulge in outdoor practice to date is
not source of disappointment to Man
ager Griffith. He insists that the pitch
ers will be better off by working in
doors in inclcment weather than they
would be out in the open.
"All I want these pitchers to do ~
to toss the ball. don't want them to
pitch for week or more. Let them
due time they can begin to use some
speed. Curve pitching Will not be al
Iuwed for several weeks yet. by which
time their arms will become strength
ened for the strain.
81 am satisfied that we will have
good weather down there during the
greater part of our stay, and the play
ers now there can get themselves ready
for real strenuous outdoor work by
working twice day in the gym.
Griffith always has been an expert at
getting his pitchers in shape. He has
a system which he followed and which
slowly works the twirlers into condi-
ton. He never rushes his twlrling
but let's them take 1t slow
ly. and when it gets down to where
they pitch at top speed they are given
the rest they require the next day or
So being sent to the Outf1eld to shaG
flies and thus Keep themselves in con-
dition while resting their arms.
The Nationals this year, as for the
past four years. are training farther
north than any of the other major
league teams Staliings is taking his
Braves to Miami, Fla, the farthest
point south that any team is going.
rat Moran will be at ST. Petersburg,
while Robbie and the Brooklyn squad
will be at Daytona, and Joe Tinker at
Tampa, Jacksonville, the fifth Florida
city to be invaded by major league
club, is harboring the Athletics.
Lee Foil takes his team to New Or
leans, Fielder Jones goes to Palestine.
Tex, and Miller Higgins to San Anto-
MO Hughey Jennings and his Tigers
will be at Waxahachie, Tex; Clarence
Rowland at Mineral Wells and John
McGraw and the Giants at Marlin. Car
riSan and Callahan with the Red Sox
and Pirates. to Hot Springs. Ark, and
Hcrzog will train at Montgomery, Ala.
Il is argued in Grif1ith's favor that
his team when il starts out VIII be ac-
customed to the sort of weather that Is
apt to be prevailing in most of the
cities where the season opens, because
the players, not having been trained in
a hot climate. will not have to become
acclimated when they quit training to
go to New York and Boston, where they
play their first eight games.
Some of the teams which train in the
extreme south, where hot weather pre-
walls, get material setback when they
come north to open the season. Crit
fths team always has obtained a fair
start in the race in the spring, holding
its own with most of its rivals.