The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-09

and Bobby Byrne one day nearly made me upset boat while we were out fish ing. Byrne, sitting in the bow of the boat, was pairing an apple I was at the stern, holding the rod, and Bobby and Dots were kidding. Holding up the dangling apple peelings before Miller's face. Bobby exclaimed in mock dramatic tones:
 "Once more I ap-peel to you"
 "Ohw retorted Miller in la Henry Irving, his four fingers in his waistcoat, there is nothing in your ap-peel."
 The line almost slipped from my grasp and I fell on the bow The boat nearly upset under my weight. and so far as those two crazy punsters were concerned I did not care. A man has to stand for lot in this world.
 PASSING OF STARS
 The big trade with St. Louis in De- cember. 1913, the passing of Donlin and the release of Mensor, robbed the club of many rich cards. I might also add the retirement of Clarke although Calla- han is about as irrepressible fun-maker as there is in the game.
 Nothing made Clarke more wrothy than wildness of his pitchers. One day On the Pirate bench someone remarked that if they were all Sheckards and Hug ginses, the Pirate staff might get con- trol. Scoops Carey remarked that Jim Sheckard had drawn Al bases on balls in 1910
 Yes yelled Clarke, and I'll bet a hat he made 100 off our pitchers"
 About that time the groundkeeper came along and examined a wooden post at one end of the concrete bench. It had been hacked and chopped into an un- slightly shape by nervous bats.
 MT. Clarke asked the groundkeeper politely, "can ye tell me how that post got in such conditionT'
 Why, yes," replied Clarke. Every time these pitchers give base on balls bite a chunk out of it.
 Fred's remark about taking bite out of wooden post recalls Ham Hyatt s description of batting in the pinches, Old Ham is gone from the big league. but there is many a memory of his long swats when others couldn't hit. On April 27 1912, Pittsburg scored B runs and made 27 hits off Pitchers Fromme, Trough and Eorsey of the Reds. Nine Pirates off ciated in the contest and about IS for the Reds. After the game Ham was dressed early. Walking up street, his meerschaum posed like a poets, Ham was accosted by fan, who said:
 ''Well. Ham, too bad you did not get in on that melon cutting
 
 the big pitch artist, drawing the pipe from his mouth. They don't give me anything soft and it's only when there's a piece of iron to bite on that I get a look-in."
 ROBINSON A MEMBER
 Rube Robinson was another of the droll Pirate forces One day he pulled the old 'Reb'' Russell stunt on Frank Kafora. With the Cardinals having the bases full and no one out Bobby went into relieve another pitcher in the ninth Kafora took his mask under his arm and started with authority for the box. Bobby waved him back. Kafora stopped in his tracks and again made for the Arkansan to whisper some instructions in his ear.
 Get back, thar" ordered Robinson, "whar ye belong"
 "All right, you big head" sneered Ka- fora, take your medicine
 The tall chap from Arkansas famed the first man. caused the second to foul out and struck out the third, ending the game. As they were passing through the gates under the grandstand, Bobby put his arm affectionatey around Ka- fora's shoulder and asked
 What was it ye were goin' to say tu me jest then?'
 Durig the three-year baseball warfare many good players have passed out of IIldJOr fledSu0 0XlSIeuCo. A IeW wei known faces will be seen back on Amer ican and National league diamonds. I look for a strengthening of the majority of the 16 clubs, and I don't think that any one will be impaired or feel the ef- feet of any loss of talent incurred two or three years ago.
 It Is in pitching where both leagues will be most strengthened. The influx of old and young good ones from the Feds will mean good pitching every day. The Feds did not have any great quantity of fine players and pitchers, but enough came to the two majors as the spells of war to bolster the staffs of many clubs.
 LETTERS MAY DECLINE
 As to a general decline in hitting be- cause of the influx of pitchers. no one can tell. Only good pitchers take their turn and all pitchers are hit normally. But with three leagues protesting them selves majors the demand for good pitch CTS exceeded the supply.
 It certainly was a great year when clubs could go into the market and fill the positions left vacant or poorly filled, instead of depending on youngsters from the minor league marts. This makes the coming race such complex problem that it is folly to speculate until it is seen what the effect of two and three years on the part of ball players has been in the Federal league. Perhaps they are not in the class with men who have de- veloped in positions that the jumpers left vacant. It is best to wait and see, but