The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-26
Development of the Pitching
Staff One of Most Important
Features of National Game
Most of Responsibility Falls to ManagerDfferent Style Of
Pitching Favored by Various Pilots
ny GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER

fidence. Nothing destroys a youngster S
confidence more than being pulled from
the mound day after day, and it also af-
fects even seasoned veteran That Is
why star pitchers of one season some
times go completely to pieces and are
unable to hold up their end the following
season, soon drifting out of the major
leagues.
NO LUCK HERE
Year after year several managers are
aided by brilliant and consistent pitch
ing. Managers who have been unable
to develop pitchers call it luck, but it is
not luck. Take the Phillies Washington
and Boston teams for an example, and
one might add the present Brooklyn
team.
Moran has proven his class as a de-
veloper of pitchers, and so has Carrigan,
Mack Stallings and Griffith, while Rob
inson aided by a few of his smart veter-
ans, has gotten great work out of pitch
ers who We're discarded by other teams.
One of the best illustrations of the fall
lacy of the claim that the construction
of pitching staff is largely matter
of luck is Carrigan's case. Leonard,
Foster Shore, Ruth and Mays all were
developed by Carrigan, not one being
with the Red Sox when they won the
American league pennant and world s
championship in 1912.
When Jake Stahl turned over the Red
Sox to Carrigan, which was recognized
as one of the most powerful in the coun-
try, and the fans insisted that Carrigan
would be helpless when the veterans
started to go back, but Wood, Collins,
Bedient, Hall and the other hurlers who
were with the pennant winning team,
have left the team, but Carrigan still
has a wonderful staff. Carrigan has de-
veloped his pitchers along his own ideas,
which have proven correct and the same
is true of Moran, Mack, Stallings and
Griffith
DEVELOPS PITCHERS
The latter always has been able to de-
velop pitchers and he has done it from
raw material, but somehow "Griff" can
not develop players for other positions.
If Washington can pick up a few first
class hitters, one for the inf1eld and one
for the outfield, the senators will be very
much in the running next season.
If the Tigers and White Sox each sud-
denly lost two star pitchers, I think it
would be years before they could replace
them, but the teams / have mentioned
will continue to have good pitching as
long as the present leader is at the
helm
Connie Mack had the greatest staff in
the country for years but broke it up
after the worlds series with the Braves
in 1914. When the present season opened,
Joe Bush was the only pitcher in the
squad with major league experience, and
the claim was made that Mack would
never be able to develop staff that com
pared with the one that carried his ia
nous team to pennants and world S
cha rnpionships but I think they have an
other guess coming.
ATHLETICS STILL LOSING
The Athletics are losing games, day
after day, and the pitchers are allowing
quite few runs, but he has five or six
youngsters with great natural ability and
when they get confidence, they will como
fast. Mack realizes that what they need
most is confidence and experience and is
allowing them to remain on the mound
no matter how hard they are batted, and
believe me, there is no better way to
learn than to be in there when the other
fellows are hitting and things are break
ing bad.
1 saw Elmer Myers work twice this
season on ofYdays. The last time I saw
him was just before we left for the west.
and while he was beaten 1 could see a
great Improvement in his work He
pitched as if he was not as strong as
early in the season, this no doubt being
due to the fact that he was worked pretty
hard. but he had better control and
seemed to know more about pitching to
batter's weakness With Bush and
Myers as headiners Mack is likely to
have a surprisingly strong staff in an
other season.
You can always count on certain man.
ayers to turn up with good pitchers just
when you least expect it, and I think
teams pitching depends almost entirely
upon the manager.
Copyright, 1916, by G. c. Alexander)