The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-12-23
BUSH LEAGUE STARS
To GET attention
OF Baseball Leaders Leaves
Room for Sandlot Eavorites i'm
the Major Organizations
CHANCES RARE IN PAST
pcrts-StsIer and Hornsby Arc Exs
captions to Rule.

Z
major leagues next summer than he
has ever had in the history of base-
ball. A big change ia gradually COM
ling over the major league players In
regard to military and naval services,
! and, as a class, the players do not pro-
! pose to be regarded. as slackers. They
have been backward about enlisting,
! but in measure this has been the
fault of the club owners, who have
advised many OF the players against
enlistinE because, UP to the time that
President Ban Johnson SO undiplo- /
matically preached the subject, some
OF these club owners really believed
that the government would exempt
the ball players. They failed to real-
ize just what effect such an unratrf-
, otto proposition would have on snA
baseball fans,
Since such players as Alexander.
Speaker and Collins have expressed
their willin gness, and the fact thaS
baseball players are Joining the colors
every day, there is going to be an
unusual opportunity for young play
ers from the minors next season.
/ Many baseball star dazzles unseen In
the minor leagues. Although big
league scouts scour the bushes every
year for talent, scouts, like every on0 !,
else, make mistakes, and make some
bad ones they pick: few know about
promising baseball talent which is al
together overlooked.
According to the most experienced
baseball men, there Is plenty of prcm-
Using talent in the minors II these
players only had a chance. They Will
get a chance next season on account
of the war conditions such as they
have never had before. The differ
ence between smart bush league
player and the average minor lacquer
is not so great as ia usually supposed.
Natural baseball ability is displayed
by youths when they are mere boys.
even before they reach the minor
leagues In fact, there are hundreds
of amateur players In every part OF
Ithe country who need only some ma
jor league experience to fit them for
high class service.
Sister Natural Player.
/ Natural ability in batting and rum
ming the bases are assets of ball
lpIayer which experience and COACH
ling alone cannot give him Take
player from the bushes who can nit
the ball and run the bases and sill
I that he needs when he goes mp to the
major leagues is to have the rough
spots on his playing smoothed of.
George Sisler. the young star OF the
4 st Louis Browns, for whom Colonel
4 Rupqert< or the Yankees made big
offer is an instance of boy who had
the necessary talent from the time no
was a school lad. When he was In
high school Sister was playing sensa- 4
tional ball around Barberton and
4 Akran o. He was a great kid pitch
er. slapped the ball out from a slug
ging position and ran wild on the
bases He had the stuff In him from
the start. All that he needed was the
chance. -
\ when he was at the University OF
Michigan Sisler exhibited the same
sensational playing ability. Branch
Rickey wasn't slow to see that this
rough diamond could soon be polished
into rare gem. When he Joined the
big league Sisler perhaps didn't know
much about inside baseball. but he
had the furda mentais of great play Il
err. and ne made good just as soon
as he had the opportunity.
4 There are so many fine young BAH
players in this country who have nsv-
Ter been seen by professional baseball
scouts or managers that all the taiE
fabout baseball being ruined pscauea
many OF the regular players VIII he j
taken bv the draft sounds ridiculous 4
Dozens of instances may be recalled
OF bush leaguers who went to seed
simply because they got into rut IN
the minors and never broadened OUT
Many a ball player has been chosen
from minor league club to go into
the majors, while one of his team
mates who was a much superior BAN
player has been overlooked. If such
a bush leaguer has been called to thu
attention of scout and the scout
happens to drop In on day when the
lyoungster has an off day he brands
him as no good, and that is the last
opportunity he evr gets,
Owners Prepared for Poor Year.
I The major league club owners see
the handwriting on the wall, and they
have already started to turn loose high
salaried players who may be drafted
before next season. BY this plan of
action they show that they anticipate
that they viii lose more OF their best
players than they are willing to admit
Just as soon as the major league play
ers realize that the average baseball
fan will regard them as slackers. II
means that their patriotism and prtde
will be touched, and the first tht7y
the club owners know their ranks VIII Z
he thinned out and they win so chas-
ing around looking for young taien..
Here Is where the chance OF the
l"phenoms" from White River Junc-
zion. Kokomo, Red Hat. wappingers
Falls. and numerous other places VIII
come In, There are so many gr0d 3
t''kid" players At large on the sandiots
I'm this country that there Is certain
to be a percentage OF them who viii
make good I'm the major leagues. ~
cali for bush league stars would bring
forth 80 many candidates that IL would q
take a whole season 70 eliminate the
unsuccessful
Rogers Hornnby, of the nj. Inuin Y
Cardinals, who is the most promising
yaungmter who has broken toto ths
htU IN il long ffnAG TAEeuf4X