The Washington herald., 1917-11-02
FANS SHOULD LIFT
HAMMERS OFF GRIFF
|Old Fox Must Develop Players as
Club Cannot Pay Market
Price for Them.
By JOHN A DUGAN.

By JOHN A DUGAN.
II Is canning season" in baseball
ranks for major and minor league
pilots.
Bill Donovan was the first to get the
blue slip. while Huggins jumped the
| Cardinals to grab OF Smiling BIll's"
Job with the New York Yankees.
Dame Rumor claims that Fielder
Jones will also step down and out in
the Mound City while there is a lot
Of talk floating around across the East
River that Wilbur Robinson may Join
the Donovan ranks.
Each year in the old stove league
the fans and writers hand out slams
at the nonsuccessful managers. Even
at this early date in the winter base
ball league, the slams have already
started in the direction Of Clark e.
Griffith. manager of the local Ameri-
can League Club.
There is no foundation in local fan
dom for the use of the hammer on
Clark Griffith as he has done every
thing. and a little bit more, that any
human being can do and could do
under the conditions with which he
must work.
The Washington ball club is not a
/ I'll Oli-s anu Nlc
the game here cannot pay big prices
for ball players like those in most OF
the other American League cities
Griff is forced to develop his players.
and in juggling this big problem, the
Old Fox has pulled a few stunts that
look like blunders to the fans.
But it was Griff who put Washing
ton on the baseball map in the Amer
lean League and It will be the same
Grin who will sooner or later be idol
lied by local fandom for putting the
Nationals in a world series. War
conditions have made II hard going
for all clubs in organized baseball.
and the Nationals have not been any
exception to the rule as Grif, last
season, was forced to turn back a
| few promising youngsters because of
tho financial pressure which the big
ger game ''over there" made on the
| local club.
1t is not a case OF "wait until next
year." as Griff's hurting stafr ranks
among the best in the country and II
he can keep this intact, and develop
few hard-hitting youngsters In both
| the outfield and infield. il will not
be many years before the Nationals
will be right up there in the running
and sooner or later, let's hope, a pen
nant.
Clark Griffith IS looked upon in the
ranks of baseball as being the hardest
luck major league pilot that ever
STEPPED into the national pastime. In
Grif's long history in baseball he
has put over but one pennant win
ner. this being the Chicago White
Sox back In 1901 when the American
League was warning the National cir
cult. This time Griff was robbed OF
the opportunity Of placing his team
in the big title classic as no world
series was held.
1t is a well known story as how
Jack Chesbro, the famous spit-ball
hurler wild-pitched GrifT and the New
York club out OF the American League
pennant and chance to meet the world
SERIES
The Old Fox has cause TO kick, in
Just missing the world series on two
occasions and in a tanning bee the
other day he handed out the follow
ing in explaining the circumstances:
IT have always felt that l got rob-
bed of my share OF the world series
by circumstances and a wild pitch.
First, take a slant at the circum-
1HdN was away DdNh III 4s'A
when the American league was fight
ing tooth and nail with the National
for equal recognition. 1 was with
Charles Comiskey then, and manager
of his club. And 1 pulled them
through a winner. But what good
did it do? We were fighting the Ma
tional league. making faces at each
other, and they wouldn't play us any
more than We would play them Isn't
that a bitter pill? To win the first
pennant in this old circuit, in a year
when there wasn't any series.
$50 much for circumstances. /
guess you all remember the wild
pitch. I will never forget II myself.
was managing the Yankees and It
looked as though we had the flag nail
ed to the mast. l was beginning to
turn over in my mind how I would
work my pitching stan in the big
games, when Chesbro uncorked a wild
pitch and it was all over but the
shouting. Yes, when that splitter came
shooting over the catcher's head and
caromed off the grand stand wall l
saw my little day dream dissolve in
smoke. It's tough luck TO come with
in one wild pitch of a pennant and
then have II slip through your fin
gers. But that's what happened to
me-"
Bill Klein Is glad the baseball sea-
son is over, for now he can give most