Evening star., 1917-09-18
BILL DONOVAN TO TRY
IRON HAND ON YANKEES
After Playing Part of easy Boss"
for Three Years Wild William
Wakes Up.

| For almost three years, or ever since
he became manager of the New York
club, Wild Bill Donovan has been the
most tolerant boss In the American
League. writes Harry Schumacher in
the New York Globe. His players have
enjoyed a greater measure of personal
liberty than the athletes of anv other
outfit in the Johnson circuit and have
peen hampered less by disciplinary
rules and regulations. Beyond insisting
that every pastimer be in bed by mid
night and on the field the following aft
ernoon in time and in condition to in
dulse IN the customary preliminary
practice, Bill has never enforced a
recognized training routine.
But times are changing. and with them
the Yankee mogul's disposition. All
other means of stirring his bail club
INTO winning furore having failed.
Wild William is about to call the well
known iron hand into action, and will
subject his performers to a more Or less
rigid discipline. He will employ no
spies, except in the case of one some
times errant slabster, who is under sur
Velliance pretty much most of the time
anyhow. He will not compel the lads
to spend all their idle moments within
hailing distance of the managerial
headquarters. nor will he banish the he
cigarette or the occasional foamine
beaker.
Up by 9 O'Clock.
One thing he will insist upon, how
ever, and that is that every PLAYER on
the club be ready for breakfast before
9 am Heretofore the athletes have
been privileged to sleep as long as thew
liked, and most OF them have INDUCED
in the privilege to the utmost. Frank
Baker is always out of the hay by a
O'Clock, and so was Angel Aragon when
ne was Yankee, but practically all of
the others have been late risers Dono-
van Is not himself addicted to the up
with the lark stuff. but he has con-
ceived the notion that when they daily
In the feathers until 10 or II the yam
KEGS allow themselves too little time In
Which to become really awakened He
imagfnes If they can be routed out of
their downy couches by s o'clock they
should come up to the firing line with
an tneir faculties in brisk working or
der and start playing base ball in the
hrst inning instead of the eighth or
ninth. He attributes their exceptional
successes in extra inning games this
year to the fact that along about the
tenth or eleventh inning they finally
get the sand out of their eyes and begin
TO take a personal interest in what is
going on around them.
There may be something In Bills line
of reasoning. It is certain that for a |
long time now the Yankees have been
anything but the snappy, gingery. ever
alert performers that ball club must |
be in the American League If it is ever
TO get anywhere. There was a time |
earlier in the season when they ran
around looking for chances TO null
o. fn
my's schemes and stratagems. but their
recent history has been Just one con-
tlnuous story of neglected opportuni- |
ties and somnambulistic thinking.
Wanted to Hit to Left.
This failing has been especially no.
tceable in the cases of two of the most
celebrated batters on the club. About |
SIX or seven weeks ago these gallant |
warriors were overcome by the notion |
that they could boost their batting
averages about fifty points each If they
cou!d send more of their hits into leful
held. Natural right field hitters. they
inquired that the opposition would con-
tinue forever to play them as they all
ways had been played The charm
worked beautifully for a while. but
after a couple of weeks something
went wrong. When the pitchers on
rival clubs discovered what our noble
heroes were up to they started pitch
,hs ing OUTSIDE to them, and both have
been slumping horribly ever since. Yet
they are still trying to hit to left
This mania for left field hitting has
gone so far that stages and conditions
seem TO bother our heroes not at all |
In an especially important game not
long ago. played in a city with a com
paratively short right field. one of
them came to bat with runner on
hrst base and one out. Then, If ever. /
was the time for a hit to right Instead
OF which this great star tried desper-
ately to pole one to left and was
finally retired a foul fly or some-
thing equally useless. Similar Instances
could be cited from at least n dozen
games played since then.
When the Red SoS were ridino caoro.I