Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-11-13
BASEBALL SPREADING
IN NEW TERRITORY
Send Players Overseas Where
They Will Be Appre-
ciated
A DEMAND FOR UMPIRES

If professional baseball has folded
up for the duration of the war, throw
the umpires to the lions--send them
to the American Expeditionary Force
Many are beyond draft age, and, If you
believe the players, none could pass
the sight test Send them over to
where baseball is being spread through
new territory by our fighters. with
paraphernalia furnished by, and I'M
der auspices of the Y. M. G. A., K. of
c., of the seven service organizations
in the United War Worw Campaign.
These service organizations furnish
tons of sporting apparatus, and hun
dreds of physical directors, but there
is big demand in he A. E. F. for
umpires-probably to send them to
the front line. In the army was dis
covered a mine of playing talent, but
it is very difficult matter to uncover
man who can call balls and strikes,
and get some of them right.
All of the umpiring in the games
played in France. is done by volun-
teers, which is another proof that the
courage of the American soldier knows
no bounds. The Boche will do well
to ponder this fact Anybody who will
offer to hold the indicator in con-
test played between two rival COM
pany or regimental teams, isn't going
20 mind a little thing like going over
the top. In fact, there is on record, a
case wherein a Yank ventured alone
into the German lines and whipped
half a company. When they threat
ened him with court martial for pro-
mo ing a private massacre without or
ders, he said that he had been the
official umpire of his company, and
had gone over into the Hun precincts
to get rest.
officers do good deal of the UNI
piring. Having the weight of perfect
discipline behind them, they get by
without hearing many kicks. But dis
cipline or no discipline, there is moth
ing to prevent a soldier from thinking
and sometimes the privates have apo
plexy from pent-up profanity. A bad
decision is a bad decision, whether
your colonel or your "bunkie" calls it
on you.
Contrary to the general belief, it is
rather a hard matter to umpire ball
game even moderately well. 1t can
not be done perfectly, of course, be-
cause either one team or the other,
or the rooters supporting them will
insist that the arbiter has robbed
them. 1t is distinctly harder than 1t
looks, to get even part of the de-
cisions right OF course, the crowd
in the stands doesn't think SO. At
every big league game, there are sew
eral thousand better umpires in the
stand than the two on the field. The
fans admit that they know more about
the game than the men who are paid
large salaries for running it. But the
trouble is that the crowd specializes
in theory while the boys in the blue
suits must be there with the prac ice.
Now and then confirmed batter has
a chance to demonstrate his talent for
handling a game. This priceless priv
ilege was accorded to a Detroit fan
one day when the Tigers were putting
on an exhibition contest He was very
friendly with the players and expect
ed that they would treat him with re-
spect, not to say consideration. The
awakening was rude He opera ed
from behind the pitcher, point ex-
cellently situated for hearing the COM
ments of the whole infield. Messrs.
Bush and Young. shortstop and sec
ond-baseman respectively. are par
particularly gifted young men in the
way Of spicy repartee, and they de-
cided to show the volunteer umpire a
good time.
This time the outraged batter added
to the confusion
What do you mean, striker" he bel
lowed. advancing in menacing way.