Evening star., 1919-03-25

gobbied up ali manner of half hops ant
twisters with surprisin" speed ant
the nonchalance of real big le3guel
and pegged across the diamond Will
a follow through motion that seemed
to require no effort The helmsmaI
readily admitted that the nice thing:
printed about Davis natural ability
were not one whit oVerdrawn.
THE kid has speed. fine pair o.
hands, arc best ut I'll, .,r.!Fi-y. He
seems to be all Isbell assured me HI
was" Griff added. He will need some
of play in regular game. but if he
shows aptitude 10 aosrrh Coaching =
and demonstrates that he can thinl
fast there is no question but that hs
has a great future. He stands up wei
at the plate. takes a healthy cut a.
the ball and can hit it surprisingly
hard for chap of his size. He is a,
promising a looking youngster as
have seen breaking in for years"
Griffith has divided his players into
two squads. The first. which includes
Pitchers Johnson. Harper. Altrock
Craft and Lynch. Infielders Mcbride
Davis, Brown and Ellerbe. and Horace
Milan, works out from 10 to l in the
morning and from 1:30 to 2:30 in the
afternoon. From II o'clock until noon
cation holds forth. 1t embraces
Judge. Foster. Shanks and Leonard
infielders; Milan. Rice and Shannon,
outfielders; Ayers. Hovlik, Matteson.
Thompson. Harrington and Flaherty.
pitchers. and Catchers Picinich. AS
they are now being lined up, Leonard
is covering second base, with Shanks
at short and Shannon in left field.
fim Shaw also will be assigned to
mis- squad when he arrives. He is
due today.
For the first squad. Brown appeared
at third Davis and Ellerbe alternated
between short and second and Nc
Bride took care of first base. Neither
Elierbe nor Brown as yet have had
much of chance to show what he
can do. The latter handles himself
we'll in the field, but presents rather
amateurish impression at the plate.
Harry Thompson's work Monday
made a very favorable impression on
the boss. He showed better control
in pitching to batters than any of the
hurlers with the exception of Matte
son and proved a regular speed demon
in shagging flies in the outfieid. The
little left-hander is enamored OF
garden work and gets out in the
pasture at every opportunity. He had
to be summoned in twice yesterday
for his stretch of fifteen minutes duty
in the box.
Thompson is bundle of energy and
is as agile as a cat. In 1917, his last
year in base ball before joining the
army, he won twenty-five and lost
eleven games for the champion To-
ronto club of the International League.
His winning mark was greater than
that of any hurler in the league with
the exception of Herbert Thormahlen,
the southpaw now with the New York
Yankees, who tied him in the matter
of wins and who lost one game more
than Thompson. In addition to mound
work Thompson was used in the out
field in seventy-nine games, and de-
spite the handicap of having to change
positions, amassed a batting average
of .2S6, good mark for any league.
Thompson is twenty-seven years old
This is his first trial with a big
league club. If determination counts
for anything he is going to stick
around with the Nationals for some
time
III anybody beats me out of a job
with this club he will just have to eat
the ball." he said today. 1T seems to
me that very few of the players who
go UP as kids manage to stick. 1 am
just as well satisfied not to have had
my chance until now. Now that it
has come / am going to make the best
Of it,
The late arrivals will be allowed to
take things easy for the remainder of
this week, but starting next Monday
the young pitchers will be given the
word to open up with their curves and
speed and games between teams COM
posed of regulars and colts will be
A discussion of their relative ability
as golfers between Manager Griffith
and Clyde Milan is to be settled Sun
day morning when they will attempt
to negotiate the Hampton terrace
course which adjoins the hotel Each
claims never to have played game.
A large gallery is expected to be on
hand to see the fun. A substantial
side bet is the stake.