The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-02-19
The Sportscope
ROCKIES, PARADISE.

Il
ROCKIES PARADISE
Dixie gets its big league baseball
in the Tag months Of Water.
| BY the last Of the month"; Is OF the
is major league clubs will be boil
ing out in the cotton country.
The Chicago Cub outfit 10 the
lone-wolf of the pack. Owner
Wrigley Of the Cubs, and also Of
the CATALINA Islands, takes the boys
west for their annual outing.
To ball players, spring training
appeals to their length Of service,
as a rule.
The veterans dent get . great
deal of pleasure out Of it., They
have been over the road 90 often
that there are NO longer any thrills
left in it.
Usually some Of the stars do .
lot of correspondence and report
late.
But to the rookie-the kid who
is to get his chance-the training
camp announcement dates are like
SO many. syllables Of honey.
Full OF confidence, his ears ring
ing with the boasts Of home town
friends, he goes to the southland
as if it were paradise.
But if he makes the hill and is
hiked back again and again the
| glamor Of spring training to him
also loses its color.
Baseball is like any other pro-
fession. IT'S the new that carries
the appeal.
Several of the clubs tried to mix
pleasure with business last year
by going to Florida camps.
The pleasure and business didn't
mix.
The spring will find them swing
ing back into Texas and the border
Dixie states for business purposes
entirely.
THE TWO EXTREMES.
Preparation for the spring txain.
Ing camp offers two extremes OIL
temperament and tive decidedly
different types Of baseball players
The two extremes Of ten era.
-ment are elatiOn and downright
boredom; the types rookie and vet
eran.
Along about the first Of the yeal
the rockies blood begins to tinglt
in anticipation of the magic, sum
mons. He. reads all the papcrl
eagerly for news Of himself, mostly
Mere mention Of his name In 4
single line of print is more crafty
/ ing to the rookie than . whole col
umn to the veteran.
| The rookie counts the days; the,
seem like weeks. PetulaAce grip
him rs winter drags On. 1t SEEM
the day will never come.
/, The veteran! huh! It's all oil
stuff to him.
The Old.timer has been known +
1 leave his contract letter unOpene
for days and weeks. When he doe
fcOndescend to break the seal he
peeved invariably BY his figure Q
salary.
Sometimes the veteran replies
demanding more money. Again
he'll merely ignore the docunen
until-well, until his transportation
arrives.
The veteran is devoid Of al eme
tienal color as far as spring train
ing IS concerned. His crouch, as ,
rule, doesn't begin to wear oil unit
he realizes some good yOungster
are bidding for his job.
The effect is spontaneous. Hi
professional pride assailed, the We
fOrgets about the neney and pltche
into the game.
1 GAMBLERS ALI.
| What chance has rookie o
making good?
Just a good gamble.
| Even the best minor leaguers
who have been purchased or blow
in by the draft, must take thei
chances for the three or four avail
able positions.
Gambling in rookie pitchers j
the chief pastime Of the managers
Each Spring finds them stocking
up with the youthful buds aud eacl
Nall finds most of the lot wilte'
4 back into the minors.
! The 16 big league clubs last yea
.lStarted out with about 60 OF thes
promising fellows who were sup
posed to have magic in their arms
i. But only about % survived.
The big league manager II, some
what of a psychologist. but no foo
. in regard to his mainstays.
He CANDLES with hOldouts an
other disgruntled players like h
does with rockies. He trust
, largely to psychology to bring tn
former to terms or to see the errO
of their ways.
[ The thrill, class and comparativ
ease of the major profession ar
alluring to the veteran as long a
! he knows he keeps up to require
, ments.
Most of them come stringin
in late to spring training; man
: with salary grievances. Few ca
, resist the lure of their exalted pre-
fession; few can hold out, once i
: camp.
!. The player loses invariably vhe
!, he CANDLES with himself. -
However, they are relentles
: when gambling with other aspil
ants. Once his mind has returne
5 to the game itself. the veteran
hard to displace until he begins
: slow down naturally.
81 SALT or THE CANE.
- - 100 Mas h0~n MaAA 0nA<