The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1921-10-20
YOUTHS TO REPLACE
SLOWED UP VETERANS
ON BIG LEAGUE CLUBS
By FRANK G. MENKE

A lot of faces that peered forth
from big league rosters through 1921
will be conspicuously absent when
play BALI echoes over the fields of
play in 1922.
There's going to be a house clean
ing in the big leagues through the
winter. Much of the deadwood is to
be eliminated. Youngsters who have
adorned nothing but the benches for
a year or two while the veterans lum-
bering hither and thither are going to
get real chance to show what they
can do.
The dominating power in the big
leagues came to the conclusion thru
the flag end of the year that the
slip-off in the standard of play was
due more to the age of many Of the
combatants than to a lackadaisical at
titude on the part of all the athletes
They found that base running has be
come a lost art, because of the pre-
ponderence of veterans.
Each club seemed to have four old
timers in the lineup. And if one OF
these aged birds got on the sacks, il
meant that the whole team back OF
him, instead of being able to travel
it's own gait, had to measure its
speed, according to the snail-like stand
ard which the old boy in front o.
them set.
No Chance for Kids
Through the years the clubs always
have been loath to dipossess the vet
Grams until such time as some kids
flashed so brilliant a game that they
simply couldn't be kept out of the
list of regulars. The average young
ster, however, never got much {
chance to show his worth.
He was chased onto the field o
play, and told tc show what he coulC
do. He'd make the try-but thu
chances of immediate success were
against him. For he'd be nervous
even to the point of being cratic
and he would make a blunder here o.
there, or fail to show how really won
derful he was. Managers, having bu
little patience, promptly would bencl
him-and back would go the oil
timer.
But It's going to be radically diff
ferent in 1922. Managers realize tina
they cannot maintain the standard O
fast play by keeping the veteran
around Indefinitely. And they hav,
come to know too, what the only rea
way to give a kid a fair and squar
trial is to let him go out on the fell
in regular tussle for a few weeks o
month, by which time real wort
will show through the early nervous
ness.
Aim Is for New Blood
II all the remarks of managers thru
out both circuits come true in thei
entirety, there'll be at least so of III
men who disported regularly in 1872
| pushed into the discard before 1872:
| For this aim everywhere is for ney
| blood-young blood. The standard G
play has skidded in the past fiv
! years, due to the veterans. It's to
rebuilt by kids.
Baseball, therefore, through III
early months of 1922 promised to b
bit "spotty" as far as errors ar
concerned. For kids, nervous and III
der the terrible strain of trying t
make good, will bobble-and bobbl
some more on starter. But befor
midsummer, the wheat will be sep;
rated from the chaff; the "mornin
| glories" will have faded from vie
and therell be nothing left but kid
with confidence in themselves VIII
have earned a regular job-and VIII
are speeding up and lettering the n;
tional game by their displays of flee
ness of hand and foot, their youthfl
daring and their youth.
Copyright 1921 By King Features