The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-23
SPRING DRILL
FOR UMPIRE is
ENERGY WASTE
One Arhiter Responds in Decided
Accents Against Landis'
Suggestion.
by JOHN B. FOSTER.

(Lopyright, 1922, by The Arugs.1
The razor league umpires nave
announced that they have strained
their eyes 70 the point of becn ming
permanently blind to find any Fc.-
son why they should be compelled
20 take u spring trailing course rs
has been suggested by ConIInls-
sicner -1andis.
They think they are worked hard
enough with a schedule of 154
games in the season without having
20 or so added in the spring. Here
is the way in which one of the big
umpires of the United States looks
at the matter Obviously it would
not be fair to give his name. He
said today: 1.-The umpire should be
given as little work as possible if
you wish to keep him in good con-
dition mentally. Physically he
doesn't need training anymore than
a Dashund needs a golf bag. The
best games umpired during the
year are those before the Fourth
CT July. After that he is inclined
TO get stale. The barking of the
players and the bawling of the spec
tatorS wear on his nerves. In the
spring he is all attention and on
his toes. He tries to be all atten-
ton and on his toes all of the time,
but after he has had six weeks of
some managerS-WhoSe names |
shall not mention until after l re-
tire from the field-his mentality
3 &c in nf q
board which has been filed with a
rough file, emeried with an emery
wheel and sandpapered with the
coarsest sandpaper on the market.
The umpire fights daily to keep
his nerves under control and his
disposition such that he can pass
through life without grouching and
grumbling constantly What they
need in baseball is not a school for
umpires in the spring, but a COM
mission of lunacy for them about
September when the race becomes
hottest and when they are nearest
to the madhouse. The nervous
strain of two hours of baseball i'll
September with the two contending
clubs separated by a single game,
takes out of man all the reserve
which he should have had stored in
his system. The reserve should
not be wasted in a spring training
trip on which the players are not
under discipline, not under con-
tract, abusive if they feel like it, and
full of the devil as you might ex-
pect that players would be when
there is nothing in the game but
practice and a chance to get even. >
as they call it, for what they will
get latter. 1 am one umpire who
will say frankly to the world that
there is not any necessity for Civ
ing an umpire spring training"
Take Things Easy.
OF the teams training in the
south, Detroit, Pittsburgh and the
Boston Americans are probably less
advanced than the others. The
Tigers under Cobb haven't a pitcher
who has been pushed and there is
none who will be pushed because it
is the Detroit policy to nurse the
pitching staff
Pittsburgh can make a fair show
ing if Gibson will let his pitchers
use anything but as Gibson realizes
the value of strong pitching staff
this year, the Pirates will not be
hustled until they are ready. Gin
cihnati is not coming on very fast
although the team will be better
off for pitchers than might have
been expected in January.