Evening star., 1922-12-03
Mary and Love and Luck Share
With Stick-Up Men in Guiding
a Base Ball Players Career.

Clark SCanlon, the manager OF tne
Yanks?"
gave him a quick up an down an
picked him for a bug.
So I give him look that would
have felt like cold wind to a polar
bear. an says to him. l says:
Yes, I'm Clark Scanlon. an I'm
manager of the Yanks. too" 1 says to
him. AN that amt the half of it,"
! says. Just about this time, on
nights when it's a full moon. I get red
In the face an bite nice little boys
with blue eyes an curly hair. There's
a full moon tonight" 1 says to him.
Go on out an watch II come up
But this young snip reaches in his
pants pocket. pulls out Il fancy ciga-
rette case. opens It. takes out pill.
shuts the case, an taps the end of his
cigarette on it. like an actor playin' a
rich mans son. Then he strikes a
match an lights his smoke. an after
he gets his smoke goin' good he give
me the eye.
He started with the top of my head,
which don't seem to meet with his
approval: went down across my face.
clumb down over my chest, and on
down the rest of ME to the soles of
my feet.
When he got through sizin' me up
he looked me right in the eye an he
says:
"Is it indigestion. or were you Just
born that way"
Say, that boy had a tone in his
voice that was just the same to me as
lighted match to a pile of gun
powder. 1 couldn't "a got madder at
an umpire than 1 was at him that
minute.
lust step outside with me so can
have the open air to spatter you
around in" 1 says to him. Boy" I
says, you're goin' to cover awful
lot of territory when I get done
sowin' spare parts of you here an
there
The kid looks at me an kind O.
sighs.
You're a darn poor manager" he
says "a good leader of men ought
never to lose his temper. But that's
all right. You amt goin' to worry
me any. I'm Cocky Lewis
If you're Lewis you're cocky. all
right" 1 says to him. You're cocky.
whatever the rest of your name is.
Come on outside l says to him. ''an'
il 1 can find out what makes you this
way. while I'm takin' you apart. III
throw it away. If you get well, maybe
you'll be all right.
You're settin' old" the young fell
low says. Il don't want to take ad-
vantage of you. Anyhow. / might
break a knuckle on you or something
like that. an YOU can't afford to have
me laid up with bum hand
Then I make him. Cocky Lewis,
The Cocky part was what put me off.
He was young rookie from the Pa
cific coast that Jack Costello had
tipped me off on an sent up for his
first shot at the big time. I remem-
bered what Jack had written me
about the kid. I'm afraid to say how
good a second baseman I think this
boy isl he wrote in. Il think so well
of this kid that I must be losing my
judgment in my old age. No rookie
can possibly be as good as this one
looks to me. Take a slant at him an
find out what ails him"
But he hadn't spoken of him as
Cocky Lewis, just ]. K. Lewis. And
this was the kid.
give him the up an down an
says:
We'll" ] says. you know how to
get In right with a guy who can put
butter on your bread or skids under
your feet. Now, don't you?"
II don't have to get in right with
any guy" the kid says to me, cool an
unexcited. That amt the way 1 get
by" he says.
''Oh, you do get by, do your 1 says.
1--WE had one year of semi-pro ball."
second base for the Yanks, amt L? I
guess that's gettin' by
You're here" says, because poor
old Jack Costello is gettin' along in
years. He must be failin' fast to fall
for you! I'm goin' to take one quick
look at you. young fellow. an before
] do let me give you a piece of advice.
If you brought trunk with you, don't
waste any money havin' 1t sent up to
the hotel. You've already cost US
your carfare here, an a little birdie
tells me we're goin' to be out your
carfare back by just about tomorrow
night"
You and Jack Costello are just
about the same age, amt your the
kid pops back at me. THE old-timers
tell me you were both good once"
That slid up under my vest an
scratched. It's n lot easier for me to
remember back to the time when 1
last needed a comb an brush than 1t
IL to recall the first time had to use
a razor. We hadn't gone so good the
year before, an some of the sport
writer's an a lot of the bugs were
putin on a campaign to have me
signed up with the Home for the Aged
an Infirm.
stood there an blinked at the kid
stuck. The only comeback I could
think of was a smack on the jaw, an
! couldn't afford that. They'd have
said l was gettin' old an grouchy.
"Show up at the park tomorrow an
make me think you're a ball player"
/ says to him. TRY an do it," An
1 walked off an left him.
X i. X
0F course, everybody that knows
" anything about base bail knows
what happened when Cocky Lewis
showed up at the park. After an
hours work he didn't have friend
on the team. an. likewise. he didn't
have any more chance Of bein' shipped
back to the bushes than I have of
pitchin' the kind of a game that l