The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-06-01
HOMER HABIT
IS DETRIMENT
TO The GAME
Fans Howl When Circuit C1suts
FAN. Especially III Babe Is
Fooled.
BY JOHN b. FOSTER

! Copyright, 1922, by The ArgusO
New York, June 1.-Wilbert Rob-
inson, Connie Mack, Hugh Duffy
and some of the older cldtime ball
| players who are new time nlanag-
ers, think that the growth of the
Ihomerun habit is one of the worst
developments in the history of
baseball So does Joe Kelly, once
manager. now scout for the Yam
KEGS. 81 heard the crowd make
more fuss the other day because
Ruth didn't bat homerIn," said
! Kelly, than they did over the loss
| of the game, and of all the extra
ordinary things that ever 1 have
/ known to happen in baseball that's
/ the limit"
! That is not all of which The new
order of fans are guilty. They have
/ been known to below angrily at
fielder because he put the third man
| out when Ruth would have been the
/ next man at bat This is specially
true in the ninth inning when they
are thus deprived of seeing Ruth
try for another homerun. The fans
figure that it is homerun or moth
ing every time that he walks to
the plate.
/ One reason for this condition in
! New York is that new element is
going to the games. This is COM
posed of men and youths who never
have played much baseball person
ally. Their baseball is that of the
sightseer. They want the homerun
king to "homerun" or at least have
every opportunity to "homerun.
and if he is elbowed out by little
thing like a third putout when the
other side wants to win game,
they figure themselves cheated. 1t
is the oldest phase of baseball
that ever hit the game.
( Another reason is that quite a
lot of homemade money has been
wagered on Ruth to make home
runs in a certain quantity or on GER
tain occasions or so many per
game. and the hackers of Ruth who
didn't know him except by sight
are personally interested to the e1-
tent of small coin every Time thGt
he swings his bat.
The homerun phobists and the
bettors compromise the hooters.
They are constituents who jeer the
homeTun king, the management
and everybody else when the home
run show fails to materialize. 1t
isn't any wonder that the old ball
players look askance and in the
meantime the pitchers are working
off their low curves on the batting
Babe.
j Giants Lead DwindlerS.
/ That fat lead of the Giants over
the next best club in the National
league has dwindled now to one
game and one half. And the reas-
on for it is that the Giants can't
/ play ball away from their own
dooryard Since they took their
I first trip to the west, beginning
their engagements at ST. Louis,
they have been "pizen" to them
selves. Somebody on the edge of
Missouri put the evil rye OH them,
or touched them with the joint of
taboo finger.
They lost to Philadelphia We'd
nesday for the third time in four
games because their pitcher was
hit hard when he shouldn't have
/ been and because Bancroft didn't
throw a ball to second base but ran
with it himself to try to make a
double play. Such little things as
that make and unmake pennaEts
Cleveland is in, Scrabbletown
when it loses a series of games to
the Sox, or else the Sox are about
10 make that venture for the front
which Kid Gleason has been
threatening for the last two years.
Give me some pitching" said
, Gleason, land I'll show you that
this is no spawned team" He has
/ been getting what he asked for at
Cleveland and the Indians are run
ming around in rings hunting the
next stanza to their death song.
| Pirates Recover.
| Pittsburgh started meek and low
/ ~ when the season took the plunge
but by good work with the bat and
the return to form of pitchers who
couldn't pitch when they were ex-
pected to do so, has won second
to 1921 except that New York and
Pittsburgh are reversed. Last
season about this time the Pirates
were in front chanting of rum and
scuttling airsh;ps This year they
are second but thew have their old
bIunderbluss leveled at New York
and intend to blow the Giant soul
off first place. Meanwhile the
Giants are yearning to get home.
They can win in Harlem. The air
is more to their liking. Still they
arrive in Boston next and Boston
has not put any more hindrance in
their way than last years puff
ball.