New-York tribune., 1922-11-15

,sfitsS fs,ViiiNSAhhtEs .fShhf- sshtH'
gloves; one infant girl, Dorothy; OF
Ruth, and one wife to same, travelling
six trunks following by express. The
AT dinner Monday night at which<
he was host the Bambino raised his
right hand, cleared his throat and wait
ed for silence. In true military fashion
Colonel Tillinghast L L'Hommedieu Hus-
ton stillcd the tumult and the shout
ing and uttered the sharp command TO
his famous hired man Sound Off"
Right in the presence Of fifty more or
less reputable representatives Of the
press G. Herman Ruth unburdened
himself Of the following grafton:
Listen, boys. / know I didn't knock
as many home runs as people expected
last season nor as many as expected
myself. Maybe 1t was my own fault.
Pm not going to fight with any one who
looks at it that way. I'm only going to
say this: I'm leaving for the farm
early in Il o morning. I'm going to try
to keep my head up and my stomach
down, and I'm not kiddin' anybody
when / say 1t, either. I'm going to
work hard all winter. I'll be back next
spring in the best shape / can and I'm
going to swing at that old ball from
the heels up every time it comes within
reach. II hit them you can do the
counting. II don't it won't be for
lack of trying"
Bambfno Makes a Hit
Il Il was the biggest and longest hit the
Babe had made in some time. All
things considered, it was a unique din
ner that he gave. g. Herman Ruth is
nothing IL not original. In spite of the
fact that he knocked more home runs
per game played than any other major
league player of tae year, the big boy
of baseball felt that he had enjoyed 8
dismal season. Perhaps the raucous
razzberries that unthinking fans hand
ed him on several inauspicious occa-
sions helped him to this opinion. In
any case, on the eve Of his departure
to the Sudbury farm he gathered about
| him half hundred of the baseball
intelligentsia and sought the remedy
for his trouble.
Babe invited the gentlemen present
to speak right out in meetin' and tell
him anything they thought he ought to-
know. Pulling the chin whiskers off
a full grown lion is childish sport
compared to the death-defying stunt
Of ballpiayer asking sports writer's
what was the matter with his hitting.
Ruth sat still and heard by actual
count 728 separate and distinct rea-
sons for his failure to knock q million
home runs. He was raked fore and aft
by one speaker, subjected to a broad
side by another and "surplos versenkt"
by the verbal torpedoes of a third
Seeing the bombs bursting in air, Sen
ator James j. Walker asked was it
private fight or could he join in on
the strength of his Irish parentage.
its5The Democratic floor leader of the
state Senate plunged into the subject
like George Owen, of Harvard, shooting
off tackle. "a He told the Babe q few
things about the high price of being
prominent that astonished the tenn
porarily deposed Caliph of Crash. The
astonishing thing was that the Babe
listened attentively to all the verbal
criticisms of his batting stance and
his social standing, his swing, his eye,
his waistline and his temper, and act
| ualiy seemed to like it.
VIII Right All Wrongs
That's what's going to help me-"
said Ruth. 'You just tell me what
you think is wrong and I'm going to
try to fix it." 1t certainly took courage
of an unusual sort to invite a barrage
of that kind, to go through it with
smiling countenance, to thank the
friendly enemies" and to go out to
try to put it into execution. But
that's the Babe all over. You never
can tell what he's going to do next.
He hasn't promised to knock sixty
home runs next year, and that's what
makes the sixty mark look like a
fairly good bet. He just says he'll
m he J., IN i, there swinging and trying. It
wouldn't hurt him a bit either If the
fans would pour little of the milk
OF human kindness over the "razzber-
ries" when he Strikes out, as he will.
In his endeavor to sock the soaring
circuit clout into the neighboring
county.
That bomb that Ban Johnson
promises to throw at the big league
meetings next month is still a topic
IN baseball circles. Next to the Great
uland Mystery, it's the best guessing
contest staged here since the czar Of
wrestling refused to state who had
eeen elected champion for the coming
year. favorite report now is that
Johnson is going to advocate breaking
on diplomatic and financial relations
with the draft-exempt minor Leagues
unless these worthless give up the
sacred papers signed two years ago
ana permit their agile athletes to Be
oraIted Tor big league service.
1t is said that johnson has sra
American league clubs lined up with
nam, that he will make final attempt
to get the international League, the
Coast League. the American Associa-
ton, tor, Class AA organizations, and the
Western and Three-I leagues, also
exempt, into draft agreement. A fair
draft price win be offered. If il Is
refused, so the story goes, Ban will
pull Won Bulow," declare the
famous agreement '.scrap of paper
and stalk out Of the conference with
~ nus nenonmen at his back. prepared
70 DO all their drafting from the
public parks diamonds in the future.
The. betting on this solution as the
"a