The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1923-02-27
LEAGUE TEAMS
GOING SOUTH
FOR TRAINING
Twirlers Will Shed Excess
POundage During Next
Six Weeks

Ne" IoIk, rep. Zl.-Heraldlng
the approach Of spring and anoth-
er diamond campaign, advance car
avans of nearly all of the sixteen
major league baseball clubs now
are on their way south for the an
nual conditioning process. Train
ing camps. scattered in lands of
the palmetto and cactus from Flor
ida to Catalina Island, Calf, will
be in full swing for all of the
clubs by the second week of
| March,. -
For the veterans, the next six
weeks or So of conditioning and
exhibition pastiming will mean
shedding excess poundage acquir-
ed during the winter lav-off and
limberihg up for competition with
| eager and ambitious recruits, hun
dreds of whom will strive for big
league positions for the first time
in their careers.
This rivalry for regular berths
promises to be especially keen
among several clubs going through
marked process of reorganiza
ton. including the Cleveland and
Boston Americans, and the Brook
lvn, Chicago and St. Louis Ma
tionals.
Interest arcng fans is centered
largely in the prospects of the
New York Giants and Yankees re-
beating their triumphs of the past
two seasons IN the face of increas-
ing strength among several of
their more dangerous rivals.
While they are not discounting
the opposition they will encounter
this year. Managers McGraw, of
the Giants, and Higgins. of the
Yankees. are confident their teams
will keep the National and Ameri-
can League remnants in4he same
city for the third straight year.
Both pilots declare their teams
will be decidedly stronger, al
though they plan relatively little
rebuilding. The Pittsburgh Pr
rates, in McGraws opinion, loom
as the club the Giants must eli
inmate to- stay at the top of the
heap, while the Yankee leader. ex-
poets his strongest battle from Ty
Cobb's Detroit Tigers. Cincinnati,
in the National. and St. Louis, in
the American, are picked as the
next strongest contenders by the
metropolitan club managers.
McGraw has announced that he
will stand pat on his 1922 cham
plonship lineup, with the possible
exception of centerfield, devcting
most of his attention to bolstering
weaknesses in the pitching staff
which nearly cost the club tho pen
nant last season. Jimmy O'Con-
nell. $4,000 "phenom" from San
francisco, is expected to fill the
berth in midfeld, but McGraw will
give the veteran Casey Stengel,
whose comeback was q sensation
last year. and Bill Cunningham an
opportunity to contest for the Job
with the coast younster.
Jack Bentley, another expensive
acquisition, is expected to add con-
siderable strength to the pitching
corps. Bentley starred beth as
portside finger and slugger with
the Baltimore Orioles for several
years, but his work with the cham
pions will he confined to the
mound, according to McGraw. The
Giant leader has a dozen or more
recruits from when he homes to
weed out another twirling star. He
also looks for. decided improve
ment from his veterans Hugh
'McQuillan, Jack Scott, Art. Nehf |
and Jess Barnes-besides greater
effectiveness from younger
n1oundsmen like B'll Ryan. Claude
Jonnard and Virgil Barnes.
Pittsburgh's veteran and hard
hitting aggregation, in McGraw's !
belief, will prove D formidable OBJ |
stacle, under the leadership Of Bill