Evening star., 1926-03-08

Willie Bill" Hutchinson, a pitcher.
came from the campus of Yale to the
Chicago Cubs in 1892 and was sue
cessful. Christv Mathewson then en-.
tered the professional game. and the
success of Mathewson turned man.
ayers TO the college diamonds for ma
terial The percentage of collegians
In the major leagues has been in
creasing ever since.
Ability Alone Counts.
The question is often asked DO
college men make better ball players
than those from the sand lots?" Many
are under the impression that because
of an education the collegian's brain
works faster on a ball field than that
of the sandlotter who. as rule, has
little education. This is the wrong
impression, for | have seen graduates
from great universities pull some of
the most stupid plays conceivable
and, on the other hand, / have seen
the products of the sand lots rise to
the situation and deliver brilliantly at
the crucial moment. In discussion
of rules involving the finer points of
base ball I have time and again seen
the sandlotters win the arguments.
The colleSian is handicapped by
theories: the sandlotter has no the
knowledge practical; he has learned
base bail as a skilled mechanic learns
his trade.
College players are good bunters-
there they have it on the sandlotter
and major Lacquer too, for that mat
ter. While, as a whole, collegians are
not good f1elders or good hitters,
they can bunt. The reason is that
they practice bunting constantly.
while the professionals prefer to slug
a ball; laying 1t down does not ap
peal to them. Therefore college teams
all play the old army game. They can
play that best, all being able to bunt.
Is TO Summer Ball
wanth n say something here about
Summer base hall. 1t is an open
secret that a large number of college
men play Summer ball. Nearly all of
them get money for playing. although
few ever admit that they are paid,
RhCh IS natural. For years good
college players have been given OPP
portunities to play in the Summer.
Now. | don't care whether a boy is
wealthy or poor. whether he rides to
his classes in a Pierce Arrow or
whether he makes his way through
school by washing dishes, he is going
- play Summer ball if he gets a
Ghance, not because of the money he
will get for playing Summer ball, but
because of his love for play.
once these bows VIII play. why not
make it possible for them to play
honestly instead of under assumed
names? 1t has been done for years
and 1t Will continue to be done. re-
EardleSS of Wh2t rules are passed
and what restrictions are placed on
i.N- al trliN rSi itx
authorities. since the habit persists.
! still believe that a suggestion made
by me 80 years ago is applica bic to-
day. | suggested then that the col
lece get together and agree on sum
mer bali for pay as long as the stu
dents do not play with teams in
organized base ball. Let them 90
out and get the practice and develop;
also let them set the money that
owners or managers are willing TO
pay, for they win get 1t anyway.
II is not difficult To find out
whether a hoy has played Summer
base ball. II is most difficult to prove
that he received money for playing.
There is a marked difference between
college and professional base ball, col.
legians making plays in one way and
professionals in another. | have seen
collegians return to the diamond and
show the results of a Summer spent
in professional company. There is no
mistakng il. Their style win always
be different from that of the previous
season.
Good Thing to Mix.
1t is a good thing to have collegians
mixing with non-collegians. The col.
legians have added a certain amount
of dignity to the profession. They
make the non-collegians careful about
their conduct. They help them. The
collegians have social graces that the
man off the sand lot lacks. Players
have improved in department and
habits since the coming Of the col