Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-06
FREE DELIVERY, SAVING FL1NCINC WING,
]. KEEPING WALTER ON SLAB LONG TIME
Care as to Condition of Legs and Clean Mode of
Living Also Prolonging Base Ball Life of
Games Greatest Mound Artist.
CATCHING A SPEED KING
BY HEROLD MUDDY RUEL
star Catcher Of the Nationals.

| other reason for his continued sue
| cess is the fact that he did not star
playing ball until he was Is years o
age. He was BORN on a farm in Kan
sas. and until his family moved II
| California he had never been in &
ball game. Il never had a chance Il
! play hall until l was 49," says thu
Speed King, and by that time | hac
attained sufficient strength so that
could not hurt myself"
First Get the Speed.
II get letters from boys all the
time" declares Walter Johnson. "The
lads ask my advice on how to pitch
Many Of them declare that they car
throw all sorts of curves; ins. outs
drops. etc. My advice to them is tc
get the speed first, then develop q
curve later: take 1t easy for few
years. don't try to play on big dia
monds and with big base balls, then
when the boy has attained sufficient
strength he can cut loose."
Many promising youngsters burn
themselves out" too early, in the opin-
ion of the master pitcher, spelling
their arms by trying to throw fancy
curves before they have attained suf-
ftcient strength. A great many of
them start too young, they play too
often in their boyhood days and they
try to do too much, playing with
balls which are too big for them and
on diamonds which are too large.
IF the boys could wait until they
are IS or is years of age before they
start playing very much ball, just as
| did. ! think they would be better
players when they grow Older states
Barney.
"a ,rnn4 -
idea that to be big league pitcher
they have to have more curves than
any pitcher in the minors. This Is a
great mistake. Speed comes first. If
YOU haven't got the speed, you can't
throw the curves.
Burn Themselves Out.
Every year around any big league
ball park you can find youngsters
who appear to possess plenty Of prom
Use. They do everything correctly
and you decide that some day these
lads will be heard from in big league
base ball. But q couple of years later
they have faded from sight. You'd
never realize they were the same fel-
lows. They have burned themselves
out or twisted their arms trying to
throw all sorts of fancy curves be-
fore their arms were strong enough
and before they knew how to throw
them. More than one lad has thrown
his arm out because he didn't know
how to throw the curve which he
was trying to perfect"
Dazzy Vance, whom I caught in
the Southern League 10 years or so
ago, has some interesting things to
say relative to pitchers burning
themselves OUT Dazzy. as YOU
know. has been called the speed king
of the National League. At an age
when many pitchers are on the down
grade. Vance Is still hurting balls with
incredible force.
pitchers, breaking into the major
through their own eager efforts to
win a place under the big tent.
"Why are so many pitchers literally
burned out at 30?" inquiries Vance.
"I'H tell you. 1t is because their arms
became overdeveloped before they had
attained their peak of physical de.
velopment. believe that man
should be in his prime, physically
speaking, at 20 or 80. If a. pitcher
starts In very young to cut loose by
the time he is 30 his arm has started
to go down hill; just when it should
be at its best"
Dazzy believes that If rookie pitch
ers breaking into the major leagues
between the ages of 81 and "a years
could pass two or three years as re-
lief pitchers, working lightly, their
big league careers would be prolonged
by Ave years.
y