Evening star., 1928-02-24
MILAN AND MARTIN
WISE ECOND|T|ONERS
Preparation of Athletes Is
Directed Carefully by
These Veterans.
By DENMAN THOMPSON.


TAMPA, Fla, February 24.-This
business Of fitting players physically for
base ball seems a simple proposition to
. layman. Apparently the boys show up
at the field in the morning. do little of
this little of that and little of the
other and then knock off for shower
to repeat the program the following day.
and the next, and the next.
To the average onlooker the switch
from playing toss to fielding buntS. then
to heaving the medicine ball and finally
to a session Of volley ball, followed by
hike or two around the park. apparently
Just happens. OStensibly there is no
limit set for the period to be devoted
moving aS If by general consent from
one line of endeavor TO another course
Of sprouts.
But the thing really }s not nearly so
simple. There is little q! the hit or-miSS
to the daily training stunts OF the Ma
tionals candidates for battery jobs. AS
q matter of fact the program for each
day is carefully mapped out in advance.
and the results attaiend are 50 import
Ant TO the welfare of the club which this
year enters on April 10 campaign of
154 championship games in the Amer
lcan League that the best men possible
OF conditioning.
This explains the fact that the pre-
hminary drilling of the Griffmen this
year is in the hands of such competent
veterans as Coach Clyde Milan and
Trainer Mike Martin. Milan was for 8
total of is consecutive seasons an out
fielder for the Nationals. for a long
stretch one of the very best in the game,
and during his heyday was excelled as
. base stealer only by the immortal T.
Raymond Cobb. During his last season
with the Griffs-in 1922-Zeb was man.
ager Of the team, and the five following
years he split up plotting the New
Haven and Memphis clubs of the East
ern League and Southern Association,
respectively. He is man wise in the
ways of base bali, if there ever was one
Martin Knows His Onions.
Martin is q man of even more ex-
perience in his chosen field. He never
played big-league bali himself. but has
been conditioning athletes for this pur-
pose for a quarter of century. Mike
was connected with the boxing game as
q youngster in and around New York at
the time he first went to work for Clark
Griffith back in 1908. when Griff piloted
the EighlanderS, as the team that gaze
the American League its first repre-
sentation in the big town was known.
and he has been with him ever since
He moved on to Cincinnati when Griff
accepted the job of bossing the Reds
for Garry Hermann. and then subsc-
quently to Washington. where the cur
rent president took charge as manager
in 1912, TO obtain subsequently control
Of the club with first George Mcbride,
then MILAN. then DOME Bush and final
ly Bucky Harris issuing orders on the
diamond.
An illustration Of how the men who
are directing training activities over
look no bets can be found in the fact
that last Monday, the first day in
camp, the athletes were informed they
did not have TO get into their uniforms
for toll until IL O'Clock, although the
reporting hour previously agreed upon
vas an hour earlier The explanation
was that the temperature was lower
than had been anticipated and the
extra time was allowed for the mercury
10 rise In the thermometer. Yesterday.
however. the boys were hard at 1t by
$50. Why? Because although the
weather was warm enough. the skies
we're overcast with clouds that carried
q threat of rain and it was decided to
take no chances on downpour knock
ing the athletes out Of their daily stint
Of labor.
Then, there Is the matter Of some
performers warming up for half an hour