The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-03-14
'BAMB|NO'S
LEEGSAN)ED
BY GOLF
BY Babe Ruth

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, March
14s-Most fans, guess. look upon
the spring training trip as sort
of pleasure jaunt where ball
players have six weeks of fun with
AL expenses paid and no worries in
the world.
That's the bunk.
The four or five weeks we spend
In the South every year is the
toughest part of the season. Al
least it is for me, and guess most
/ players agree with me. Starting
Z IN for hard work after winters
lay-off isn't half as funny as it's
painted. And after the first three
or four days most of the boys wish
they had taken jobs as locomotive
firemen or something else easy ike
that.
There's an old saying that a ball
player is just as old as his legs.
And it's the legs that come In TOT
the most attention during the
weeks in the South. OF course
every player has a problem OF his
own in training. My greatest JOB,
for instance, is hardening and
strengthening my legs and taking
off weight at the same time.
Believe me. when spring
b comes around certainly envy
players like Joe Dugan, PEN
mock or Sam Rice. These guys
are never overweight. They
never have to boil out or sweat
themselves into condition. All
they need to do is get their
arms strong and eat plenty.
Then they're ready to go. But
some of the rest of US have a
tough, tough time of it. Players
of the type of Lou Gehrig or Pat
Collins on our club, Hack Wilson
of the Cubs, Bob Fothergill of the
|. Tigers, Goose Goslin of the Griff.
men, and men of that type are
what we call heavy ball players"
@They put on weight easily-and for
them spring training is torture.
If they take off weight they sui
fer tortures-and if they don't take
off weight their legs go bad and
they can't finish out the season. So
they're caught going and coming.
IL the average fan could get one
peek at the gang in training and see
the bruises and the sore muscles
part of that early workout they
. wouldn't think these few weeks IN
the South are such breeze after
an -.
It's even tougher for the young
fellows. For they're out to make
good and they feel that they
have to cut loose just as soon
as they land in camp, and then
keep going at top speed all the
time. They can't go about their
business slowly like the regulars
do. Every year in camp
watch those young kids out there
cutting loose and playing at top
speed when / know that every
move is painful, and it makes
me ache just to watch them.
OF course, smart managers like
Hug or McGraw or Connie. Mack
warn the kids to take things easy.
And they try to slow them up all
fney can. But the average kid, If
he likes to play ball, won't listen
and then has to pay for it all later
on.
This year / believe I found the
solution to the bad legs business.
And the answer is golf. Like Hug
gins I don't believe that golf is a
good game for ball players during
the season. It's too conversational
and the boys who play forget base
ball and talk nothing but golf. But
as a conditioner before practice
starts it's good.
For the first week 1 was in st.
Petersburg this year / played golf
every day. I started out with Is
holes a day and then kept increasing
II as l went along. At the end of
the week / was playing so or SO
holes q day, and l believe my legs
are in better shape now than they
have been for years.