The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-02-29

WllliamS back to the Ath-
letics do you think that will help
them more?" My answer was a stock
one. Cobb had shown last year
that he is still great hitter, and
great hitters are important to the
success of any ball club.
My thought was that with Speak
er and Cobb the Athletics would be
more dangerous than they would be
without them, possibly dangerous
enough even to develop into for
nidable pennant contender.
Il II Il
The veteran baseball manager
didn't think so, and at the same
time he agreed that both Cobb
and Speaker, old and slowed up
as they are, are still great ball
players, comparing them with the
present run Of major leaguers.
GIT isn't a question of how much
Iactual ability player of the
Cobb Speaker type adds to your ball
club" the veteran manager said.
cts a question of how much he
takes away from your club spirit.
Your average ball player is
peculiar animal. He thinks largely
in pay checks. The exceptions are
rare. A star who grows up and de-
velops on the home ball club Gre
ates little envy or unrest among
the other players. They respect his
greatness and do not begrudge his
greater emoluments.
"This situation changes when a
fading star is brought in from an
other club and is paid a fancy wage.
He is looked on as something OF an
interloper by the $4,000 boys who
have been playing under the same
management for number OF years.
"They have no sympathy with the
business angle of the deal by which
the clubs seek to capitalize on a
glorious background. They resent
the fact that once great ball
player, now possibly no greater than
them in all-around value to the
club, has been brought in and eStab-
lished as a $4,000 attraction.
Il II
"Their attitude is: IF that guy
Is worth $4,000 I'm worth heck
of lot more than / am getting
And the natural consequence of
this is a lowered spirit, slOvenly
work and all the devitaliZing evils
that go with it,"
II
TOR that reason it is a bad policy.
1>@Neither COBB nor Speaker has
a greater admirer than the veteran
who was thus unbosoming himself.
There was nothing personal in his
comment.
He was simply discussing a phase
of the business which has been
given new Importance in recent
years, and it is his theory that no
ball club is wise in loading up with
high salaried caStoffS. He thinks,
for example, that the Washington
club will be more dangerous this
year without Speaker than they
were last year with him.
There was no violent diSSension
on that club last year." he tells you,
"but the spirit wasn't there. There
isn't an easier fellow in the game
to get along with than Speaker, and
personally all the players like him,
but they couldn't forget that he was
getting more money than anybody
else on the club. And as I said,
your average ball player is pecu-
liar animal, and his capacity for
vanity and envy is unequalled."
It Il
This veteran has fear that
Speakers presence on the Ath-
letics this year is going to make
a bad ball player of Al Simmons,
the polished yOungster who is to
be shifted over to left field to
make room for the old Gray
Eagle in center.
CIMMONS is one of the great bat
~ tiers and hitters of the game.
''FIe is a perfect illustration Of the
temperament Of the average ball
player and, for all know, the aver
age man." says the veteran.
When in a contented mood he
will play all day for you; when
nursing a grievance he is a positive
handicap. Two years ago he was
a bad ball player. Things we're not
going right with him. Last year he
was happy and there was no better
ball player in the game. ,'--
II have a notion Simmons is not
going to take kindly to the circum-
stances which make it necessary for
him to shift his position, and he's
pretty much of a regular fellow at
that. He's likely to feel that it's
bad enough to have to give up his
old spot but that it's worse still to
have to play for less than half what
the other fellow is getting. That