Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-13

tior1alS reports at Plant Field,
wv in Tampa, on February Is to
begin training for the Amer
lean Leagues 1929 cham
pionship campaign, it will find ready
for use the best playing ground ever
provided for the Washington club since
the city on the West coast of Florida
has been the conditioning base. Not
only will the playing field be entirely
new, but the stands will be so enlarged
that more than twice a. many seats
than before will be available and there
will be other Improvements that should
make Plant Field about the best base
ball establishment in the Gator State.
None other than Clark Griffith, pres
ident of the Washington ball club, is
authority for this. And the prexy will
be on the scene many days ahead OF
February IS to see that the rebuilding
OF Plant Field is done properly. The
Washington chief is to head for Flor
ida this week, being scheduled to en-
train Saturday. A week from tomor-
row morning, the Nationals headquar-
tiers will be established in the hotel at
Tampa which will house the players
during the training season and from
then until camp is broken on April 3
all the clubs business will be trans
acted there.
Accompanying Griffith to Florida
Saturday viii be Mrs. Griffith, Edward
B. Eynon, ir., secretary of the ball club,
and Miss Mildred Robertson, the club
presidents personal secretary.
Making Field Big Job.
The prexy will have much to occupy
his time in Florida before the first
SQUAD of players arrives for training.
What with conducting negotiations
with athletes who are inclined to balk
at accepting terms offered, arranging
for the conduct of the exhibition game
series and generally supervising the con-
struction of the playing field, his club
will use, Grifhth may even be pressed
for time to be given over to golf.
The business of making a new playing
field is no small matter. Fortunately,
however, there will be available this
year more labor and better equipment
for the work. In addition to the labor
provided by the Tampa city authorities,
there will be crews and machinery from
the road construction company headed
by j. L. Cone, the president of the
Tampa base ball club of the Southeast
ern League. With such equipment and
extra labor the field should be more
easily and better constructed than here
tofore. !.
In past seasons the playing ground
at Plant Field has been so laid out that
those in the ~grandstand watched games
from the third base side. The new dia-
mond, though, will be so constructed
that the line running from the ON
plate through the pitching box to CEN
ter field viii be at a right angle to the
front facade of the grandStand. This
will necessitate such a shift in the posi-
49,. 49, I{o~aNnI fh0f tina hNnan
plate will be about where third base
has been at Plant Field in other years.
Big League Diamond Planned.
It has been customary to put a layer
of clay over the infield annually so that
now a greater part OF the playing
ground is we'll covered with this heavy
earth. This year, Griffith insists that
the infleld be built after the style OF
those in big league parks. So steam
shovels will be used to scoop out all the
CLAW deposits and the area to be oc-
cupied by the new diamond viii be
excayated to a depth of at least two
feet. New soil will be used for filling,
drainage will be provided and a top
dressing to be sodded viii be laid. A
steam roller viii be used for packing
the inield properly and smoothing the
outfield.
All details OF the work will be per-
fected here this week and Secretary
Eynon will carry to Tampa plans and
specifications to be turned over to the
engineers. The building program VIII
have to be filled hurriedly for the South
Florida Fair held annually on Plant
Field will not end until February y.
Construction of the new playing ground
will start February IL, giving n en-
4 - %uyA unable An vyhiOh tn nnnnIPfP
it before the first squad OF Nationals
Jumps into the training grind.
One-fourth of the lot of 80 players on
h Nationals roster are in line for the
1929 campaign. After Joe Judge penned
his name on a Washington contract
yesterday, the signed papers OF four
other Nationals arrived at the club
headquarters. The contracts came
from Stuffy Stewart, second sacker, and
Melbern Simons, outfielder, both bought
hack from Birmingham; Sam West,
who last year led the American League
outfielders, and Herold Ruel, veteran
catcher.
with Judge and Ruel already in the
fold, Grifath expects to have about
half the number of his players under
contract before he departs for Florida
this week. In past seasons, both Judge
and Ruel generally were among the last
of the players to sign. Neither showed
any signs of holding out this time,
though, and both had good seasons IN
1928.
LIovd Brown, young left-hander who
came I'D to the Nationals last year from
Memphis OF the Southern Association,
will become a regular turn pitcher for
the Nationals if he shows in his train
ing that ne has lost the wildnesS that
made him ineffective most OF n time
the past season.
In 1923. Brown revealed much hurting
ability. He showed speed, strength and
stamina. There was plenty OF zip TO ms
fast one and he could uncork a decep-
tive curve, too. But always he was
inclined to be wild and so he was start
ed infrequently. Now those In charge
of the Nationals believe that wnal
Brown needs is a deal OF work TO rio
him of his wild streak, and work mel
get at the Tampa camp.
Should the Southpaw's control i'm
prove during his intensive training, he ]:
virtually certain to be reckoned a mem
Der of the regular mound crew. Man
Ager Walter johnson wants another mar
to shoulder the left-hand pitching bur.
den with Garland BraXton and what
the pilot has heard of Brown leads him
to believe the Memphis product may bt
lust the one he is looking for.
Unless Clyde Milan finds another bass
ball berth more acceptable to him, III
will continue as a coach with h Ma
ltionals. Although Ed Charity, former
" catcher with the Washington club
has been added to the coaching staff
there still Is room for Milan as long a.
he cares to remain, President GritftE
has announced. .
Gharrity's main job, it seems, vii
have to do with the tutoring of recruit
pitching talent, while Milan is to assis
johnson with the grooming of the in
field and outfeld talent and specialize
at teaching ~base-running, which Is to b
a part of the morning drill program u
orkI&kad fhic xyoar