The Washington times., 1930-03-11
BABE FINDS
K|DSPROVE
SMARTER
BY BABE RUTH

BY BABE RUTH
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. March
11.-Maybe I'm wrong, but it
seems to me that the type OF
young ball player is changing
through the years. The kids to
day are smarter: they know more
what it's all about. When / was
a kid the rockies were always
the goats-falling for all sorts of
tricks and stunts from the old
timers. They don't do it any
more. The old-fashioned snipe,
hunt is bloomer these days,
and so are a lot of the other
jokes that used to go over SO
big some years ago.
There are two answers to it
One is the large number of col
lege kids who come to the big
leagues each year. These fellows
have been around. They know
how to act and how to behave.
They're not green little bit.
The other answer is that the
young fellows today are coming
from the cities and larger towns
rather than from the farms. It
used to be that three-fourthS Of
the rockies came from the
country. Now they come from
the cities. And that's because in
the last few years cities have set
aside parks where kids could play
baseball and learn the game.
Twenty years ago it was only the
country kids who had a chance
to play.
/ got kick out Of Herbie
PennOck the other day. Herbie
was sitting in the dining
room having his dinner when
the rockies began to file in.
1t looked like a dress parade
of what the welI-dreSSed
young man will wear.
"Did you ever seen anything
like that" Herbie asked. Those
fellows don't look like ball play
,ers. They look more like sheiks.
Why, if a rookie had come into
the dining room in white flannels
when I broke in they would have
lynched him."
And ethey would, too. Nova
days the boys come to camp with
a full outfit of golf knickers,
clubs, tennis paraphernalia, eve
ming clothes and everything. In
the old days a fellow who put
on kntckerS or a tuxedo would
have been laughed out of camp.
Don't misunderstood me, I
think it's good thing. There's
no place in baseball these days
for rowdees. The game has grown
too much. It's too big. And the
young fellows who make good TO-
day must have a certain amount
of polish along with their base
hits; they've got to know some
thing else besides how to throw
curve ball and the sign for the
hit and run.
Seems to me the young fellows
today are bigger, too. Out at the
Yankee camp we've got % new
players, and 81 of them are 6
feet tall or over. I always thought
Waite Hoyt was pretty good
sized man, but out there along
side the other pitchers he looks
like a school kid. And I always
Figured I was pretty sizeable, too.
But Dusty Cooke has been wear
Ing my old uniform and it's too
small for him.
The same thing seems to be
true all over the circuit.
George SiSler was in the hotel
the other night and he tells
me the Braves have the big
geSt lot of rockies he's ever
seen in camp. And Rube
BresSler came over from the
Brooklyn camp with the same
story.
The answer of course is that
this is hitting age in baseball
and managers and scouts are
looking for big boned, broad
shoulder fellows who can drive
| that old ball. Little fellows are
Handicapped more today than
lthey have ever been. And chaps
1.-THE size of Rabbit Maranville, and
Jackie TaVener and fellows like
that are becoming scarcer and
gcarcer.
Looks like the colleges are
sending more and more men to
the big leagues too. On the
Yankees we've got almost COM
plete team of college men. And
each year we get a few more. And
there's this to be said for college
kids. They're smarter than the
others, and seem to realize what
it's all about better. They take
orders better too and seem more
willing to accept advice from
older fellows. Johnny Nee, one
Of our coaches was talking about
that just the other day.
I'D rather work with six col
lege kids than one sand lotter,"
Johnny said. They not only
catch on quicker but they seem
more ambitious and more eager
to learn. Given the same amount
eOf ability and the collegian will
go forward just about twice as
fast as the sand lotter."
Copyright. 1890, by the Christy