The Ely miner., 1930-08-08
Seeing Big League
BASEBALL
W
II By BILLY EVANS
II Sportswriter, Big League Umpire
and General Manager of the
Cleveland Indians

The baseball fan, when he feels that
he has something to say, says it. In
this respect he usually has the better
of the player or the umpire because Of
the freedom of speech that is denied
the athletes and officials and that the
patrons of the game take for granted
as theirs for the price of admission.
But it is not always so. | have in mind
the case of an umpire who was work
ing a game in Georgia town down
in the Sally league, Van Sickle. | be-
lieve his name was. Fans in Georgia
take their baseball as seriously as any
and this particular crowd began early
to take violent objection to some of
Van Sickle's decisions. Once they got
on his back they stayed there and they
kept riding him throughout the game.
Along about the eighth inning the
personalities began to get the better
of Vans temper. He could stand it
no longer. SO, turning away from the
plate. he drew himself up very deter
minedly and mOtioned for silence
while he made brief but impressive
announcement:
II want you farmers to know" he
said. that only two great men ever
came into the state of Georgia-Gen-
eral Sherman and myself"
If you know your Georgia. you know
that anyone who has anything of
complimentary nature to say about
General Sherman usually leaves it un-
said. That ball game was never
finished. Van Sickle's retreat made
up in haste what it lacked in dignity.
Sport fans, | imagine. are pretty
much the same today as they were
three thousand years ago. The visit
ing fan who goes out to the Yankee
stadium to see Babe Ruth hit a home
run and then gives vent to raucous
rumblings of discomfort when the
Babe strikes ont. had an ancestor who
used to visit the Roman Coliseum on
rain check and raised ruckus when
the mortality rate in the arena wasn't
high enough to suit him.
Not that these gentlemen are en-
tirely typical of their particular eras.
I am convinced by now that at least
so per cent of the baseball followers
are sympathetic and reasonable enough
to allow for mistakes and the falli-
bility of human beings.
Some time ago friend of mine
asked me. BILLY what do ball players
say to one another when the fans
start TO ride them?" As an enthusi-
astic baseball follower himself. he had
witnessed his share of bleacher mu-
tiny. but aside from an occasional
flareup from player who had been
goaded to some form of retaliation.
he had never seen behind the air of
inscrutiability that is habitually main
tanned by the diamond athletes in fair
weather and foul.
I'll tell you what told him. They
have special phrase: Listen to the
wolves" A player makes an error in
a tight spot. Maybe a run comes in
on it, There is howl from the stands,
particularly ferOcious and suggestive
of the opinion that such forms of
torture as the rack. the stake and
hanging by the thumbs are far too
mild for the perpetrator of the mis-
play.
Perhaps you've seen an umpire call
one of the home team players out on
a close play and seen the player protest
violently as the stands rocked with
cries of "RObber!" Likely as not
you've seen the umpire fold him arms
and move away, followed by the
argumentative ball player, while
the fans thus encouraged in their
conviction that the umpire must
be wrong, redoubled their protests
The harrassed ump might have been
saying any one of a number of things,
but likely as not he was telling the
player under his breath, that if he
persisted in feeding raw meat to those
wolves" he would find himself
equipped with a one-way ticket to the
showers. Praise is far more pleasing
than criticism.
(69. 1880. Bell Syndicate)