The Washington times., 1931-04-11
SHIFT
PLAYERS
ABOUT
By BABE RUTH


It doesn't take many years for a
ball club to be omple t
changed, but we don't realize it
until something brings the fact
forcibly to our attention. ! ran
into a reminder just a few days
ago when we stopped at Birming
ham for an exhibition game on
our way home from the training
camp.
One of the pitchers with the
Birmingham team Is Ray Caid
we'll who was in the American
League about ten year. Ray came
over to say hello before the game
and we started talking about our
ball club and the league in gen.
eral.
do you know" Caldwell
said to me "that I feel almost
a total stranger now when I
run into a big league club?
Some of them have two or
three fellows who were in the
league when 1 was there last,
about 1921 but most of the
players of today hadn't been
heard of then by the big lea
que fans. Take the Yankees
for instance. You have four
players here who were in the
league when / left. They are
Cy Perkins, Herb PennOck, Joe
SewelI and yourself. The others
SonT,1 tn hN inst lids -
During our talk Caldwell men
toned that I was the only player
with the Yankees now who was
with the club 10 years ago, his
last season in the American
League. The other fellows were
with other clubs then. Sewell
was with Cleveland. Pennock with
Boston and Perkins with Philadel
phia.
We figured it out during oul
chat that there are not 10 play
erS in the American League who
have been with the same bal
club for 10 years. It didn't seem
possible until we went over the
list. We may have forgotten a
player or two but have trieG
since to recall somebody we
missed. We could not think OF
a player now with the Tigers
Browns or Red Sox who was a
member of these teams for the
past 10 years.
With Same Club
Red Faber of the White Sox
Chick Jameson of the Indians
Sam Rice and Joe Judge of the
Griffmen, and Jimmy Dykes and
Eddie Rommel of the AS were
the players, besides myself, who
have been with their clubs con
tinuouSly for 10 years or more
These players whom 1 have
witten about are not the only
ones in our league 10 years
ago and have remained in it
ever since. There are about 10
others who were playing in
Caldwell'S time and still are in
the league, but these have been
shifted from one club to an
other. Some of them have
been with more than two clubs.
Detroit has Uhle, Schang, Hoyt
and McManus. but all these were
with other clubs then. Muddy
Ruel was with Boston, just as
he is now, but Muddy made a
big name for himself as Wash
ington's star catcher between his
engagements with the Red Sox
Bing Miller, Bib Falk, Sam Jones
and Lu Blue are the others whom
Caldwell mentioned as being ir
the league when he left, but al
are now wearing different uni
forms.
Perhaps we missed a player Of
two. But not many. This goes
to show that the life of bal
player in the big leagues il
rather brief. Every year about
275 or 800 players go to the
training camps of the eight clubs
in either major league. Ter
years later we find hardly 25 re
naming.
We did not figure out the Ma
tlonal League because neither on
of us played there, and we art
not as familiar with the players
as we were in the American.
had often thought of the short
time the average player lasts II
the majors. but this was surpris
ing. 1t did not seem that a fel
low who was in the league such
a short time ago as Caldwell wa
would know so few Of the play
erS,
Copyright. 1881. by the Christy Walsl