Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-12
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ing John vacation, promising him bonuA
talking quietly to him and even bawling the
feathers off him. John would just sit and
listen, looking glum, and all he'd say was.
I'm not there boss. I'm just not there that's
ALL"
Base ball is business and club owners don't
like to pay salaries to a fellow who can only
pitch home runs They had the Old Man
the carpet and he had to agree that John
looked all washed up. After two more starts.
in which John was terrible. we got the news
one night that John had been handed his
unconditional release, which was his right, as
he had served 10 years in the league.
None Of the other clubs wanted him. In base
ball, when a man is through, he's good and
through. When the boys heard about it they
didn't do any quartet singing that night. And
the Old Man himself went around like . grizzly
with hornets up its nose, cussing out everybody.
for he's the kind that doesn't want people TO
know he isn't as hard-boiled as he seems to be.
He growled himself into fine case OF tom
Silitis and had to be laid up In q hospital for
repairs, 50 Hank Clarity was left in charge
when the next team blew into town for . series.
Their boss wasn't with them, being of on Q
business trip 50 the old HEAVIER, Lefty" Hooker.
was running them. good guy. Well, tbs
nrst three games those boys went through IL
like bullet through q cheese. They'd brought
their hitting clothes along and the way they
lambasted our pitching was brutal.
John Brown sat around on our bench, watch
ing. He acted like o man who had been beaned.
He kept on the unie he'd been wearing all
those years, IS he was pretending to himself
that it was all . joke and that 1t wasn't true
that he had been laid on the shelf forever
Now, IN the Held Hank Garritty and Lefty
Hooker fought each other like wildcats bat
they'd been battery-mates and buddies in tina
old days and OF duty they were still good
friends But you can't pal around with players
AvaI nlnn Lob tn
fans. Still, Hank used to pusSyfoot around to
Lefty's hotel room at night and they'd chin for
hours.
The night before the fourth game Hank
stayed talking with Lefty most Of the night. ana
the next morning he made US all come to the
club house and he gave Us . long talking to-
guess the eyes Of the fans and the writer's
nearly bulged right out Of their skulls when
they saw old John Brown plod out to the
pitchers mound to start that fourth game. He
looked surprised himself.
The jumps behind the plate signals to let it
go and John lets 1t go. McHaig. the first up.
pops an easy one into the air. Abbott takes
three swipes. Castro fouls of a dozen or SO
and then is out on soft slap to first. John
walks back to our dugout hitching up his
pants, and there's q grin on his face. He hadn't
grinned since that day when his no-hit game
went bIooey.
Big JEFF was working against U.S. using that
jumpy splitter Of his, for that was back in the
days before they dried up the moist balls, and
he was always poison to US. He set us down In
One-two-three order. It started OF like 4
pitchers battle, provided old John didn't crack.
In the second John worked careful on Fritm
KIey, but the jumps had . clam In his eye
or something and Fritz drew pass. He broke
for second and was out q mile ON O'BoyIeis peg.
Fiji hunted right into Johns hand and Eddie
Dillon guessed wrong on . third strike. John
was still grinning. It seemed rs IL the grin
had frozen on his face.
We didn't do much with Big JEFF. In the
fourth Brophy got . scratch hit on him ana
in the sixth Pete Lake raked him for triple.
but died on third.
PUT II we weren't exactly hammering JEFF.
neither were Hooker's men FASTING John.
They were connecting. all right. bat nearly