The Washington times., 1931-05-23
BEN CHAPMAN
FINDS SELF
|NGARDEN
NV OB 30 ~ @
BY BABE RUTH

hV OBUEOGV
BY BABE RUTH
NEW YORK, May 23.-It is al
ways interesting to watch a player
develop in one position after he
has played for some time in po-
sition entirely different. Some.
times the player catches on, as
they say, very quickly. And there
are times when it seems impossi-
ble for him to do anything right
after he has been moved to new
position.
We have had one of these shifts
with the Yankees this spring. Ben
Chapman came to our club as an
1nt1elder. He started as a third
! naSeman and later was moved to
second. Then came flock of in
Jur1es and Ben was sent to the out
Held mainly because there was
nobody else to play out there.
Has Every Requisite
believe Chapman is going to
develop into quite an outfielder.
He has done SO we'll already that
a manager need never be afraid
to send him out there. He has
everything. He is fast, has a pow
ertul arm and he apparently has
q good sense of direction, and
Judgment of distance. He is bound
TO make some mistakes, but that
happens after player has been
out there for years, SO there is
nothing strange about it. Wait
and see If Ben doesn't shine in the
outfield.
Chapman is following in
famous footsteps in going from
third base to the Yankee out
field. Bob MeuSel did the same
thing, and, if anybody tells you
Bob MeuSel wasn't great out
fielder in his best day, don't
you believe it. Bob was not
always appreciated because he
seemed iStIeSS in his manner.
But he sure could step around
that Outfield and very little got
away from him that could be
caught.
remember Bob's debut with the
Yankees. He Joined the club the
same spring that I did. That was
1920 and we trained in Jackson
vile. Bob had been a third base
man the year before out in the
Coast League, but I found out
early that Miller Higgins did not
think so much Of his work around
third base. He sure could pound
the ball, however, and I knew q
place would be found for him. Mil
Ter decided he should make quite
an outfielder and. as usual. the
little fellow figured correctly. Bob
was one of his regulars for ten
seasons. including the six pen
nant winning years.
OutfieId Fixture
John McGraw Is carrying on an
experiment of the same kind, or
perhaps it is not an experiment
any more, but a fixture. McGraW
shifted Freddie LindStrom to the
outfield this spring after Fred had
been a third baseman for more
than six years on his club. Not
only that but Lindstorm was re-
garded as one of the great infield-
ers of his day. while Chapman was
Just youngster battling for
honorS. Then again it was not an
emergency that brought about
this change. But McGraw seems
to have figured properly on Lind
strom, just as Higgins did on Meu-
sci and Joe Mccarthy did on
Chapman.
LindStrOm also had a great
player to follow in moving from
the Giants infieId to the out
field. You know Ross Young
was an infielder when he came
to the Giants. Great a ball play
er as Young waS-and he GER
tainly was among the greatest
I ever looked at-he could not
make himself fit as an infielder.
McGraw moved him to the out
field where he became one of
the greatest Of all time.
Harry Heilmann is another
player who moved from the in
field to the outfield during my
time as a player, and developed
into a high class performer. My
early recollection of Heilmann
with the Detroit Tigers was as
a first baSeman. Then Lu Blue
came along and Harry went to
the outfield regularly. But during
his first five years with the
Tigers, Harry spent a good part
of his time on the infield.
Opportunities for Pitchers
I suppose there are many other
Instances of the same kind, but
these come first to mind, and
they prove that some players have
found the change only stepping
stone to do greater work. Plenty
of pitchers have been developed
into outfielders but usually this
was done to add batting strength
when the pitcher was an excep-
tional hitter.
Pitchers have more opportunity
to develop into outfielders because
YOU can find them, any day they
are not pitching, chasing around
the outfield during the batting
practice. But an infielder seldom
gets such a chance until he is
told the consider himself an out
fielder. $3.50, >,,-.-.
Walsh Syndicate)
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