The Washington times., 1931-03-31
YOUNGSTERS
MUST HAVE
CONTROL
By BABE RUTH

BIRMINGHAM, Ala, Marcn
Silt takes a training camp to
make even a ball player realize
what q difference there is be-
tween young and old pitching
You see young fellows report
when camp opens, get into shape
quickly and show an amazing lot
of speed or a wonderful curve.
Then you hear that they have
been sent back for more expert
ence. Some of them you never
hear about any more.
The answer is that all the stuff
IN the world is no guarantee that
a pitcher will make the big league
grade. The woods are full OF
young pitchers who seem to have
everything they need to win sue
cess. But how often does fel-
low come up to the big leagues
without professional experience
and last very long.
Curve Ball Useless
We had q fellow with us one
time who had the greatest curve
ball I have seen since I joined
the Yankees, but it did not 90
him any good. He stuck around
for awhile, then went back to the
minors, came back again ana
finally was turned loose. He
couldn't control it and he did not
know how to use it, anyway. IL
was a pity that such wonderful
curve got away.
We have young fellows with
the club who can throw faster
and curve a ball lot better
than PennOck. But l guess they
will be showing that speed ana
curve for some minor league
club this summer while Herb
PennOck will be winning games
for the Yankees.
It is the same in every camp.
I guess. The day we played tne
Cardinals in Bradenton I saw a
\ccuple of young pitchers VINO
looked wonderful. Later when
was talking with some st. Louis
veterans about their chances
and they surely expect to win
they did not mention these young
pitchers at all. They talked OF
what Grimes and Haines would
do and both Of them are ola
timers.
It takes years to learn pitching.
Infielders, outfielders and catch
ers make the grade to the t9p
much faster. Some of the best
pitchers 1 have known were up
and sent back three or four times
before they finally got on to the
tricks of the trade. We see 1t
right along in the playing season.
We face pitchers who haven't
near as much stuff as they had
a few years back, and still they
are harder to hit. They know
how to pitch and what to do in a
pinch. The young fellow with
the great speed and the sharp
curve blows up at the wrong
time.
Ignores Young Pitchers
I was reading the other day
sbout the Brooklyn pennant
chances and the writer devoted
a good part of his story to Vance,
Luuue and Quinn. All Of them
have lost some of the natural
skill they had years ago and yet
all are counted on to help win a
remnant. The writer ignored most
of the young pitchers in Uncle
Robbie's squad.
Take Sam Jones, George
UhIe, Milton CASTOR and a few
more. All of them will prob
ably tell you that they can't
put as much on the ball as
they used to do, but they don't
have to. Any batter would
rather swing against the young
fellow with all the speed than
one Of these pitchers.
I would say that the average
pitcher has to be around the
league four or five years before
he really knows how to pitch.
Now and then some young pitcher
comes through fast and becomes
a consistent winner as Yves Fer
rell of the Cleveland Club has
done in his first two seasons.
But this is an exception. Most
pitchers have a slow time get
ting near the top and holding
O place up there.
There is a pitcher in our lea
que now who is a good example
of what I am driving at. This
pitcher has so much stuff that
] would not be surprised the
least bit that if he stepped out
this year or next year and prob
ably win 80 ball games. and most
of ouf greatest pitchers of the
past 20 years never reached that
mark. The man I have in mind
has everything a pitcher needs
except one thing. And that hap
pens to be most imporCant-and
SO far. hc never has learned how
to pitch. in spite of all the ad-
vice that has been given tC him.
Copyright 1881. by The Chrsty
Walsh Syndicate