The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-04-11
TALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

NEW YORK, April 11.-Another
baseball opener is at hand. The
teams are back from the training
camps-or to be truthful, the bally-
hoo camps.
theoretically spring training is a
vast program devoted to reducing
glrths and stiffening sinews, but its
most material benefits from the box
Office point of view accrue from the
sustained razzle- dazzle that re-
awakens the drowsy customers and
nerslds the approach Of opening
day.
PLAYER Is under thirty. Few of them are
Yer very FAR out OF condition At the
~ aos dn t.o weeks work on the field would
leeKing With health. The added i've OF
alN weeks spent in camp are important
o oniia IN so far as they contribute to the
The notion that the training camp ia
= human laboratory where the gray
insiIIeo scientists OF the game toll tire
ana weigh carefully the base hit content
OIL new batting eyes is largely a myth
Inc exciting adventure Of uncovering
new WOW in the training camps no
longer exists, for the reason that the
nnknowns are widely publicized before
tney report. Bssebalfs most marked ad-
payer that won't bring $50, 600 in the
open market these days is looked upon
With suspicion and skepticism, II indeed
ne Is looked upon at al.
everybody for instance, knew about
Srosetu, the new Yankee infelder, before
~ came up II will be more Of a surprise
ne fails than If he succeeds While
league nal pitch In a scheduled game the
coast youngster is already one Of the
oest known players in the game.
TODAY in Washington, by spe-
Il cial permission of the weather
gods, President Herbert Hoover will
throw out the first ball, thus Of
1cially launching another season of
the national pastime. Baseball is
the only sport to which the Presi-
dent of the United States lends a
baptismal hand BY his presence
ne helps to materialize the illusion
That baseball is the game of the
American people.
The ritual dates back to the early davs
pion sne sport sport: 1t Is one Of the few tradi-
yived. This is at once both a bea IIHIy
oludn Tor the game and the President. II
Sncs 10 convince the voters that the chief
81 me crowd j., along with it. he hap
p addsd % really like baseball. that is an
Some, Of the presidents have been eenu-
me, enthusiasis. Roosevelt reacted ecstatic-
ftI nSw 70 ne ne. drama, OF The game. HARDING
ms own score. Nobody could ever tell
whether Coolidge was bored or Interested
ana called him Hiram. confusing him with
me Canfornia statesmen never heard
whether an apology was made. or TO whom
MR.. CONNIE MACK of the Ath-
4FA letics trying to win his fourth
straight championship. Tradition
says he can't do it. No other Ameri-
can League team has ever won four
pennants in a row. Most of the
critics are picking the Yankees. and
mainly on the bunch that tradition
Is a tough factor to subdue.
Added to the bunch is the almost
general feeling that the greatest
player of modern times-Babe Ruth
is due to blow. This is the start
Of Mr.. Ruths eighteenth year as
big Lacquer. Other players have
lasted longer, but they were geared
Tor the long run. Mr.. Ruth is a fat
man with slender legs, and legs are
important in baseball. When they
go, you are through
AS far back as 1921. ball PLAYERS were
predicting that Mr.. Ruth would fold up
IN two or three years. Instead he kept
on coming at an amazing pace, set a new
record Tor home runs and then beat it.
Just TO prove that it could be done
AT 49,, Mr.. Ruth is no longer the ball
player he used to be- He can't get
around the bases with his old time speed
s snil ne needs lot of help. in the out
to remind you that Mr.. Ruth hasn't
played through full season since 1928.
Always the gentleman. has been the
spear head of the. Yankee attack. The
slogan "As Ruth goes, so 20 the
Yankees is not Jest There is no
telling how he will go this year If he
goes PACK the Yankees will probably 20
with him