The Washington times., 1932-03-12
VETS FORCED
To UTMOST.
!. FORJOBS
BY BABE RUTH


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, March
12.-It is a bit early t oget real
line on the players now getting
tryouts at the various big league
camps, but from reports I have
had on a few of them this 1882
crop is going to force a few old
timers to battle hard for their
places. This is the time of year
when we hear so much about this
and that player who is making a
bid for big league berth.
This is the way the information
spreads In our camp, for in
stance. we have three young
players who were in the Pacific
Coast League last year. three from
the American Association and five
from the International League.
Easy to Get Line
When players get together in
the spring it is easy to get a line
on the star minor leaguers from
the men who played with or
against them last year. -'
There are a few players, such as
Art Ghires, Pat Crawford, Pinky
Hargraves and others who are no
strangers in the majors. Then
there are the newcomers, such as
Crosett, Saltzgaver, Hill and
others who never were at a big
league training camp up to this
year.
These players naturally are go-
ing to find the going much more
difficult in the big leagues than it
was in the top class minors. A
good fielder is as good in one
league as in another, but hitting
is something else again.
Some of the greatest minor
league sluggers have been stopped
completely by big league pitching
and forced to return to the
minors. On the other hand play
erS who have not been regarded
as unusual hitterS in the minor
leagues have come into the
majors and have been successes
from the start. This was due to
the fact that +ney were improv-
ing gradually all the time and
this improvement was not halted,
even by higher class pitching.
May Be Unknown
It is possible that the most
successful rookie of 1892 will be
some unsung player who hasn't
stood out particularly in the field
of recruits. I recall that a year
ago Joe Sewell told me down
here one day thau I should keep
an eye on a young player who
was at the Cleveland training
camp.
"HiS name is Joe VOSmik,"
Joe told me, land he's q big
Lacquer right now. Cleveland
has plenty of Outfielders Iut
this kid can't be kept out of
the lineup. II you predict that
he will be one Of the sensa-
tiOns of 1881 you can't go
wrong. Blame 1t on me If he
fails, because If he isn't q big
Lacquer now never saw one"
So I followed Joe's advice and
told the fans to watch Joe Vos-
mix. I had no reason to regret
the prediction because he came
through as the star rookie of the
year. He was the best in our
league and I believe Johnny
Vergez, of whom also got some
fine reports and wrote about last
spring., was the best in the Ma
tionaL
From what I have heard to
date I believe this Ed Coleman, of
the Athletics, is to be ore of the
rookie stars of this year. All
my tips on these youngsters can't
be correct but the Coast League
players at our camp say he is a
grand hitter who is quite sure to
make a name for himself. Some
seem to think he will be regu-
lar in the AS outfield but I would
not go as far as to say that.
Eckhardt, of the Braves, and
; ..rbee, of the Pirates. are two
othe- Coast League graduates who
are rated as quite likely to make
thei- presence felt, but the dope
at this time favors Coleman.
He is touted as a natural hitter
with tremendous batting power
and from the things he did in the
Coast League he should be very
successful as a MOTOR Lacquer.