The Washington times., 1932-05-09
PLAYERS FAIL
To SHOW ANY
PART|AL|TY
By BABE RUTH

tions in the thousands Of letters
which I have received about
baseball, but what I consider
the oldest of all came to me
o few days ago. AS I thought
It over it occurred to me thai
It was peculiar that nobody evel
thought of that before. AND
then I realized what high plant
Of honesty is occupied by base
ball when such an idea was not
advanced before.
Perhaps somebody has asked
the same question in the past
but I must confess it was q
new one to me.
Quotes Letter
I am going to give you the
letter as w1<tten, using only
the initials, as the author was
good enough to give his full
name and address, and he want
ed a reply. The letter reads
this way:
"Dear Babe:
Please give me the lOwdOwn
on a thing in baseball which
always has puzzled me. 1t can
happen to some extent, in
various sports, but in baseball
there is direct connection
which makes it easier for one
to help another. 1 refer to the
conditions which bring one
brother against another in a
ball game. Realizing that one
mans success in the big league
depends on his ability to get
hits, what about it?
/ saw some games last year
In which the Sewel brothers
took part, Joe with the Yankees
and Luke with the Indians.
When Joe came to bat / often
wondered how Luke must feel
while working to make his
brother fail. Luke, as catcher
Of one team, was giving signs
to his pitcher in an effort to
fool Joe, the hitter.
Must Fool Him
Take the case Of the Indians
meeting the Browns. Yves
FerreH is pitching for Cleveland
and Rick FerrelI, his brother,
Is catching for st. Louis. When
Rick comes to bat Yves must
try to strike him out, as . /
understand this baseball. When
Yves comes to bat-and he is
quite q hitter-there is Rick
CrOuched behind the bat, giving
signs to a st. Louis pitcher so
rs to get his brother out on
strikes.
There have been many
brothers in baseball playing on
different teams. These 1 have
mentioned furnish timely
examples for the question
which is bOthering me. 1 know
the Sewells and the FerrellS
and all other brothers are in
tereSted in each others success.
Yet here they have to do their
best to bring about failure. Am
I right?
If blood is thicker than
water, is it also thicker than
loyalty for ones own team? Do
you think one brother ever
goes easy on another brother
in baseball?
(Signed) A. M. L.
The answer is easy. don't
think there is a brother in base
ball who would give another
brother an edge on as much as 9
ball or a strike. have seer
Luke Seweu put up a kick be
cause an umpire called ball or
Joe when Luke figured it was q
strike. I have seen Joe make
circus stops and throw Luke out
And SO it goes through baseball
I never have had an opportunity
to see the Ferrels play against
each other but you can bet youl
last nickel they feel the same
way about it. And so do all tht
other brothers who come into
conflict in baseball.
Play Harder
These brothers may be great
pals off the field but have moi
the slightest interest in seeing
each other succeed against ones
own team. I have an idea thai
brothers will play even harder
against each other so as not tc
have anyone think there is q
sign Of favoritism. It Is part Of
the game that ones team is en-
titled to the fullest loyalty from
every member, regardless of con
ditionS, and that is why thu
Sewells and the Ferrells anc
other brothers will battle hare
against each other and have nc
feeling about it.
I am glad that A. M. L. brought
up this point. I sent him a per
sonal letter, explaining just what
I have told here. It struck me a.
an unusual idea, and the very
fact that it is unusual emphasizes
the attitude of the average far
toward baseball. He knows thai
relationship and friendship havl
no part on the field. Some grear
pals are often separated by deal!
and trades after they have beer
together for years. They NEE
and battle each other all after
noon, then have dinner together
Which is just as it should be.