The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-01-18
Great Things
Expected of
Yank Recruit
Ri Maggie Packs for First
Visit to Majors With
Mixed Emotions.
BY DANIEL NJ. DANIEL
Times Special Writer

bW YUM, Jan. lo.-ouI III The
IN north beach section of San
Francisco there lives young man
by the name of Di Maggie. chris
tened Giuseppe, who awaits the
fast-approaching baseball training
season with mixed feelings and, no
doubt, some measure of trepidation.
With the Limits of his travels con-
fined to the Pacific Coast League
circuit, and fabulous, opulent New
York an amazing, frightening pres
pect, this 20-year old Italian out
fielder from the Funston playground
IS preparing to join the Yankees at
their st. Petersburg (Fla) training
ground.
Until he Joined the San Francisco
Seals three years ago, Joe Di Maggie
never had been across the bay, to
Oakland.
DEHIND Di Maggie there is rich
40 background of achievement by
other stars Of the Coast League who
made the long trek across the
Rockies to shine in the majors. Hal
Chase, who was the first of the out
standing Coast Leaguers to make a
strident place for himself in the
east; Lefty Gomez, Bob Meusel,
Frank O'Doul the two Waners,
Tony Lazzeri, Frank Crosetti, Earl
Averill, all came from that circuit.
George Kelly, Fred Snodgrass and
lilly Shafer were others who came
from California to. eventual stardom
with the Giants. The successes of
these men beckon to Di Maggie for
emulation, and they shout to him
their encouragement.
But there have been other voy-
ayers from the coast who have made
the journey over the very same trail
which Di Maggie will cover, and
who have undergone the test which
will command Joe's effort-all to no
purpose but defeat. Jimmy O'Con-
nell Paul Strand, Myril Hoag, Lyn
Larry, Jimmy Reese, Hal Rhyme,
Buzz Arlett-these and a hundred
others can testify to Di Maggie that
1t is hard row which breaks the
spirit and bows down the flesh.
u
THEY could tell Di Maggie of the
L. pitfalls of overconfidence and
the dangers of an inferiority COM
pick, and they can bell of the haz-
ards Of tremendous publicity which
has raised popular expectations to a
feVeriSh, unreasonable peak.
To LazZeri and Crosetti has gone
the task of chaperoning their fellow
Californian and charting this middle
course. Theirs, too, is no enviable
job.
AS Di Maggie heads for the East
he may be prone to forget about
Coast successes and dwell overlong
on Coast failures. The most COM
plebe major league busts from the
Pacific Coast circuit were O'Connell,
for whom the Giants paid $75 1000 in
cold cash to the very club which
is shipping Di Maggie to the
Yankees, and Strand, for whom the
canny Connie Mack gave $55,OO0 to
Salt Lake.
OCoNNELL came East scared,
~ and he remained scared-and
surprisingly ingenious. AS you
know, he got mixed up in that 1924
scandal. Heinie Sand, of the Phil
lies, who had played in the Coast
League, charged that Jimmy had
offered him $500 to throw game at
the Polo Grounds. O'Connell and
Cozy Dolan were barred from base
ball.
Now and then Jimmy showed
flashes of rare skill. But these
were few and far between.
Strands dismal failure with the
Athletics converted major league
scouts into students of attitudes and
their effect on a batted ball. Mack
discovered that Strands 400 aver
age and his 43 home runs were
traced to the high, rare atmosphere
of Salt Lake City. In low, not so
rare, Philadelphia, Strand was a
busher.
But as Giuseppe Di Maggie pre-
pareS for the long journey to the
home plate at Washington on April
Ia the Specters of great expectations
and tremendous publicity must
haunt him like nightmare. And
as Di Maggie packs, Joe Mccarthy
says, This lad may take up the
stick and win us a pennant."
NEW SWIM RECORD