The Washington times., 1938-03-01
Rookie Catcher
Earns Griff's S
Praise
BY FRANK BUCK" O'NEILL

| ny rAANA DUN " NEALA
ORLANDO, Fla, March /
Tommy Livingston's feats with
his we'll oiled catcher's mitt
Launched Clark c. Griffith on a
train of "reminiscences as the
second training drill of the
Washington club got under way
at Tinker Field here today. Living
stone is one Of the juvenile hopes
Of the greying leader Of the
Griffs. If style. grace, and action
indicate a single thing in the
world, he may develop into a
worthwhile performer.
"He handles that mitt the
way OsSie Shreck used to-" said
Griff as Thompson went into
the dirt and dug up a nasty
half hopper. HE must have
been playing bali somewhere
before he got into camp.
Look at that" grunted Griff
as the kid reached over over
his head and snagged a high,
IF he can handle speed that way
ne may De all TlgnC.
NO HITTING YET
yeah, if he can hit," said a
hard-boiled observer.
That's right" agreed Bucky
Harris, IF he can hit"
We won't know much about
Thompson, nor Of any of the others
for at least a week or 10 days, for
Griff has issued orders that there
is to be no hitting practice until
the boys had a chance to work
their arms into a semblance Of con-
dition. Harris believes that there
Is not a man on the squad who
should not be in condition to go
at least three innings, working rea-
sonably hard at the end Of 10 days.
Thompson'S minor league record
gives little cause for optimism so
far as batting power is concerned.
He was under the $50 mark with
Charlotte and Chattanooga last sea-
son, and surely there is no occa.
sion 70 burn red fire over that
kind OF hitting.
GOOD PROSPECT
There's another kid here--just q
raw, untutored busher-plucked
from Joe Strips baseball school.
He may be a good catcher one
of these days. He is headed for
Charlotte at the present writing,
but he may be worth remembering.
His name is Evans, and he's sandy.
haired, blue-eyed and pug-nosed.
He came from up in the North
Carolina country.
There's dash of the county fair
ball player about Evans. He shifts
nicely and seems to get into posi-.
ton to throw. He has a nice
snap action to his pegs, and there's
a suggestion of power there.
These spring training camps are
often called the abode of hope.
That's not altogether right. There
are plenty Of hopes here, but trag-
edy stalks the turf and haunts the
locker room.
MAY GET WELL
Consider the case of Joe Haynes,
one of the young pitchers. Here
is a kid with fine style action. He's
a real prospect, but years ago he
developed a trouble in his left arm.
An operation was performed on
the bone Of the upper arm. But
something went wrong, and today
there is an ugly cavity in the
muscles where doctors made a
drain.
Talk about tragedy. There it is,
smacking you right in the eyes on
the opening day of the camp.
Clyde Milan says that Haynes
really can pitch. AS a matter of
fact, we saw him work last year,
and know that he has a real fast
ball. It might be that a trip to
Johns Hopkins. or maybe the Mayo
brothers in Minnesota would re-
store this boys arm and give him
his chance to win a place in base.
ball.
Elon Hogsett was one of the first
on the field and among the last to
leave it. He just lobbed the ball
around and got into the fielding
end Of a pepper game. Hogsett
feels that if he gets a reasonable
amount Of rest between games that
he will do right well with Wash
Iington.