Evening star., 1961-01-17
WIN, LOSE OR
UkAW By FRANCIS s7AAA
No More Lonesome Scouts

WEEK BY WEEK Hal Keller, the young farm director
OF the new Senator'S closer to his goal Of 30man
scouting staff This is expense item that might give
pause to any would-be major league clubowner When
the Washington club completes its staff the payroll for
talent scouts will to about $l8000O maybe
cludng Keller and his chief aide Jack Sheehan
mot so many years ago. Keller reminded the
other day at Griffith Stadium "very few clubs had 80
scouts For years Joe Cambria about Clark Grfhs
only scout yet he came with pretty good players
including your manager Mickey Vernon and one Of his
coaches, George Case" e" -.
"You need lot more than one scout today" Keller
said Il don't have to tell anybody that players are
scarcer But speaking of Cambria people to laugh at
the funny little the lonesome scout Listen ne was
and stan is pretty good judge of players"
There never was any serious question as to- whether
Vernon would make the grade. Nor Case who came off
the Trenton club and batted 3O5 Washington in 1885,
Two years later Sid Hudson coach Of the new Sena
tors jumped from Class to win 104 games in the majors
{g "YOU DON'T SEE so many young players making
good so quickly now" Hal conceded II always great
fan of my brother Charlie He broke in with Newark of
the International League in 1887 and bated 353 Yet
Yankees didn't even invite him to training camp.
They left him at Newark for further seasoning and he
came back with 1865 average. This time he got his
chance with the YANKEES He ready all right He hit
.344 in his first year in the majors
To-day fellow with his credentials at Newark would
have been called Immediately And yet have defend
todays young players when they don't break in like Charlie
and Hudson and Case and lots of others of
-r game
under lights one night and game the next afternoon
That's tough on hitters right there. They make
and longer road trips and because Of the big pitching
staffs they hardly ever face tired pitcher"
KELLER EVEN FEELS that modern gloves are forces
working against todays hitters "Oldtmers will disagree
with me- know he admitted but look at the plays that
are made today with these gloves"
He held his hands about inches apart This is
how much the of eders has been increased due to
those gloves he said over season all htters have got
to have few hits taken away from them"
The other Keller-Charie- visitor to town for
the Touchdown Club Award Dinner. He chuckled when
the topic of the Yankees keeping him at Newark was
brought up "We didn't get pampered in those days, "
Charlie said Until up to the Yankees in 1889 I'd
never been a railroad train.
mo kidding, we rode the bus in the international
League The first train ride ever took was the one to
sebrng, Fla, to join the Yankees"
SCOUTS ARE THE NAMELEss unsung cogs in a ball
club very good ones like Bill Essick Joe Devine and
Paul Kritche became known because the Yankees owed
much of their domination to the athletes they discovered
Cambria was little Baltimore aundryman who be-
came known early because he the butt of many
anecdotes his 59-cent expense account lunches
/. his dialect his perennial parade Of Cubans when
they novelties But the passed and Vernon
Case Ramos Pascual and other discoveries made good
little Joe eventually received his just due as Judge OF
talent.
H His original scouting report on Case although verbal
still is remembered. II found kid in New jersey Cam
.bria told Griffith. "He's pitcher"
sf Good fast bal?" Grff asked.
Don't pay attention to his arm," Joe said He
can't throw good He amt pitcher"
"a hitter?" Griff queried.
Terrible batting stroke" Cambria said. Don't pay
no attention to it."
"What can this kid do then?" Criff demanded
"Just watch him rum" Joe said. He'll run himself
into good outfelder."
And so he did. Griffith always had a soft spot for
speedboy, anyway, and baplayers didn't come swifte
than Case