Show T Maybe the Fans pans Will WillBy Balk Next By GRANTLAND RICE B BASEBALL was getting along J well without enough any change in the balk situation In the first place 1948 was a record attendance attendance attendance attend attend- ance year and 1949 19 was almost as good There was no complaint from rom the customers ballplayers or urnS um urn- pires The balk S rf 5 J was where It beS belonged be be- S longed 0 out u t of sight Then suddenly suddenly sud sud- denly it popped j J J back In again l. l 1 I It is a type of w rule violation that f few e w ballplayers S and practically no noS S fans could ever eve r Grantland Rice understand Few umpires really do They merely guess The base runner who benefits benefits bene bene- benefits fits from a balk gets something he hasn't earned It is simply a blind gift gUt Veteran pitchers are charged with balking four times in one game As many as 20 or 30 balks are called in hi a week against various various var var- ious bus league big teams No one seems to know how the plaque slipped sUpped in Ford Frick says he tie was out for no vital change in calling balks President Harridge of ot the American league is even more outspoken along these lines There has been no public or private d demand e in man a n d for any change But suddenly this past spring in exhibition contests the rhubarb-maker rhubarb was on the scene The pest had arrived Exhibition games were suddenly being rudely torn orn apart Few umpires could tell you exactly how long a second was Leo Durocher was one of the first managers to predict the upheaval upheaval up- up that was to follow I J believe Dizzy Dean called the turn correctly Brother he said if It one of them um urn- umpires umpires pires called a balk on me Id I'd just hand him the ball bali and my glove and say After this you are the pitcher Ill I'll do the um urn- Here is the main point Who Is responsible for tor all this trouble The presidents of the two leagues baseballs baseball's commissioner or the umpires urn um pires Certainly the players and fans ans are not Baseball has had enough trouble this spring with bad weather television television television tele tele- vision and badly conditioned ballplayers ballplayers ball ball- players to carry a new burden The two big lea leagues ues are over as we get the sour statistics below normal years Many teams are arc playing before before before be be- fore 1500 and 2500 spectators Certainly the present balk situation situation sit sit- isn't going to help an already soggy loggy baseball out out- look All Around the Map There is at least one extra thing you can say about any Kentucky Derby You meet practically everyone everyone every every- one who is in hi any way identified with sports We kept track of only one day and the list included Louis B. B Mayer Bill Goetz Harry Goetz Don Hutson time all end Paul Pau Bryant Kentucky's winning football foot ball coach Wally Butts Georgias Georgia's football coach Billy Conn Max Hirsch Dick Andrade Dallas I sportsman and too many others too mention The most interesting argument argument argument ment we waded into was the coming football situation especially especially especially es es- es- es as it affected the Southeastern and the Southwestern Southwestern Southwestern South South- western conferences In the first place it was interesting interest interest- ing lag to see Don Hutson and Paul Bryant together again The last time I saw them together was against a great Stanford team inthe Inthe in inthe the Rose Bowl game of 1935 Hutson and Bryant starred on Alabama's winning team that season season sea sea- son and figured heavily in Stanford's Stan fords ford's defeat Bryant was a great defensive end Hutson was the finest offensive end football has ever known He proved this later lateras as a star on the Green Bay Pack ers Hutson that day gave the greatest exhibition of offensive end play Ive I've ever seen Don DOD proved later against the Bears Giants etc that this game was no fluke Today he looks as if he could step into action tomorrow v. Both Paul Bryant of Kentucky and Wally Butts of Georgia agreed the Southeastern conference would be one of the best of the year ahead S S SHo No Ho Arcaro Alibis A poor way to inspire confidence confidence confidence dence is to start in with an excuse excuse ex ex- ex cuse a sporting philosopher once wrote Christy Mathewson once said that a ballplayer needs an alibi to bolster his confidence When you youcan youcan can throw the blame on the breaks you help your your own esteem often otten needed when a slump arrives There is something to this angle But one competitor who never uses It is Eddie Arcaro Ive known Eddie for tor a long longtime longtime longtime time John Partridge veteran trainer said a day or two ago Ive never seen him have an excuse excuse ex cuse or an alibi for a defeat |