Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-12-24 | Page 23 | Winter Time Brings out Many Tales of the Diamond

Winter Time Brings Out Many Tales of the Diamond. Hero is something refreshing iu these days of master-aud-uian bitterness in baseball. At a banquet in Cleveland, President Dunn, of the Cleveland team, declared that the best thing he ever, did in his Hi'o was to get '1 lis Speaker, Speak-er, even if it cost him $liO,000. ' ' I f oiuid Tris, ' ' went on Dunn, "not only a wonderful ballplayer, but a man ot" his word, and today 1 regard him as one of my vory best friends, a player who has my interests at heart all' the time. When his playing days are over, 1 sincerely hope that Speaker will bo associated with me in some liue of business, for I want to keep him as a friend and associate uutil the very end. Jack Graney, Cleveland Indian outfielder, out-fielder, is determined that when the day arrives that he is no longer able to skip briskly about the diamond, he will be able to earn a living in some ' other honorable fashion. Jack is go- i nr to high school hore through the winter and means to complete his education edu-cation and take up inndioiue. hi very morning Jack tucks his books under fiis arm and trips away to school with tho other high school lads and he has become as popular among them as any of the other young fellows. After his high" school graduation, which will be within another year or so. .Jack wiH bo readv for further education edu-cation that will fit him for the study of medicine. Big league owners 1 rown on their players doing any athletic work during dur-ing the off season. They reason that eyes and muscles are entitled to a rest after a stern pennant campaign of six months. In the new contracts, players are expressly ex-pressly forbidden to play exhibition h.isoball or football, basketball or any other athletic sports in the off season. Charles Weeghmnn. owner of the Cubs, wrote Outfielder Mann that he must choose between basketball and baseball. .Mann doesn't plav basketball, basket-ball, but coaches the Amherst basketball basket-ball five, which Weeghnmn thinks, takes up too much of his time- to do him good. Prohibiting coaching is drawing it a little fine, but Weeghman insists that unless Mann quits his basketball post he will have no place for him on the Cub team. Benny Michael Kauff. the Giants' clever outfielder, says he has seen tho licht. Bashful Beunv lias confessed. Kauff admits that he" did wax a little strong hist winter about his ability to poke the baseball and declared without with-out a blush "that he could bunt .350 in the National League. " But Bunny says he didn't exactly mean to be a braggart; he honestly believed all those things would come to pass. Alter leading the Federal League for two seasons with heavy majorities, Beunv Beu-nv had a high estimate or B. Kauff 's ability as a" slugger. Ho expected it would be ea-sy tailing to a National League batting championship. But let Beuny tell his own story: "I had a bad year," said Beuny, "and that is all there is to it. "A lot of things were printed about me, and i was conscious that 1 had to live up to a reputation. Kvery place I went they expected me to knock a ' hit every time 1 came up. I tried to oblige and wanted to make good my predictions, and then I guess 1 was ; nervous. 1 "In the last third of the National ! Leacue season I did a lot better and '1 was cracking the pitchers pretty hard inst before the end of the season came. 'The reason I went better is that no 'longer was a conspicuous member ot i the team, and I had become accustomed ! to the routine of the National League. I With the novelty gone. T expect to hit naturallv next season, and believe 1 will ; bat well over .300. f '