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Show BENCH CHATTER much pa "Getting Their Goat" Not So Effective as Many Persons Per-sons Think It. Too Much Credit Given to Smith's Tongue Exercise in World Series. By BILLY EVANS. American League Umpire. "Get their goat, and we will beat them." Baseball has originated many a slang expression. Some of them are national Institutions. "Atta Boy,' "Sbow som pepper," pep-per," "Ginger up" and "Come on boys, a little life,"' are a few expressions of the ball -fields. Xone is better known than "Get their goat." In 1914 the Boston Braves made the Philadelphia Athletics look foolish in the world series. The Athletics were top-heavy top-heavy favorites, but the Braves won four straight. Since then it has been common talk that the Braves won because they, to use the slang of the ball field, "got the goats" of the Philadelphia players from the start, and thereby to a great extent ruined their effectiveness. I know several players on the Braves, and they insisted the way the Braves rode the Athletics was what made winning so easy-. They told me personalities flavored with tabasco sauce were hurled at the Athletics. Ath-letics. Family affairs and state secrets were dug up and told the world. I have always taken such talk with a grain of salt. No one can make me believe be-lieve the Braves won purely on conversation.. conver-sation.. I think the Braves won because the team played the better ball, was favored fa-vored with airtight pitching, and some one always was able to come through with a timely hit. when an opportunity 10 score was offered. In addition, the breaks favored the Braves. Usually the breaks favor the winning team. More Than Talk. -In many cases the style of play adopted adopt-ed bv such a team makes possible such breaks. To top off the work of the Braves, it was a team that played with a confidence in its ability to beat not only the Athletics, but any old team. Perhaps this or that Athletic player was a bit affected by the "ride" given him bv the Boston players, but it played only a" small part in the final resuit. I have always figured the Braves deserved to win. because the team outplayed the Athletics Ath-letics In a!l departments, not because there were a couple of fellows on. the club who could say unkind things to the opposing players. Recently I read a statement by Johnny Evers. who assisted Manager Moran of the Cincinnati club in preparation of the series with the White Sox. Evers said no player on the Cincinnati club played a more prominent part in' the success of the Reds than Smith, perhaps raanv people peo-ple will be surprised to know Smith was on the club. Evers said Smith, by his personal remarks, so "got the goat" of a number of Chicago players that they were unable to do themselves justice. Evers mentioned Eddie Collins among the players affected. Of course, to me that was a laugh, knowing Collins as I do. Smith is a substitute on the Cincinnati club, who had evidentlv been appointed as the cheer leader of Reds' crew of "goat getters." Too Much Credit. It seems to me that Evers s statement in giving so much credit to Smith is hardly fair to the rest of the team that played such magnificent baseball. I would say the first game won bv Cincinnati Cincin-nati was made possible by Reuther"s good pitching, his own hard hitting and .the general excellent play of the Reds. The second game, it seemed to me. was won through Sallee's ability to pitch airtight ball in the pinches, coupled with a tlme-. tlme-. ly three-base wallop by Kopf. after V.";l- ( liamE had passed several men. Kerr's pitching for Chicago was responsible for the third came going to the Sox. When a team can't make a run, it hasn't much chance to win. That is what happened to Chicago in the fourth game. It strikes me that the superb pitching of Jimmy Ring was the deciding factor in this J'.xne. Eddie Cicotte pitched about as well, but his two errors defeated him. The fifth game stands as a monument to the prowess of Hod Elier. In that game he caused nine of the Chicago olay-ers olay-ers to eo out on strikes, getting six in a row. Chicago won the sixth and seventh games because the Reds faltered in the Fixth. their only break In the series, while Cicotte was master of the Reds in the seventh. A genuine batting spree by Cincinnati Cin-cinnati made possible the winning of the eighth game, 10 to o. A resume of the series makes it ap-narent ap-narent the Ditching of Reuther. Sallee, Eller and Ring had much to do with winning. Likewise, the timely hitting of Kopf. Duncan. Groh. "Daubert and Neale had considerable to do with the Reds' finishing on top. Incidental!.', the brilliant bril-liant work in the field by Eddie Roush and the splendid catching of Wingo and Rarlden played an equal part. Unfair to Players. Tt seemfl to me that to give a substitute sub-stitute who contributed nothing more than conversation a higher rating than the players mentioned is unfair to those players and a bit of a knock to the game from a sportsman's viewpoint. Most peo-" peo-" pie who like basebal1 do so hecause they believe it is the celanest of all sportf. people who believe results are attained through superiority on the ball field, not because aome bench warmers can get away with stinging personalities that tend to upeet the players made the target for them. I like baseball too well to think for even a minute that "tabasco " conversation" beat the Chicago ball club, r maintain the Reds won because they played better hall, and deserved the victory vic-tory on their merits. Don't set the impression that "personalities" "per-sonalities" were not Indulged in. I regret re-gret thev were to a decided degree. Don't get the impression that the Reds were the sole offenders. Th battle of tongues wa started by th Reds, probably led by Smith, since Evers gives Mm o much credit. Don't think the White Sot stood for It without a murmur. Xay: Nay! Thev came back In like language. I didn't like the stuff. I commented about Jt In th dressing room after one name and expressed regret that a better spirit of sportsmanship couldn't be shown. World ssrles games are peculiar In manv way;. The games arc played under un-der the rules of th league In whose park the contest Is staged. That is. In frames played on the NaMonal intrue grounds the construction the National league places on many things that ran com' up are observed, ob-served, and vle versa on th A merlcan league parks. Both games In whlh T was the "umplre-ln-ehlef" were plaved at Cincinnati. Cin-cinnati. T make this statement to explain ex-plain an Incident when Collins ame to bat for the first time In the second game. Eft was greeted by a rrjoru of personal -marks from the bench warmers on the Cincinnati cUifrJ the nnrpo bMng to "a-et his aoat." A like Incident m n American lss-ruc same during the regular eason would ha ' c cAUtad to ft op Ibe conter ed warn ihe offending piai r A reotlton of th In-idenf .."wid have caui dlsmua) -f the offT,dln players. Thert s a iesguo r"lc in the American that a plsvr so nffndln Is a iT''-natl',ally susp'-ndM for t"ir' dnvs "Th Reds aV'- retting a little roogn, r.ddle." f remarked. "Don't pHv anv attention tr, tbm,fl tflgiMrfd Rin Rgrlatn, who ritch Ing, "They sr;j ha nnlss, a nd nHlv 'h'-v inn-1 'earn ihdr sham roue- v.iiy." Now to combat the statement by Evers that Smith got OolHns's goat, wmC(h will prove foil I us as a gentleman and real Hportsman. The chatter from tho bench continued. "I don't, know whether It Is customary custom-ary to allow uch talk in tho National leaarue games," I remarked to Rarlden, "but It seenm pome of tho hoy is nre overstepping over-stepping thernnolvcfl a bit." "Forget about It. Hill." replied Collin. "Those fallows are not botherlnK rnc, and if you slop th (fame, and go over to ta$ Cincinnati bench and try to MOP thorn. It will bt fmhnrrnsins: for you. You will get nothing b6tttr than a ' razzing . " No. I re fuse to believe rough ron vernation ver-nation dc-lded lite i cent world eerles. I prefer giving the credH to tho rnTi who did real thing-. I do bellexc too rrjuch rrjugh Mtutl Wan pfcfftMj OUt. II lia no wee in baaball. I know if hm no place In Amor I ''s n i'iiB'tr v.:i me. Pre ?t id en Johnson figures Ihe public eon fo tee h ball gam' nd nni U m M timplrc' i nn -duet. th famt a Iour t hat thror- , II : liken plenty of flghr and aggress! veneM, but puts ihe in n on conversation t hat rould not break Into print l" our host family newspaper. (Copyright, 1910. by W. o. ISvans.) |