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Show PFI VlfMV7ZM)l SI I X PTV. I CT. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Vari-& Vari-& ety is supposed to be the spies of life, but so are arguments in a baseball training camp. The argument argu-ment this time, including members of the Cardinals and the Yankees, had something to do with brains on and off the ball field. "Why is it?" one Cardinal wanted want-ed to know, "that a fellow can be gaMjpHispMiia smart In many ways, but dumb If f when he gets into ' , ' I football or base- ! ss n DaI1? 0r wny ne A , v A can be pretty S,. V fl dumb until he gets VSSS,, into some athletic S?X xl :? ne my De smarter tXL' than almost any-W'X any-W'X h body?" Tliis is a fair Grantland Rice question- Does anyone any-one recall the most intelligent member mem-ber of the old Giant team from 1908 through 1913? I can give you his( name. He is better known as Bone- head Merkle the Giant who for-' got to touch second base In 1908. Yet Fred Merkle was the best educated edu-cated member of the Giant squad. But his reflexes on the ball field, failed to operate as quickly as somej others who would have been baffled by McGuffey's second reader. Fred had to take time to think things out. You can't do that when split second , co-ordination or Intuition must rule.. For example. Rube Waddell was a mental eccentric. But there were few smarter, once the gangling Rube reached the mound with a baseball in his left hand. There were two famous ball players who, as far as I know, never made a mental mistake on the Held. One was Babe Ruth who came along from an Industrial school. The other waa Nap Lajoie who was lifted from a cab driver's seat In Woonsocket, It. I., and a trifle later waa surrounded and captured cap-tured by Uncle Egbert Barrow. Neither needed any college degree to be smart on a ball field. They were born that way. Instinct and Intuition The athlete who Is naturally smart in competition must have a high degree of Instinct, Intuition and concentration. I know Eddie Arcaro figures it that way In racing. "You haven't, time to think in a split second," he told me once. "There's an opening or there isn't an opening, and you have to make up your mind in a flash. Which means largely instinct for the right things to do." Ty Cobb had this natural Instinct, this ability to concentrate, but Cobb also worked on these natural gifts. "I used to lay In bed at night for hours thinking up plays," he said once. "I planned some of these plays weeks ahead against certain teams." Old time ball players had no motor mo-tor earn, movies, night clubs or other oth-er distractions to kill time. So many of them thought only about baseball. I mean such men as King Mike Kelly, Kid Nichols, John Montgomery Mont-gomery Ward, Charlie Comiskey, Hughey Jennings, Clark Griffith, John McGraw and most of the old Orioles. The main mental asset In any game Is concentration. Many have this needed ingredient more than others. But the art or knack of concentration con-centration can also be developed. Concentration means keeping your mind on the Job from start to finish. fin-ish. As Knute Rockne used to tell his squod "Keep physically relaxed but mentally alert." Dorawy's Predictions We caught Hank Borowy on the fly Just as he was heading for tho Cub camp and Catalina Island. "How about Cub prospects?" we queried. "We'll need all the pitching we can get this season," the Cub star said. "Ity that I mean most of the other clubs will be stronger where we will have about the same east. We got little back from the service. The Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers will all be stronger. So will the Pirates, Braves and Phillies. "We'll be pitching to better hitting hit-ting strength oil along the line, while at the plate we face Improved pitching pitch-ing also. That means tough going. A flock of dangerous hitters have been added to the league since last fall. "Hitting In the two leagues.' I can't see much difference. I had a better record in the Nutlonal than I had In the America. But my arm was in much better shape when I Joined the Cubs." I asked Borowy how the National league race looked from his angle. "The Cardinals are the team to beat," he said, "with so much strength ot every point But they can be beaten. I'm sure we'll be up there. The Giants have all the power pow-er any team needs at bat, but their pitching is still uncertain. What pitcher can Mel Ott depend on for as many as 18 games? "The Dodgera will be better and they were tough enough at times last season. The Pirates will be Improved Im-proved and the Braves will probably be bothering everybody. |