OCR Text |
Show EI INSTINCT WINS CORNER By Richard H. Wilkinson i W;:;;:; "SNICKER" Snyder, owner-manager of the Whirlwind baseball club, signed on a new player play-er he always handed the newcomer a sheaf of typewritten papers and told him to read every line. Snicker was 5D years old 1 and had been af- 3 -Minute filiated wi" . .. baseball and l-ICTIOn baseball players ' ' all his life. The game had certain fundamental rules, certain regulations that Snicker Snick-er felt no rookie could possibly acquire ac-quire on either a home-town or a college team. Therefore he had written them all down and he made each new player read them. When Jock Dudley was handed the sheaf of papers he stared at it blankly and grinned. Snicker said sharply: "You read 'em, young feller! Every danged word." Butch Garrison, Snicker's head scout, had found Jock. Butch was enthusiastic: "The kid's a natural," hp tnlrt Snicker. "He nlavs bv in- Facts, however, are facts. Jock pitched in 10 games that season and won them all. didn't do him much good. He ain't polished yet." "He don't need to be polished," Butch says. "I tell yon the boy is a natural." . 'xr ... . . i in . m stinct." "Instinct be damned!" Snicker said sarcastically. "Some players are naturally good, but, by gum, I've been in the game long enough to know you gotta learn the fundamentals funda-mentals or you get no place!" Three days later in the bullpen Snicker watched the new rookie throwing a few to old Dutch Fever-ell. Fever-ell. Snicker flew off the handle. He could tell by the way Jock was throwing them that he hadn't read the typewritten sheaf of papers. He called Jock aside and laid into him. But a week passed before Snicker was sure that Jock had read the typewritten rules. Then he wasn't satisfied. "Maybe he read 'em," he snapped at Butch, "but they books. It don't happen." "It is happening," said Butch. "The kid's throwing 'em and he's hitting 'em. What more do you want?" "Polish," said Snicker: "He's got to do better." Facts, however, are facts. Jock pitched in 10 games that season and won them all. Snicker wasn't, satisfied. He wouldn't admit that Butch was right. Yet at the same time he did confess that Jock was a profitable addition to the team. pERHAPS Snicker was right In his insistence. At any rate, throughout through-out the winter training, Jock steadily steadi-ly improved. He had acquired more polish. Snicker was almost satisfied "See!" he said to Butch. "What'd I tell you! The kid's been reading my rules. It's helping him." "You're balmy," Butch replied. "The kid don't need rules." And so the two old cronies continued con-tinued to disagree throughout the summer. Jock Dudley brought laurels to the team. Snicker was happy. He took all the credit for Jock's fame for himself. him-self. The only thorn in his rosebed was Butch. Butch insisted that Jock's greatness was due to no one but himself. "You're sore," Snicker told him, "because folks are giving me the credit. Every one knows one knows it's them fundamentals funda-mentals I thought up that put Jock where he is. Instinct! Nuts!" Butch was fed up. He got sore He told Snicker a few things about himself that Snicker had never heard before. "If you were anything any-thing but pig-headed," Butch roared at him, "I'd have told you something some-thing long ago." "Told me what?" yelled Snicker I'm always willin' to listen to reason." rea-son." v "If the reason fits in with your ideas you are," Butch yelled back 'I'd a told you this long ago only I knew the kid was a natural, but you're so thick-headed you'd a thought he wouldn't make the grade unless he read your rules." "He did read 'em!" "Like hell he did! That kid that you're so sure got places because of your danged old fudamentals can't read or write! He never read your paper because he couldn't. Now what do you think of that'" And Snicker didn't snicker |