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Show I Is the Fall a Better Time I to Try Out Young Ball Tossers Than Spring? B . By TOMMY CLARK. A CHICAGO fan thlnko the fa'l Is a better time to try out young material than the spring. HiB L idea 1b a nool one, and ho has B suggested It to Murphy and Comiskey 1 of tho Chicago team. Tho thoughtful H fan H "Tho fall, after tho closo of tho H Icaguo season, when the youngsters H aspirins: to higher places In the clubs H are at their best. Is tho proper timo to H test their real ability Tho btock ex- H cuse given for the long: and expenslvo H training trips undertaken in the spring B of each year by all tho largo clubs is H the necessity for to lng out tho new m material gathered In tho preceding fall H and winter by Bcouts and magnates. H Tears of experience provo that for H this purposo spring training trips oro H practically useless. B "The now men appear after months HHb of idleness, and, knowing thoy munt H display July form tho first two weeks B In camp, they cither ruin their armn HHB and ankles for all tlmo or cIbb aro bo BVm nervous It la a soft Job for tho 'sllp- BVm ping veteran to make them look like Bv raw amateurs As a result many of H tho most promising players aro cither spoiled or sent back to tho minor leagues without having had a chance H to show any true measure of their abil- BflflH "Why should not aspirants for positions posi-tions on the Cubs or White Sox, for instance, in-stance, bo thoroughly tried out in tho fall after the closo of tho lcigue season? sea-son? The new candldato is then in good physical condition, and at tho same tlmo can command a maximum of his baseball skill "Ho can be tried out against the veteran vet-eran whom it is desired to replace, and tho veteran has tho lncentlvo to do tho best that Is In him in order to got a now contracL At tho same timo ho can only do it by playing baseball and not by telling tho joungcr men what will happon In July and August, when all tho real players get to going good "Jn my Judgment a month In tho south, sav from Oct. 13 to Nov. 16, Is worth more than two m6nths in tho spring if tho club ownor rcallj wishes to ascertain what ho has In stock, and It would also give him much moro timo to place plajers it hns been decided cannot bo used. "Finally, it would add a month to the entertainment of the fanr, who woulU eagerly poruse their favorite- papers fdr all of tho Information concerning tho new 'prospects.' " What will be tho winning percentage of the National league pennant winner? The snlallest w Inning percentage was In 190S, .013, mado by the Cubs In 1901 thA Pirn f ra won with .647. and In 1903 thoy won with .650. This year promises prom-ises to bo as cIobo, If not closer, than any of thoso three Tho winning percentage per-centage has averaged higher than 650, ns tho following figures will show In 1902 Pittsburg, 7U, 1901, Now York, .693; 190G, New York, .6S6, 1906, Chicago. .763; 1907. Chicago, .701; 1909, Pittsburg. 724, 1910, Chicago, .676 Tho average winning percentage has been 697. One of the most curloua features of modern athletics is tho advent of tho "mo too" brigade of timers seen at a majority of tho meets both Indoors and outdoors. This "mo too" needs a little explanation. It refers to tho grcon timers who bob up at games and butt in as official watch holders. In almost every instance they wait till some older clockcr announces what his clock shows, when tho youngster shouts out, "Me. too!" It does not make a particle of difference what his tlmoplece might show, ho is there with the "me, too," and ho takes tho timing as a sort of Joko. Chief Bender of the Athletics has had a peculiar contract to sign for Instead of giving the Indian a big salary, sal-ary, as he deserves, has him sign a blank contract, and at tho end of the season ho puts in a bonus which he thinks pays for the Indian's work. This started In 1903, when Bendor told a reporter he would quit and become a traveling salesman. But it didn't work with Connie, and ho offered congratulations congratu-lations and sent a contract for $2,000, according to leaguo requirements Bender hurried to Connie and told him It was all a Joko, but Connie said that was all he could pay him until ho had shown he would pltoh winning balL Besides his sbare in the gate receipts, Bender got $4,000 in salary in 193,0. Now that Matt Wells has made "Knockout" Brown look llko a novice, all this boasting about how great a fighter tho New York lad Is will probably prob-ably cease. Incidentally It must be realized that Wolls Is one of tho clev-er'est clev-er'est boxers in his class and would prpvo troublesome against Wolgast or any of the other lightweights. While not a hard hitter. Wells Is so good a ' boxer that the averago fighter could I make little or no Impression on him In a limited round contest. As for Brown, ho Is a husky lad with a good wallop, which, however, ho 1b not apt to land on a boxer of the Wells typo. GOLF COSTS US SEVEN MILLIONS. A prominent golf export has figured out that the annual outlay otgolfers In this country exceeds $7,000,000 He places tho numbor of players at about 600,000, who aro regular or occasional occa-sional devotees of the game The expenditure ex-penditure on golf balls and clubs each year he puts at $2,000,000. I |