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Show MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL BATTERS When tho crafty Mike Finn, scout-'ing scout-'ing the Texas league for promising ball players in tho Interest of tho Boston Araorican league team, unearthed un-earthed two clever outfielders for John I. Taylor some few years ago, he never dreamed perhaps, that he was bringing into the limelight, a star, whose future fame In the big leagues would equal yery nearly that of the wonderful Ty Cobb. Sent down to Texas to "dig up a I few live ones," Finn passed up a motley array of pitchers and infleld-ers, infleld-ers, and after a thorough study of the so-called stars of th0 Texas league decided that there was Just two men in the entire aggregation that the Boston club might have any use for. One was Whiteman, an outfielder, who went to the American association associa-tion shortly afterward and never graduated. The other was Trls Speaker, then, as now, a leading batter bat-ter among his mates and a player who was destined to write his name In capital letters on baseball's roll of fame. The Boston club should nevor forget its debt to the aforesaid Finn. Had ilichael the slightest idea perhaps, per-haps, that he was bringing up a star of such magnitude he might easily have covered him up and then led him forth Into fast company when Speaker was "ripe" and the market' was "right." But Finn performed his dutv conscientiously and honestly, and to the discreet eye and sound Judgment of the discreet scout the j Boston .fans can attribute the fact j that the great Trls Speaker now plavs in the Hub as one of the bulwarks of tho' great Red Sox. Speaker Underestimated. Speaker was but 19 yoars of age at that time, and while he was regarded regard-ed as especially promising, his rival, Whiteman, who likewise came to Boston for a tryout, was adjudged the superior player. For Whiteman was older and slightly better developed, develop-ed, while Speaker, transformed from a pitcher Into an outfielder, on ac count of his slugging ability, had only Just bogun to show. Speaker was secured from Cleburne in 1907. In the spring of that year ho hnd Joined the Texas aggregation fresh from his high school of Hub-barb Hub-barb City. But it was not as fleot-footed, fleot-footed, hard-hitting outfielder that Spoke broke Into tho professional ranks. He was a clever young loft-handed loft-handed pitcher and the team was in need of twirling talent when they signed him up, For a couple of months he did fairly fair-ly good work on the rubber, for he had a nice, fast ball and a good broak In his curve. Even today he may be seen any day practicing his old game up there at Fenway park, and he Is still able to shoot the ball across in a manner that keeps tho catchers on tho Jump. But while he attained fair success as a pitcher, it was at the bat that Speaker shono, and the manager of the Cleburne team, looking over the batting record one fine day, was struck by the peculiar fact that Spoke was making two or more hits In every ev-ery game In which he participated. Instantly ho figured that a good hard-hitting outfielder was of more value to his team than an occasionally occasional-ly successful pitcher for ho could uso Speaker's batting strength In the outfield out-field every day, while on tho rubber he could hardly be used" oftener than onco a week. He suggested, therefore, that Tris abandon pitching and go to tho out- I field. Speaker vas more than will- Ing, as- he loved the game anyway ,-and the oftener he played tho hotter he liked It. By tills most fortunate change the Cleburne manager had at once given to baseball a. genius. It was as an outfielder that Finn saw him work. On bis first visit to Cleburne he found that team engaged In a contest with Waco of the sum league, and the clever ground cover ing of Speaker attracted his attention. atten-tion. Good outfielders are not uncommon un-common even down in the bushes, but when Mike saw Tris rap out three hits, including a home run and a triple on the same day, he began to get Interested. In-terested. The next day and the one following found Finn watching tho prodigy perform, per-form, and in every game Speaker was decidedly there with the slapstick. It took Mike a full week to make n hlj mind that Speaker was big material, and a man that the Red Sox team could use. He thcreforo purchased both Speaker and Whiteman, and tho end of the Texas league senson found both recruits in Boston eager to obtain ob-tain a tryout with the American jeague outflL Strangoly enough the local scoutr. who watched both men work picked Whiteman at first, as the more promising prom-ising of the pair. Speaker was ac-knowlcdeged ac-knowlcdeged to be awfully fast on bunts, while ho made two or three catches in Boston's right field that sot tho fans thinking. But the Sox had signed up a bunch of outfield recruits that fall, Chadbourne, from Providence, Provi-dence, Carlisle, Jack Thoney, McHale and Doc Gcssler, all of them better known to the game than the youngster from Texas, and It was finally decided to let both Speaker and Whiteman 'out for another season's experience. Back to the Minors. It chancod that the Red Sox had choBcn Littlo Rock, Ark., as their training ground for 1908, and In order to obtain tho use of tho Little Rock grounds to Insure that Speaker would bo given a proper tryout by Mlko Finn's, team, Spoke was farmed out to the Littlo Rock team. He never reported to that outfit until the very last day of tho Boston club's sLiy there, and on tho day when tho Sox and Littlo Rocks played their last exhibition ex-hibition game. How Speaker performed perform-ed on that occasion, how he throw men out on hits to deep center field and how he drove In the winning run off old Cy Young with n screaming three bagger, Heinle Wagner and Bill Carrlgan, both of whom played in that contest, will never forget. The ensuing season was a wonderful wonder-ful one for Speaker. Down in every city of the Southern league circuit they will point out the part of the fence where Speaker put tho ball over for the winning run. His batting record rec-ord In that year's experience in the Southern league was one endless succession suc-cession of doubles, triples and home runs. He led the Southern league In batting and every pitcher he faced had to take his medicine. Lucky Indeed were tho Sox to get the great Trls Speaker back that fall. Other managers and other scouts had been following his record with the Little Lit-tle Rock team and watching with glowing eyes the punishment he was handing to pitchers almost daliy Plttsburg bid high for his services; Washington, St. ,Louis and Chicago also came forward with generous bids. but Finn had given his word and could not break It He had to turn Speaker back to the Red Sox again, although ho had but a vorhal agreement with Boston and he lost something like $7,500 by no doing. It needed but a few weeks for Speaker to take the place in baseball that -was his due. Right from the start he jumped Into the lists as one of the leading batsmen of the country, coun-try, and Ty Oobb, alone on a pedestal and hailed tho world over as the greatest player baseball had ever known, began to look about and acknowledge ac-knowledge that at last ho had a rival. Boston fans' will remember with prido how he punctured tho reputation reputa-tion of tho great) Christy Mathowon in that famous post-season series between be-tween the Red Sox and" Giants. Matty has never ceased talking about it. but he does not, as in the case of Home Run Baker, allege that he gave him tbe wrong ball by mstako. In fact, Mathewson could not get the ball by Speaker at all. Ho slammed everything every-thing that Bix Six sent over. Today thcro Is no outfielder In either league who can compare with 1 Trls Speaker. There Is only one other outfieldor who can compare with him In his judgment of a fly ball and this is the wonderful Clvde Milan of the Washington outfit. But while Milan may Judge a ball with Speaker and compare favorably with him in throwing throw-ing ability ho can not field those ugly bounding ground balls as does tho great Texan, and as a batsman Milan is not In the same class. Speaker has been set down in the records as a batsman who has not a Bingle weakness. Pitchers try to keep the ball well on' the outside, for they dread that savage swing that usually propels the ball to the farthest corner of the right garden. Walter Johnson states that when Speaker Is up at bat he simply "takes an extra long wind-up, wind-up, lots go and says a short prayer to the Lord." What Mathewson might say perhaps would not look v.roil in print whenever he recalls that fatal meeting between the Red Sox and the Giants. Speaker has a stylo at bat that is peculiarly his own. Ho uses a long free swing that keeps tho opposing fielders on the jump. He Is just as likely to drive that ball over the third baseman's head on a line as he is to Bend It Bhrloking to center or to right field. No left-hand batsman In the country hits the ball as hard Into left Hold as docB he, and ho Is the only portalder who ever has been known to drive that ball over the left field fence on the Whito Sox grounds. Thi6 home run hit made by him off Ed Walsh, won an extra Inning gamo for Boston this season at Chicago. |