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Show HI J7717" BY J B' SHERIDAN, j' ' TfIiB accession of Miller James jf I 1 Huggins, weight 130 pounds, JL ( height 64 inches, to the man- H) !j agement of the New York American H( League baseball club means that that ! young man probably will pick up about ' Ji $40,000 for seven months' work in j I In explanation of the foregoing let H M It be Bald that Huggins is to rcceivo a H! ''I 'salary of $10,000 a season and 10 per Hf cent of the club profits. If the club does as well as its many good judges i - expect to sec It do, it will win the Hl J championship of the American League 1' ' That means a profit of $300,000 to the Hj ; club, of which Huggins will get 10 per Hj' cent, or $30,000. Hl H$ f It miiJ be that tho Yankees, as the Hl New York Americans arc known, may , p not win the American League pennant. ,. They should at least run third. That H, )''' 'would mean a profit of $150,000. Which I' m would make Huggins' emolument for I the season $25,000. j' Pretty good for a mite of a man, 5 j 'feet 4 inches tall, weighing 130 pounds, J i slew-footed, small-handed, a baseball HL player only In his mind. Bl ' Huggins' career is an Inspiration for Hl i , young men who think that they arc fl physicaly or otherwise handicapped. H' Huggins was terribly handicapped H4 ' physically for the profession of basc- H ball. He 'Was small, weak in the flj 1 hands, not sound In the feet When H't he had played ball for three years he H' . told himself that ho had been, so far, Hr1 i a failure. He was making $1,500 a Hli season and could not see a chance for Hji't; improving that figure unleBS he did H something to overcome his physical Hl j handicaps. t k Set Ont with Object H I fi Huggins was a natural right-hand- Hi A cd bitter. Just a fair one. He could jl'i hit enough, right handed, to get by in HS - it a. Class AA League, but not enough to Hi vrr make good In a major league. j i Huggins saw thcro was no money to Hj j U be made in the minor leagues. Fifteen H h hundred dollars a year for some ton H i1 or twelve years, then permanently out H I of a job when you are 35 Is not mucb H H of a prospect. Huggins did not like it 1 j So he set about equipping himself tc H ,i become what he naturally was not, a H j major league ballplayer. H ' His lack of size, his extreme dimin- H : utivoncss had been a handicap to him H ' Big men plunged Into him and bowlet 1 j him over. He was not big enough t( H ,. drive a pitched ball very hard or ven f I far. His hands were small and not strong. Physically ho was a minor league baseball player. Huggins mado capital out of his physical defects. Ho was too small to hit a ball very hard, but ho knew that he also was so small that he was hard to pitch to, hard for a big pitcher to get the ball botwoon his knee and his shoulder and over the plate, as tho rules prescribe. He forgot about his disability to hit hard and made tho most of his ability to make the pitcher pitch. To this end ho cultivated a good eye, was careful to watch every ball pitched pitch-ed very closely and not to hit at any that might possibly be called a ball. He knew that he could hopo to All but one place on a major league ball club that of lead-off man. To become a good lead-off man ho knew that ho would havo to become a left-handed batter and learn to bunt and to hit toward third baso. Huggins .was right handed all tho way through. He was a right-handed thinker, always thought straight, a right-handed batter, a right-footed kicker, right-handed all through. 3Tndo Himself Over. So Huggins,, in order to attain his ambition, had to mako himself all over again. He was born right-handed, tho right way to bo born. Ho had to forget for-get about being right-handed, to controvert con-trovert nature and to become left-handed, left-handed, left-footed and to think left-handed. left-handed. "I know," said Huggins, "that I could never hope to make good in tho major league save as a lead-off man. To be a lead-off man it was necessary . that I Bhould become a left-handed hitter, that I might have an extra good chance to beat out bunts and balls hit to the left sldo of the infield. I had a natural good eyo, my small staturo was in my favor. All I needed to bo a success right-handed was size and strength. All I needed to" bo a success suc-cess left-handed was to learn to bo-como bo-como left-handed. I knew there was . no chance for me a3 a right-hander. So I learned to bat left-handed. "It was some Job. I never was very i strong in either hand. Whatever . strength was in me lay on my right side. My right hand is much larger than my left hand, my right foot much . larger than my left foot, tho right side I of my head Is larger and has more i hair on it than the left side1. I never ' could do anything left-handed. r " "."-'JfikS -1'. "But it was up to me to either become be-come a left-hander and a success or to resign myself to an annual income of $1,500 for a few yoars. Finger by Finger. "I began by doing everything left-handed. left-handed. If I opened a letter or a door I openod them left-handed. I had to play ball right-handed over one season, sea-son, but all the tlmo I was cultivating my left hand and my left side. Let mo say right hero that it Is muoh easier to cultivate the hand than to cultivate tho foot Then when you get both hand and foot cultivated to 'work independently, in-dependently, you must get them co-or-dlnated.0 "I worked on pulleys in a gymnasium gymna-sium all wintor developing tho loft hand and tho left foot I put weights with the left hand. I chopped all the wood in tho neighborhood to cultivate that left hand and made money at the chopping, though I would have cheerfully cheer-fully paid for tho privilege of helping my lefthanded development by chopping chop-ping their wood. I Bhoveled coal loft handed. I worked on a track-laying gang and drove spikes left-handed. AH tho "time I practiced left-handed batting. bat-ting. "I carried a tennis ball hi my pocket and kept squeezing it all the time. I shot marbles left-handed. I played brldgo and plnoohle left-handed. I used my knife in my left hand when at meals. I whittled left-handed when I wanted to talk to tho boys. I wound up my watch left-handed. I wrote my lotters loft-handed. Everything I did was done left-handed. "I had to develop my left hand finger by finger, finger joint by finger Joint I may say. When I developed tho hand I had to develop the forearm, then tho upper arm shoulder and shoulder blade. Of course, all work done left-handed helped my entire left sldo, but it seemed to mo that each Joint had to be dovoloped in turn. "I worked an entire year, summer and wintor, developing my left hand. During the summer I played ball right-handed right-handed because I was not yet export enough to play left-handed. But I practiced left-handed batting, bunting and even throwing, though I never meant to bo a loft-handed thrower. But everything helped to develop that weak left arm and sldo. "Then after working an entire year on my hand and arm I found that It was more important that I should develop de-velop my left leg and my left foot, my i GEORGE STALLING 5 - - MANAGER BOSTON NATIONALS WHO RADIATES VIM, VIGOR AND VITALITY step with my left leg and foot In fact, that I had not only to develop the loft leg and foot, but to reduce the superiority, superi-ority, the preponderance of my right log and foot. My right hand, also, seemed too strong for my left It sort of acted too much when I was batting' left-handed, operated to pull tho ball to right field, whereas I was eager to do-vclop do-vclop tho left hand and wrist so that I might cut the ball to left field. You know it is much better to make the opposition make tho long throw across the diamond than to hit to tho pitcher or second baseman, who havo tho short throw, or maybe only a stop to make to first base. "I can't tell you how hard I worked on that left leg. on that left-handed stride, so to speak, or how long I worked to put somo strength into my left wrist that I might bo ablo to put somo force into my cuts. You know that to cut a ball you must hit lato and with a snap of tho wrist not with a swing. Tho man who can cut a ball hard must havo strong wrists, nis Weak "Wrists. "When I began to try to cut balls ovor third baso I did not havo even an avorago loft wrist And, of courso, tho left wrist counted more in cutting than tho right wrist "I had seen Jesse Burkett, a great natural left-banded batter, an ironworker iron-worker In his youth, cut them past the third baseman a mllo a minute, Burkett Bur-kett would wait until tho ball was past tho plate, and when ho was sure It was a strike, hit with a chop of his wrists, a true cut His wrists woro so firm and strong that he could tear tho logs off a third baseman If ho hit him. Then Burkett was a wonderful buntor, but ho could make his bunt good with a terrific cut that kept tho third baseman base-man in his place. "Gee, I worked hard on my weak wrists. Finally, after throe years of eternal practice I got so that I could bat pretty well left-handed. "When I tried to bat left-handed in St Paul my manager kicked. You see I was batting well enough right-handed to hold a Job In the American Association, Asso-ciation, good enough to meet with tho approval of my manager. But ho was afraid that If I tried to bat left-handed I would be of less value to him. "So I had to battle my manager for a long time beforo he would lot me bat loft-handed. When I finally persuaded per-suaded him to let me lead off loft-handed loft-handed he was pleased with tho result re-sult I did not hit very much, hut got on base a great deal, for my lack of stature was a handicap to pitchers and I had trained my oyc to the highest pitch to hit only when I had to hit. "I bellovcd, then and now, that the purpose of the man who leads off any inning is to get a base on balls if pos- slble. Tho first batter, tho man who leads off the first inning, should bo a capital base-on-balls man. It Is his business to get up there and make the pltchor worry about his control. If the first man up gets a base on balls you have a pretty good start towards toarlng down that pltchor. A baso on balls as a start to a game is of far moro value to tho team at bat than a hit. A pitcher may say that It was a 'fluke, that ho was careless or gave the batter too good a ball. There is no excuse ex-cuse for a baso on balls savo that the umpire called them badly. "And that alibi - won't always go down. "By the end of tho season I was rated a good base-on-balls man and a good run-gettor. I got on base regu larly though I did not hit much. I had a couple of good hitters behind me so that I scored a lot of runs. Still I had been playing baseball for four years and had not attracted much attention. at-tention. "I was obliged to stay in St. Paul for the following year. Then I got a good boost in tho newspapers as a lead-off man and as a fielding second-basoman. second-basoman. Tho papers called attention to tho number of runs I scored and tho number of bases on balls I got So Cincinnati drafted me from St. Paul in 1905. "I had attained the summit of my ambition. I was in tho big league in my homo town, whero I played amateur ama-teur ball. It was a great boost for me. "But I mot with a set back there right away. Ono of my assets had been a good arm. I got mixed up in a throwing contest in Cincinnati at a flold day and in making a throw I injured in-jured my arm so that it never has been strong since. "That was a great handicap to me. I had overcome the disadvantage of slzo, of weak hands, or being born right-handed or having particularly weak wrlBts and small hands. I had a good Job that promised a future when I had to act foolish and throw my arm away. "I had to revlso my schemo of playing play-ing second base. Tho old wing was gone, I had boen accustomed to playing play-ing second base on tho Btrongth of my arm. I took up my position half way botweon tho bases and wont to my right for ballB hit towards second and to my left for balls hit towards first. "When tho old arm wont I found that while I could go towards second and got them I could not throw them over to first as I did before my arm was injured. "There I was, 5 feet 4 inches tall, wolghlng 140 pounds, small hands, bad legs and bad arm. And I had to play second base m Pv -X i t j MILLER ::M0 I JAMES HUGGINS ' !f esi MANAGER NEW YORK AMERICAN LEAGUE fp BASEBALL CLUB , LAWYER AND f REAL E STATE OPERATOR ' fc "I could not play it with my arm any more. So I had to play it with my head and my feet "I hit upon tho tricks of taking up my position well behind tho baso. That put almost all balls hit my way between be-tween mo and tho first baseman. I could got a good start and shift over and get thoso balls. Then tho throw was a short ono for me. Aid of First Baseman. "I noticed, too, that very few balls wero hit between the first baseman and tho foul line. So I was always coaxing the first baseman over towards me and moving farther towards second all the tlmo. "Tho first basemen I have played with havo been a grand lot Thoy all went out of their wayB to help 'mo along. "I really think that I discovered a good new defense for second baso and the right sido of tho infield. I think that my last first baseman was Ed Ko-netchy. Ko-netchy. Wo filled up that sldo of tho inflold pretty well. I had Johnnie Miller at first for a year or two, but I was slowing up then and could not nolp Miner as i naa noipea Koney. Huggins played at Cincinnati from 1905 to 1909. Then he was traded to St Louis for Rob Oakes, Allan Storko and Frod Becbe. His fellow-townsmen In Cincinnati mado quito a fuss ovor his departure, but Clark Griffith, who managed tho Reds then, was sure that Dick Egan was a bettor second baseman than Huggins. And iu many respects Dick Egan was a better second sec-ond baseman than Huggins. Egan had a good arm and could make double plays that Huggins could not mako, though, to toll tho truth, Huggins managed man-aged to got tho double plays as well as tho next man. Egan looked like a chap that could hit, too. . He did not turn out as Griffith anticipated. Egan, however, did not havo Hug-gins' Hug-gins' head for baseball. The midget manager went to St, Louis and played second base for Roger Bresnahan. He did a flno Job. Ho became a great fa sto vorlto in tho Missouri city. So when 5 o Bresnahan had differences with thd i 'tie owner of the club, Mrs. Britton, Hug- j! ftj t gins was reckoned quito a success Jjfcfo a manager. He ran third in a hot racfl ; ifem-with ifem-with Boston and Now York In 1914, and H $ mado his owner a lot of money. Deser- if tlons to the Federal League deprived Huggins of Porritt Mageo, Wlngo- j tilth, threo stars In 1915 and his team fin- 'itf; ished a bad sixth. In 1916 tho Car- t "H tfr dinals wore weakened by the collapse! i 'istjj of Wilson and Bescher, outfielders, and :; G! of Huggins himself, who was done ai 2: t a playor. So they finished eighth, tied . r&Ho with Cincinnati for last place. ) boo Huggins is young, 37. He has hW ' mark to mako as a manager. I am not suro that he will mako It Ha is j shrewd, ho has a splendid Idea of j baseball play, how to get on base, hove t fcj to mako runs, how to keep the other ; 'Stui fellow off base and from making runs. Wlfo Ho is a flno handler of mon. He keeps" '9 ( his men working harmoniously. Hd jM'iri; handles his pitchers woll. In sooth Jri the only shortcoming the most oiact- jlSit ing critic has been ablo to find in Hug- UV gins is that ho nover has shown great ability to win close games. i fly. Whatever Huggins' career may be, jHt It is clear that ho must bo credited C Mh with ambition, pluck, industry, thrift ; Jty and courtesy. He was too small to m $t j, anything but an errand boy. Ho madd i himself a great athlcto only by tha fi hardest sort of application and labor. Ho mado his liabilities his assets. Not content with dovoloping a fragile body .; Into a perfect engine for his purposes ', i ho doveloped his mind until he bccam a lawyer. Ho has moro than a diplO" 5 ma to show for his trouble. Hugginfl(j has a keen, trained mind and a well- wtre n balanced character. While making. (t' himself a great ballplayer and a latf- to yer, he also made hlmsolf a handsome competence. All of which Bccms to ba a pretty good record for a littlo chaPi r kJT no bigger than your thumb, and r yet 38 years old. |
