Show r seeing big league BALIj L by BILLY EVANS B big league umpire and general ra manar of the tb cleveland nd indiana indian in the early days of competition between the american and national leagues it used to be rumored that both leagues employed gentlemen of high long power to visit the rival partis and keep the players on the pan I 1 hae always thought these rumors were unfounded however they persisted in those days and to my iny mind the most successful of all baseball beckh hecklers rs was the fan who used to camp out in the white sox park and who tit at the time was thought by many to be in the pay of the cubs this tan fan had bad a tremendous voice hut but his panning vocabulary was limited to just four words game after game inning after inning he reiterated his incessant cry I 1 toor old white sox poor old white sox I 1 it used to drive the sox players halt half crazy and ill say gay this that one man with a strong voice and an irritating line of chatter cl iatter will drive a ball club nuttier than fins fans giving a concerted chorus of boos As I 1 have remarked before I 1 believe that at least 80 per cent of the fans are absolutely fair the howl bowl of the wolves for the most part Is nothing more than the voice of civic pride the minor notes are the battle cry of plain obstreperousness from the standpoint of player and umpire there Is one unfortunate angle to fanfare and that Is that the fairest fans fang as a rule are the quietest ones the 20 per cent who are hardest to get along with are also the noisiest nois iest but there Is an observation that I 1 believe you will find true anywhere billy evans inside or outside of a ball park in any normal grouping of men the ehnow lt all guy Is usually the loudest mouthed and at the same fame time the most intolerant speaking for myself I 1 have very attle to complain comp laio about I 1 have learned in my twenty years and more on big league diamonds that very little applause comes the way of the man who as tommy connolly pointed out plays the villain role the times I 1 get hottest under the soft collar are when I 1 atia am subject to abuse that Is the result of the fans ignorance of the rules or of the play if the element of doubt exists concerning my judgment of a strike or a ball bail or of a putout butout or any other play the razz berry chorus affect me maybe for all ail I 1 know I 1 was wrong and bad it coming but when I 1 see a player drop the ball bail in the proc process processor essof of making a putout butout and the tans fans dont see it and ride me unmercifully for the rest of the afternoon then im nettled ive always wished that some method could be devised for explaining certain plays to cover situations like this and wising up the tans fans to some gome rule with which they perhaps are unfamiliar if such a means Is ever employed the lot of the umpire will be an easier one though I 1 doubt very strongly that well ever get applauded for any of our decisions I 1 dont believe there Is a heaven this side of jordan on the other hand I 1 dont believe the perfect umpire it if such a being was possible would be popular the protests of the players and the raz zing of the tans fans are a part of the game 0 by the th bell ball syndicate inc |