Chapter 16 - An Education Helps

Some boys who give their school work the "once over lightly" treatment might change their attitudes if they realized that every school is a school for athletes. That there are many boys with athletic aptitudes who don't "bear down" in the schoolroom seems to indicate that additional or different motivation might be helpful in keeping these lads interested in the learning process.

The examples of a Branch Rickey or a George Sisler point up the importance of an education to the athlete. Mr. Rickey, responsible for more changes in baseball than anyone else, has an excellent educational background, including degrees from Ohio Wesleyan and the University of Michigan. He has used his education to excellent advantage in becoming the outstanding teacher of baseball; he has the scholar's approach to the sport. After nearly sixty years of experience he still searches eagerly for new methods of teaching the fundamentals, for new ideas about testing the abilities of players and improved techniques to develop their talents, and for better procedures in playing the game.

Mr. Rickey keeps an open mind and an open door for every man with an idea, but it is his educational background which enables him to separate the practical ideas from the crackpot schemes, and to explain to the "idea men" why their plans do or do not have merit.

George Sisler, perhaps Mr. Rickey's prize pupil and one of the great players of all time, is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a major in engineering who has applied his training in engineering with positive results to playing, coaching and scouting. Sisler is regarded as one of the finest coaches in the game because of his ability to analyze a situation and to describe methods of getting more mileage out of a player's skills.

Contrast these men with a major league pitcher blessed with a great physique but hampered by meager education. The president of the club told the player, "The difference between big money and peanuts in baseball is in taking care of yourself."

"I've been wrong," admitted the player. "I've made a lot of mistakes but I want to be a good pitcher."

The president smiled as he said, "I'm glad you used the past tense. I believe . . ." The pitcher interrupted, "Look, mister, I've been wild out there a lot of times, but I've never been tense."
Studying English helps a player to express himself properly and to understand what others are saying to him on and off the athletic field. The effective use of language is priceless when the choice of the right word or expression helps to keep a situation under control. In public speaking, English is invaluable to an athlete constantly in the public limelight. A command of English has been the difference between a player becoming a manager or being unemployed at the end of his playing days; it always is a determining factor in his long-range success.

Knowing foreign languages helps eliminate the language barrier, especially now that baseball and other sports attract men from various countries. With Luis Aparicio and Chico Carrasquel of Venezuela, Bobby Avila of Mexico, Orlando Cepeda, Bob Clemente and Ruben Gomez from Puerto Rico, and nearly a dozen Cuban natives starring in the major leagues today, the ability to speak Spanish is an asset to any player. Al Campanis, a graduate of New York University, is aided considerably as a baseball scout after hanging up his spikes and glove because of his ability to speak Spanish. He roves through Latin America recruiting promising prospects for professional baseball.

THE VALUES OF SCHOOLING. Anything that a boy learns in school helps him in one way or another to become a better athlete. Obviously physical education teaches him how to condition himself, to know which exercises develop certain skills and when and where to use them. It teaches him that exercises, beneficial in one sport, may not be desirable in another, and that under certain conditions mixing such sports as baseball and swimming does not achieve the best results. Physical education also covers the use and care of equipment, the treatment of injuries, and general first aid.

Health and hygiene classes deal with the amount of sleep required and when rest can be most advantageous, the kinds of food to eat, and when and how to eat them in order to gain strength and stamina. The saga of baseball is filled with stories of talented players who "ate themselves out of the league."

Perhaps less obvious is the value of physics and its applications to baseball. The boy who knows that a low center of gravity helps to maintain balance, and who learns how to control his center of gravity, has the advantage over one who doesn't know these things. This is particularly true in fielding a ground ball, and in getting a quick start while running bases. Physics deals with pressures, rotations, and grips that give the ball its direction in flight, not to mention the fact that a ball released at eye level is easier to control. The angle of the bat and the batting stance also are explained by a knowledge of physics, and leverage and the law of action and reaction enter the picture, too.

Naturally mathematics comes into the picture, particularly with the player who wants to take advantage of percentage play. To the professional player, ability to handle money becomes doubly important; and the study of law surely can be helpful in negotiating contracts, interpreting the rules of the game, and transacting other business connected with a baseball career, whether it be as an amateur or professional.

Arts and crafts are of value because a player may want to mend or reshape, lace or replace, the lining in his glove or other equipment. Players have been known to reshape bats to their individual tastes on a lathe. These skills lay the foundation for pleasant and satisfying hobbies for the athlete during his leisure.

One cannot overestimate the value of psychology to a team or player. It teaches the athlete how to encourage his teammates, the attitudes that are desirable, and the ways to achieve cooperation and team play. In fact, the application of psychology to sports is almost unlimited.

There are epic examples of how psychology works to advantage or disadvantage of a team. Many baseball fans remember the case of Bill Terry who, when manager of the New York Giants, asked if the Brooklyn Dodgers were still in the league, and then saw the Dodgers spurred on to blast the Giants out of pennant contention.

Fresco Thompson, now a vice-president of the Los Angeles Dodgers, recalls his days as captain of the Philadelphia Phillies when they were perennial "cellar-dwellers." In the words of Fresco, "We were down so deep that only on a clear day could we see seventh place." Fresco remembers that opposing players, not wanting to shake the Phils out of their lethargy, were most solicitous and thoughtful about the health and welfare of the Philadelphia players. If a Phils batter hit the ball hard, opponents were sure to let him know that he looked good and that he certainly was having tough luck, thereby leaving the impression that if the Phils had to lose at least it wasn't so bad to lose to such kind, considerate fellows!

PSYCHOLOGICAL LESSON. Another illustration of a psychological lesson is provided by a minister, the Reverend Gordon Thompson:

During my spring vacation I went to see some baseball games. One night, in a game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, I saw the complete history of a small hate complex—its origin, its growth, and its results.
 
The New York pitcher was fast, but like many fast-ball pitchers, he had trouble in controlling the ball. In the early innings he hit two of the Chicago batters and missed three or four others by inches—accidentally, I believe.

Apparently the man he found it hardest to pitch to was an infielder. The first time he came to bat, the pitcher hit him in the side. Two innings later, when the infielder came to bat again, he had to drop to the ground twice to avoid inside pitches.

Quite understandably, the batter was annoyed. He "got on" the pitcher. When he shouted uncomplimentary remarks, we could not distinguish the words in the stands but we could imagine their general meaning.

The second time the Yankee pitcher came to bat, the infielder decided to get even with him and to teach him a lesson. When the count was one ball and one strike, he called for time and came in from his position to talk to the Chicago pitcher. Some of us in the stands sensed that what he was saying to the pitcher was, "Dust this guy off, and do it good—for me!"

I am not sure, of course, that this is what the infielder said—but what happened next looked like the answer to such a request. The White Sox pitcher, whose control was good that evening, threw the next ball high and inside, and the Yankee pitcher fell away fast from a pitch that was going to miss his nose, if it did miss, by a fraction of an inch. Back at his defensive position, the infielder waved his gloved hand in the air in apparent satisfaction. The count was now two balls and one strike. The pitcher threw again. And again the pitch was high and inside—and this time the Yankee pitcher dropped to the ground to dodge the ball. Up went the infielder's arm again, and he shouted something like, "Pour it at him, boy!"

But the count now was three balls and one strike. On the next pitch, the pitcher missed the plate—accidentally. So the Yankee pitcher walked, and later in the inning scored a run.

Now here is the point of this baseball parable. The score of the game at the end of nine innings was 4-4. In the tenth inning New York scored another run and won. If the White Sox pitcher hadn't walked the Yankee pitcher, Chicago would have won the game in nine innings, 4-3. So the infielder got his revenge. With the help of his pitcher he paid back the Yankee pitcher —and thereby lost the ball game.
In more important areas of life than sports contests, and sometimes with more indirect but equally catastrophic results, our hatreds defeat us in the attainment of our essential purposes.

Of course, the study of citizenship can have a great influence for good in the field of sportsmanship and in setting a pattern of conduct for future athletes to follow. A book could be written about games lost by players whose unfair tactics aroused their opponents to fight back, or about prejudiced debates with umpires which did not change the umpire's decision but caused the removal of players, coaches, and managers from the contest. Battling the umpires is never a constructive pastime and, in its more extreme essence, constitutes rebellion against the laws that govern the game and thus against the game itself. Habitual umpire-baiting is a form of anarchy. When decisions of judgment are made, it is morally and ethically constructive to accept them.

Every school subject prepares for the next one from the first day of school until the student completes his formal education. And the whole learning process has a related value to baseball. From this standpoint, perhaps teacher preparation offers the greatest opportunity to the participant. In order to become a teacher, he must learn how to teach; and to become a coach, he must learn how to coach. The player who can analyze the fundamentals and tactics of the game and who teaches them to another improves his knowledge in the process and enhances his ability to play.

There are hundreds of ways in which these and other subjects apply in improving the skills and attitudes of the boy who wants to play baseball or participate in any team sport. It is safe to conclude that everything else being equal, the educated athlete is the best athlete and the one who gets the most enjoyment from participation.

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