I got here last Tuesday and set up in the stand and watched the game
that afternoon. Washington was playing here and Johnson pitched. I was
anxious to watch him because I had heard so much about him. Honest Al
he ain't as fast as me. He shut them out, but they never was much of a
hitting club. I went to the clubhouse after the game and shook hands
with the bunch. Kid Gleason the assistant manager seemed pretty glad to
see me and he says Well have you learned something? I says Yes I guess
I have. He says Did you see the game this afternoon? I says I had and
he asked me what I thought of Johnson. I says I don't think so much of
him. He says Well I guess you ain't learned nothing then. He says What
was the matter with Johnson's work? I says He ain't got nothing but a
fast ball. Then he says Yes and Rockefeller ain't got nothing but a
hundred million bucks.
Well I asked Callahan if he was going to give me a chance to work
and he says he was. But I sat on the bench a couple of days and he
didn't ask me to do nothing. Finally I asked him why not and he says
I am saving you to work against a good club, the Athaletics. Well the
Athaletics come and I guess you know by this time what I done to them.
And I had to work against Bender at that but I ain't afraid of none of
them now Al.
Baker didn't hit one hard all afternoon and I didn't have no trouble
with Collins neither. I let them down with five blows all though
the papers give them seven. Them reporters here don't no more about
scoreing than some old woman. They give Barry a hit on a fly ball that
Bodie ought to of eat up, only he stumbled or something and they handed
Oldring a two base hit on a ball that Weaver had to duck to get out of
the way from. But I don't care nothing about reporters. I beat them
Athaletics and beat them good, five to one. Gleason slapped me on the
back after the game and says Well you learned something after all. Rub
some arnicky on your head to keep the swelling down and you may be a
real pitcher yet. I says I ain't got no swell head. He says No. If I
hated myself like you do I would be a moveing picture actor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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