CHAPTER IX
THE NEW CAPTAIN
Although Iredell had himself offered his resignation, he had only doneit to take the wind out of McRae's sails and put himself in a betterstrategic position. If worst came to worst, he could save his pride bysaying that he had resigned of his own accord instead of being "fired."
But he had hoped, nevertheless, that the resignation would be refusedand that McRae, after perhaps giving him a lecture, would accord himanother chance. The prompt acceptance had caught him off his balance,and he was full of rage at the conviction that McRae had sought him outfor the express purpose of displacing him.
As Robbie had previously intimated, Iredell was a poor sport. Theevents of the last few days should have taught him that the dutiesof captain were too much for him. But like many other people, hewas inclined to blame everything and everybody else for his ownshortcomings. He had been intensely vain of his position as captainof the team. His nature was, at bottom, petty and vindictive, and fromthe moment it dawned upon him what had happened to him, he framed aresolution to do all that lay in his power to thwart the plans of hissuccessor. If he had failed, he would try to prove that whoever tookhis place could do no better.
With his resentment was mingled curiosity as to the man that was tosucceed him. Who could it be? He ran over in his mind the other membersof the outfield and infield, never once thinking of the pitchers, whowere assumed to be out of the question. The more he pondered, the morepuzzled he became. Well, after all, it did not matter. He would knowsoon enough. And whoever it was would find his work mighty hard forhim, as far as he, Iredell, could make it so.
That night the Giants shook the dust of St. Louis from their feet, andwith a sigh of relief, not unmingled with apprehension, took the trainfor the long jump home. Relief that the disastrous Western trip wasat last over. Apprehension at the reception they would meet from thenewspapers and fans of New York.
Mabel was to accompany Joe back to New York and remain there for abouttwo weeks before she returned for a while to Goldsboro. Joe lookedforward to these as golden days, and the outlook went far to consolehim for his chagrin at the Giants' poor showing.
His leg and foot were mending rapidly, and he hoped to be in form againalmost as soon as he reached New York and to be able to go in and takehis regular turn in the box. And if ever the Giants needed his pitchingand batting strength, it was now!
He and Mabel had just returned from the dining car to the Pullman thatfirst evening on the train that was bearing them East, when McRae andRobbie came along.
They knew Mabel well, because, on the trip of the Giants around theworld, she had gone along with Mrs. McRae and other married women aschaperons.
"Blooming as a rose," said Robbie, gallantly. "When it comes topicking, we have to hand it to Joe."
"Still as full of blarney as ever," laughed Mabel. "I suppose you saythat to every girl you meet."
"Not at all, not-at-all!" disclaimed Robbie, his round face beaming.
"King of Northern pitchers and queen of Southern women," put in McRae."It's a winning combination."
"I'll admit the part about the women," agreed Joe.
"And I'll admit the part about the pitchers," said Mabel, her smileenhanced by a bewitching dimple.
"Then we're all happy," laughed McRae. "But now I'm going to ask thequeen to let the king come along with Robbie and me into the smokingcar for a while. I've got a little business to talk over."
"Hold on to me, Mabel," cried Joe, in mock alarm. "Mac wants to fireme, but he won't do it as long as I'm with you."
"I'm not very much worried," responded Mabel, merrily. "For thatmatter, I shouldn't wonder if you were honing to get rid of me. Goalong now, and I'll console myself with a magazine until you get back."
The three men went into the smoking car and settled themselvescomfortably. Then when the two older men had lighted cigars, McRaehurled a question.
"Joe, how would you like to be captain of the Giants?" he asked.
Joe was completely taken aback for a moment.
"Great Scott! You sure do hit a fellow right between the eyes, Mac," heresponded. "Just what do you mean? You've got a captain now, haven'tyou?"
"I had an apology for a captain up to this afternoon," was the reply."But I haven't even that now. Here, read this," and he thrustIredell's written resignation into his hand.
Joe read it with minute attention.
"I'm sorry for Iredell," he remarked, as he refolded the paper andhanded it back. "But I won't pretend that I'm surprised. But whatstrikes me all in a heap is your question to me. Remember that I'm apitcher. As my brother-in-law, Reggie, would remark, 'it simply isn'tdone.'"
"You're a pitcher, all right," responded McRae, "and the best thatcomes. But you're more than that. You're a thinker. And that's the kindof man I've got to have for captain. There's no other man on the teamthat fills the bill. They'd rattle around in the position like a pea ina tincup. You'd fill it to perfection. That's the reason I offer it toyou. You know, of course, that it means an increase in your salary, butI know that isn't the thing that would especially appeal to you. I wantyou to take the position because I think it will be the best thing forthe Giants. Think it over."
There was silence for a few minutes while Joe thought it over andthought hard. He knew that it would mean an immense addition to hiswork and his responsibilities. He would have to play every day, whilenow he played, at the most, only twice a week.
Without self-conceit, he knew that he could qualify for the position.Again and again he had groaned inwardly at baseball sins of omissionand commission that he felt sure would not have occurred had he had thedeciding voice on the field.
It finally simmered down to this: Would it help the Giants? Would itincrease their chances for the pennant? He decided that it would. Andthe moment he reached that conclusion his answer was ready.
"I'll take it, Mac," he announced.
"Bully!" exclaimed McRae, as he reached over and shook Joe's handto bind the bargain. "Don't think for a minute, Joe, that I don'tappreciate the immense amount of work that this will put upon you. Idon't want to ride a willing horse to death."
"That's all right, Mac," answered Joe. "The only possible doubt inmy mind was as to whether it might affect my pitching or hitting. Iwouldn't want to let down in those things. But if you're willing totake a chance, I am."
"I'll take all the chances and all the responsibility," replied McRae,confidently. "I haven't watched you all these years for nothing. I'venever asked you to do anything yet that you haven't done to the queen'staste. You've developed into the best pitcher in the game. You'vedeveloped into the best batter in the game. Now I look for you todevelop into the best captain in the game."
"I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that he will," broke in Robbie, hisrubicund face aglow with satisfaction. "Now we'll begin to see theGiants climb."
"I'm sure they will," affirmed McRae. "We've added fifty per cent. tothe Giants' strength by this night's work. You know as well as I do,Joe, that the class is there. All it needs is to be brought out. Andyou're the boy that's going to do it. Put your fighting spirit intothem. I was going to say put your brains into them, but that couldn'tbe done without a surgical operation. But you can teach them to use thebrains they have, and that itself will go a long way."
"How did Iredell take it when you saw him?" asked Joe, thoughtfully.
"Of course he was sore," answered McRae. "But how much of that was dueto his soreness over that bonehead play, and how much to the fact thatI accepted his resignation so promptly, I can't say. But I don't thinkyou'll have any trouble with him."
Joe, who knew Iredell's nature a good deal better than McRae, was notat all sure, but he said nothing.
"As for the other members of the team," went on McRae, "they allthink you're about the best that ever happened, and I'm sure they'llbe delighted with the change. You'll find them backing you up to thelimit. The rookies, too, look up to you as a kingpin pitcher andbatter, and they'll be ju
st clay in your hands. You can do with themwhatever you will. We've picked up some promising material there, andyou're the one to bring out all that's in them."
"You can depend on me to do my best," Joe responded warmly.
"That means that we'll win the flag even with our bad beginning,"declared McRae. "And now just one other thing, Joe. I want you to feelperfectly free to discuss with Robbie and me anything you think will befor the best interests of the team. If you think any man ought to befired, tell me so. If you think of any player we can go out and get,tell me that, too. We'll welcome any suggestions. Have you anything ofthat kind now in mind? If so, let's have it."
"I certainly don't want any one fired," said Joe, with a smile."At least, not for the present. As to getting any new players, Isaw something in the evening papers a half an hour ago that set methinking. Have you seen that the Yankees have determined to let Haysgo?"
"No, I haven't," replied McRae with quickened interest. "I haven'tlooked at to-night's papers. But after all that won't do us any good.Some other club in the American League will snap him up."
"That's what I should have thought," answered Joe. "But the surprisingthing is that all the other clubs in the American have waived claimsupon him. That leaves us free to make an offer for him, if we want him."
"That's funny," mused McRae. "Remember the way he played against us inthe World Series? He had us nailed to the mast and crying for help."
"He sure did," agreed Robbie. "But he hasn't been going very well sincethen. Rather hard to manage in the first place, and then, too, he seemsto be losing his effectiveness. If no other club in the American Leaguewants him, he must be nearly through."
"That's the way it struck me at first when I read the telegram," saidJoe. "Then I got to thinking it over. Why don't the other clubs in theAmerican League want him?"
"I'll bite," said McRae. "What's the answer?"
"Perhaps it's this," suggested Joe. "Hays, as you know, has thatpeculiar cross-fire delivery that singles him out among pitchers. Noother pitcher in either League has one just like it. It isn't that it'sso very effective when you come to know it. But because it's so unlikeany other, it puzzles all teams until they get used to it. That's theway it was with us in the Series. The first two games we couldn't do athing to him. In the third we were beginning to bat him more freely.
"Now, what does that lead up to? Just this. The other teams in theAmerican League have become so used to his pitching that it's lost itsterrors. If any one of them bought him from the Yankees, they'd haveto stack him up against the seven other teams in their League who havelearned to bat him without trouble.
"But with the National League it's different. It would take themconsiderable time to get on to him. In the meantime, he might have wontwo or three games from each of them before they solved him. He mightbe good for fifteen or twenty victories before this season is over. Hemight----"
"By ginger!" interrupted McRae. "Joe, that think tank of yours isworking day and night. I'll get in touch with the Yankee management bywire at the next station."
Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team; or, Bitter Struggles on the Diamond Page 9
