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" J " 1 r Ever Wonder How Big Leaguer Spends His Time Before Game? i , ; [ J - j i 1 s , , i s t 1 1 • 1 * 1 1 | 1 J J 1 5 -! J t 1 e t e j f 1 s 1 f ! a 1 j t 2 . y I r 3 a e a e . Fans Taken for Quick Look T Into Clubhouse as Players Await Call to Take Field By MILTON RICHMAN United Press Sports Writer NEW YORK, N. Y., June 20.— Ever won- . der how a big leaguer spends his time in i the clubhouse before game time? Hang on and well both go in together t for a quick look around. That naked guy in the miniature bath-i , tub? Hes one of the pitchers undergoing r whirlpool treatments for a nagging Charley horse. Hes been taking the baths for days and some of the guys figure hes earned j his Red Cross life-saving badge by now. Those two infielders over there in the corner are in the midst of a checker game, but the other four guys around the board are just kibitzing. The soft rhumba music is coming from 1 that little black radio. The radio serves two 1 purposes: Before the game it provides the players * with some relaxing music and if any of them happen to get the thumb from an 1 umpire during the game, they can come back to the clubhouse and follow the pro-J " gress of the contest. The big league clubhouse is part office, part living room and part barber shop. Shaving equipment is standard gear in all clubhouses. Some players shave before , the game, others after it. The "plutocrats" ", shave at home. Autograph Baseballs Before Game Even those players who give you a gruff f "Out of my way, Im in a hurry," when you x ask them for their autographs after the 3 game, meticulously sign their names dozens s of times on baseballs in the clubhouse be-t . fore the game. They have to. Orders from ! the front office which distributes the balls. ;. Some players utilize the hour or so they ■ have before each game to catch up on their r correspondence. They read some of their r fan mail, also, at this time, but throw most t of it away because each letter generally t carries a request for a glove, uniform or r part of the franchise, Baseball is loaded with crossword puzzle addicts, so dont become alarmed if a player r suddenly pipes up: "Does anyone know a three-letter word 1 for an East Indian herb? " Those players who are removing the top J part of their uniforms are changing the i sweat-shirts that became soaked with per-l - spiration during batting practice and the guys who are working on their gloves are 2 probably removing some of the padding, The conversation among the players s varies. Occasionally, theyll talk about yesterdays - ball game . . . sometimes theyll 1 chat about some exciting movie they saw f ... or else, theyll exchange opinions on i some big prize fight coming up. Only break in the daily pre-game routine * occurs when the manager calls a "meet-! ing," usually on the first day of a new r series, to go over the strengths and weak-i - nesses of rival hitters. Three or four minutes before the game, some player generally calls out, "Post ; time!" _ "Its everybody out then because the game e is about due to start.
