But in order that his prediction might prove true, Joe worked like a beaver, bending every energy to the improvement of the team. He was determined to make the same success as a captain as he had as a pitcher and batsman.
Not that the young captain nagged or bully-ragged his men. There was nothing of that kind in his nature. The authority with which he had been clothed was nothing to him in itself. All he valued it for was the opportunity it gave him to make the Giants a better team. If any one more fit for the job could have been found, Joe would have relinquished his captaincy gladly and would have done his utmost to make his successor’s work a success.
His men felt this, and because they felt it, yielded readily to the suggestions he preferred to make instead of commands. Not in years had there been so much smoothness and lack of friction in the handling of the Giants. When he pointed out faults he did it without ugliness. When he had occasion to commend a player he did it ungrudgingly and whole-heartedly. So he bound his men to him and welded the team into one harmonious unit whose one purpose was to play the game for all it was worth.
Especially did he get in close, sympathetic touch with the rookies, the younger members of the team. Most of them were of first-class material and many gave promise of becoming stars. But they were naturally nervous at finding themselves in fast company, and their errors were many. He brought them along, encouraged them, gave them their opportunities. This spirit, together with their unbounded respect and admiration of his own ability, enabled him to mold them to his liking.
So very soon he had a lot of reserve material that greatly enhanced the prospects of the Giants. Joe was a profound believer in the old baseball adage that the strength of a team lay in its substitutes. He worked on this theory and before long was in a position where if half of the regular team should be disabled by accident or sickness he could put men in their positions who could play them admirably.
What helped Joe immensely in this developing work was the full confidence and backing of McRae. That shrewd baseball general believed in putting faith in his lieutenants. When he found a good man he gave him a free hand and backed him to the limit. What he looked for were results. As long as these were forthcoming he asked no more.
“It was a mighty lucky day when I took Iredell out and made Joe captain of the team,” he confided to Robbie.
“Ye had a rabbit’s foot in your pocket sure enough that day, John,” agreed Robbie. “He’s the best captain in the league, bar none.”
“I never doubted that he would be, as far as his ability was concerned,” observed the manager. “But I was a little doubtful whether the burden of responsibility wouldn’t affect his pitching and batting. It was a new experiment making a captain out of a pitcher.”
“Sure, that boy has eyes in the back of his head,” asseverated Robbie. “There isn’t a move of his own men or of the fellows on the other side that he doesn’t see in a second. He thinks as fast as chain lightning.”