“Wilkins,” mused the coach. “Must have been the year before I took hold here. I don’t remember any game with High School in which we got licked that badly. He must be all he says he is, though, if he can teach any one else to pitch that stuff. Well, I’m not going to tell you you’re a Christy Mathewson, Proudtree, for you’ve got a long way to go yet before you’ll be getting any medals. I guess I don’t have to tell you that you aren’t built quite right for baseball, eh?”
“Oh, I’m down to a hundred and fifty-four,” answered Kewpie calmly, “and I’m not so slow as I look.”
“I don’t mean your weight,” said the coach, suppressing a smile. “I mean your build. You’ll have to work just about twice as hard as Beedle would, for instance, to get the same result. You’re—well, you’re just a little bit too close-coupled, son!”
“I’ve seen fellows like me play mighty good baseball,” said Kewpie.
“I dare say. If you have, you’ve seen them work mighty hard at it! Well, I’m not trying to discourage you. I’m only telling you this to impress you with the fact—and it is a fact, Proudtree—that you’ll have to buckle down and work mighty earnestly if you want to be a really capable pitcher next year.”
“Well, what about—” Kewpie glanced fittingly at Laurie—“what about this year, sir?”
Laurie saw the coach’s gaze waver. “This year?” he echoed. “Why, I don’t know. We’re fixed pretty well this year, you see. Of course I’m perfectly willing to let you work with the crowd for the rest of the season. Pitching to the net will teach you a whole lot, for you can’t judge your stuff until you’ve got some ambitious chap swinging at it. Some of that stuff you’ve just showed me would be candy for a good hitter. You’ve got one weakness, Proudtree, and it’s an important one. You haven’t speed, and I don’t believe you’ll have it. That’s your build; no fault of yours, of course.”
“I know that,” agreed Kewpie, “but Brose Wilkins says I don’t need speed. He says I’ve got enough without it. He says there are heaps of mighty good pitchers in the Big League that can’t pitch a real fast ball to save their lives!”
“Maybe, but you’re not a candidate for the Big League yet. If you’ve ever watched school-boy baseball, you’ve seen that what they can’t hit, five times out of seven, is a really fast ball. They like to say they can, and I guess they believe it, but they can’t. Maybe one reason is that they don’t often get fast ones, for there aren’t many youngsters of your age who can stand the strain of pitching them. Mind, I don’t say that you won’t be able to get by without more speed than you’ve got, but I do say that not having speed is a weakness. I’m emphasizing this because I want you to realize that you’ve got to make your curves mighty good to make up for that shortcoming.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Kewpie almost humbly. “I understand.”