The Portland daily press., 1872-05-15
Condition Of q Baseball Club.

The Cleveland Leader gets off the follow
ing good thing on the Forest City Nine of that
city:
The pitcher for the summer Of 1872 has
been practicing for several weeks outside of
the city limits, and, though not feeling well,
can throw regulation ball with such swift
ness that it cannot be seen unless covered
with phosphorus; and often the friction oc
casioned by its passage through the air causes
heat so great as to burn the ball to ashes
before it reaches the catcher, who only finds
a mass of cinders in his hands. The assistant
or reserve pitcher has been practicing but a
few weeks, but he can throw a ball through
eighteen inches of oak plank now and, if he
keeps on, the man on deck will have to en-
case his stomach in a monitor turret and
other armor, or suffer the consequences.
The catcher has been for three weeks past
engaged in breaking up pig iron at the New
burg rolling mills, and to still further tougher
his hands, he allows the big twenty ton trip
hammer to dropon them two hours each day;
they are now about the size of a windmill,
and if a ball gets by him it will be by travers-
ing the atmosphere of an adjoining country.
The reader can gamble on this.
The first baseman is trying the diet system
to steady his nerves, and can let govern
ment mule kick him with both feet all day in
the abdomen without winking He will nev
er move his foot from sand bag unless in
the line of duty, and a runner for the first
base may light on him like hawk ON June
bug without making him swerve an inch.
The second baseman has developed himself
more especially for miscellaneous and active
service. He can stand on his head, catch a
ball with his feet, reverse his position, and
knock grasshopper off from mullen stalk
at eighty rods, nine times out of ten. There
will be no Use in runner trying to dodge
him, for he has globe sights on his nose and
can plumb a man in the hold or rigging just
as he chooses. .r. -,
The short stop is probably the best man
for this position that can be found this side of
the Suez canal. He is short himself and has
lived on pie crust all winter, can turn thir-
teen somersaults without splitting on his
hands, and catch ball with equal facility in
either hand or his teeth.
The third baseman has been making sauer-
kraut and riding velocipede all winter to
develop the muscles of his lower limbs, which
give him the appearance of being troubled
with elephantiasis. But don't fool yourself;
he can run down giraffe in three minutes,
and can bat ball so far that his opponents
never think of chasing it the same day they
are hit, but proceed with new ball.
The three fielders have been frisking about
in the country all winter and drinking angle
worm oil to give suppleness to theirlimbs.
lney go on all tours faster than many profess
slonals can run, and are so timber that circus
men die Off like sheep after seeing them per-
form once.
In fact, we may well be proud of our club
1or tne present year, and if there is any or
ganlzatlon in the country that thinks it can
compete with them, let them draw on us at
six months sight through the United States
Treasury Department Tor sooner if they can
get a sight of us) stating how many dollars
worth of confidence they feel in their favorite
club.
We do not forget our club manager, who is
all that father can be to the boys, and who
does much more than his name indicates to
make the season and its matches successful
The scorer for the present year has been Sc
lected as the champion whittier of the States.
he has purchased bran new jack-knife, two
thousand shingles, and will keep his notches
on the double entry plan; that is, one entry
for the other side and two cuts for his own.