Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-04-26
THE BALL FIELD
The Nationals Ready for the League
Seas0n-NOtes About Players.

Seas0n-NOtes About Players.
The exhibition games played by the Nation
| ais during April have limbered the players
wonderfully. They are playing a strong game.
| Their most enthusiastic admirers do not ex-
pect them to come near winning the cham
pionship Of the League. Such q thing would
| be a miracle. Those who have watched them
carefully since they began playing are satisfied
| that the material is there, or will be with very
little change, to play strong game of ball
with any of their competitors, particularly on
the home grounds. If they can win the ma
| jority of games at home the public will support
them. The chances are in their favor.
The Nationals played strong game with the
Yale College nine on Saturday, and shut them
out the score being to o. The college boys stuck
manfully to their work, and, at times. played
brilliantly la mt The same clubs play to-day:
Thursday. On the last three days of the week
the Nationals will be pitted against the Phila-
this year. and will, it is said, make strong bid
for the championship. 1t would not be wise,
| perhaps, to predict the number of defeats that
will be administered to them the first week of
the season, but there is no doubt but that they
| Will leave Washington with better opinion Of
the playing strength of the new club than they
| bring with them.
1t is not claimed that the home team cannot
be strengthened. There are one or two acknowl-
edged weak spots, but it may be taken for
granted that the management will replace
weak man with strong one If possible. 1t
go before there is better one available. Nearly
all the league clubs are now carrying more men
than they need, and in a very short time there
on the market. Besides, 1T is only right that
every man should be given fair chance. 1t is
not SO clear that Tan, any immediate changes are
| satisfaction, but in his last game he showed
great improvement. He caught on the Bostons
when they won the championship, and was an
acceptable back-stop for the famous Whitney
He may come around all right. 1t is undeni-
able that Force Is very weak at the bat.
whether his excellence in the field will COM
pensate for poor batting is a question for the
management to decide
Phil. Baker will probably be regular catcher.
AS centerhelder, a first baseman a back
stop he is equally good. The only objection
made when he plays in the last position is
weak throwing, but somehow he manages to
throw out great many men at second base.
He is lucky I'm everything on the ball field.
One-armed Daily will pitch instead of Barr on
the Nationals first trip next week There is
no reason why he should not prove very effec-
Fogarty and Andrews are the great sliders of
the Philadelphia team. They may beat Gill;
gan's throwing, but it's question.
batter under Joe starts careful training. He is
hard hitter, but his judgment is not good.
knowles is down on the books for q big record
this year.
Crane, the big rightfielder of the Nationals, is
making friends very fast. Some wiseacTes pre-
dlcted his failure when he was first selected.
Boston book-makers offer the following odds
against the different League clubs getting
nrst or second place: New York and Chicago,
2 to 5; Boston, Philadelphia and Detroit,
to i; Washington, 25 to 1. and Kansas City,
1t is said that 500 stock brokers will accom-
pany the New Yorks to Philadelphia next Mon
day when the Giants play their first game with
the Philadelphias.
game this year. He has improved wonderfully
In his throwing.
The MetropoIitans secured good fielder and
batter in Behel. They were very anxious, it is
said, TO secure Stewart the captain and crack
second-baseman OF the Yale club.
heavily this season.
Nash, the Boston third-baseman, who played
on the Virgnias last year, has fallen off greatly.
he tailed to make hit in nine out of fourteen
games played by the Bostons Poorman is
doing the heavy batting of the club.
Mr.. Erastus Wiman has given the American
association silver trophy, to be presented to
the winner of the championship each year. The
trophy is of solid silver, twenty-six inches
high, representing batsman in position to bat
pitched ball: The whole is enclosed in plate
glass case and is valued at $4,000. The Metro
1t in the various cities where they play.
The Louisville club is said to be stronger than
II has ever been since it famous season OF 1876.
The Athletic club Is starting out rather unfor.
tunately this year in the matter OF sickness and
accidents. Corey, Larkin, Robinson, Quest,
S1oyey, Bierbauer and Irwin have all been laid
A base ball authority says that good pitcher
VIII not send many men to bases on balls. He
should bear in mind that nine out of ten men
presented with a base score a run. There are
nine chances against batsman all the time
and a good twirler will take these chances and
make q man hit the ball.
The survivors OF the famous Union associa-
tion-kansas City, st. Louis and Washington
are now in the National league. Ii any one had
predicted eighteen months ago that even one of
these clubs would be in the leading aggregation
of the country at such an early day he would
have been dubbed u crank. The qualifications
OF base bail are beyond acknowledgement
natl Enquirer.
Tony Mullane, Caruthers, Morris and Calvin,
the crack pitchers, have all been hit very haru
SO far this season. Hecker and Ramsey, OF
Louisville, however, seem to be the exceptions,
and are doing effective work.
Neal, the young piseher Of the Savannah club,
Is said to be wonder. In recent game with
the Pittsburg club he held them down to five
hits in fifteen innings. He is left-hand pitcher
and is said To pitch the greatest drop ball of any
player now on the field.
Yesterdays ball games resulted as follows:
AZ notwithstanding, II; Pittsburg, Is.
At st. Louis-St. Louis, 16; Louisville, 10. At
Brooklyn-Brooklyn, IL; Baltimore, 1. At
New York-Atlantics, q; Troys, z.
The championship record OF the American
association: