Thomas County cat., 1888-06-14
BASEBALL LITERATURE
Bm Nye Grapples With the New style os
Reporting Games.

bu Nye GrappSes With the New styls Of
Reporting Games.
/ am extremely sorry that Matthew
Arnold did not live to read moro of
our American baseball literature. l
think he would have liked it better II
he had done so. In saying that we
were a vulgar people and that the
American humorist was National mis-
fortune. l think he criticised us hastily.
for he was only in this country little
while and judged our humor largely
by the supply he read while here and
which he brought with him in his
trunk. but If he could have seen the
baseball word-painting of our glo-
rious country he would have loved us.
If he could have read that Richard
son went out Irwin to Farrar, that
Foster hit safely and stole second,
that Welch flied out to Wood, and all
about Tis-nan's scratch hit and Ew-
iMg's failure to sacrifice. and Wards
miss of grounder that went through
him. Mr. Arnold would have said that
he had done US an Injustice.
We do not claim much for our long
line of ancestry, and those of us who
came over in the Mayflower try to con-
ceal it as quietly as possible. but here
in this wild and savage land we are
trying to build up classic style of
writing up our National game that
will make the mother country tired.
l admit that can not understand it
at all yet but I am striving to do so
and am willing to work hard.
l sometimes wish that Lord Tenny-
son could come here for one summer
and sit with me on a bleaching board.
with his numerous hair hanging over
his top-coat. while explained to hi
''that it looked rather squally for the
Giants, for instance. till Slattery jolted
merry thunder out of the hOrsehide.
tore the tar out of the willow. smashed
the leather. and then. while the Phillie
fumblers were pulling dandelion greens
beyond the Harlem. the Metropolitan
in-fielder lit out like future punishment
beating tan-bark. accumulated one
bagger, two-bagger and three bag
ger, Strengthened himself out like
long-waisted jack-raobit across the
plate and made his royal red home run
just as the Ne W York Central got in
with the ball and the band played
Tommy Make Room for Your
Auntie'"
I think that Alfred would like that
If me Lord likes vivid and scare hing
style he would find it here. am only
beginning to write in this way, and it
is new to me, but l think l can ulti-
mately give description of ball
game that will appeal to every heart.
When began would have said. for
instance. that O O'Rourke swatted at the
ball and missed it. till the pitcher hit
O'Rourke's person with it and then he
went to the first and gradually got to
the third base. but now I would say
that O'ROurke. the Gothic extended
catcher for the Giants. strove to belt
the blooming ball to windward. mauled
The tmosphere two times and con-
cussed the life preserver on the right
leg of Umpire Daniels. was presented
with one base as mark of esteem. and
with blister as big as a hornets nest
where he had tried to bisect the orbit
of hot ball with the bosom of his
knickerbockers, he bungled a second,
and while Hallman was muffing the
orb, catching invisible crabs. fluking
every thing in sight and corking himself
generally. ORourke lit out like a
bobtail cornet. fell for
ty feet horizontally, and with his ear
full of hot ball, blister across his
meridian. fractured thigh and his
mouth full of sand. hoarsely calculated
"Judgmentr'
There is description that appeals
to every heart. There is literary
moss agate that ought to tickle man
like TennysOn, unless he has a foolish |
prejudice against American writers.
My ambition is some day to write |
the lurid description of base ball
game which will 60 snorting down the
corridors of time, along with Balak-
lava, Marco Bozzaris and the stubborn |
youth who stood on the burning deck.
l want to write it so that it will be
bright and jaunt in style. and yet ]
would like to sock littN sadness in
it. description that should be rich in
coloring. and yet free from informa-
ton. carefully and professionally |
gem of literature that would
contain about q column and nothing |
else whatever.
The London Saturday RerieU says |
that "what America wants is liter |
ature that shall smack of the soil"
Here is the opportunity. Let the um-
pire take down the remarks of
Giant who has tried to reach min g feet
and catch no Id of the third base with
his front teeth, and then demand |
Judgment before splitting out the north
end of the Polo ground.-BiH Nye, in
n. !. World