The Washington critic., 1888-01-21
TIE SCORERS DISAGREE
A Fight Begun Among the Baseball
Writers.
THE GROWTH OF RACING.
The New Riding Club Organized
in Alexandria.

Philadelphias reached there last night.
These two, together with Horace
Phillips of the Pittsburgs, are the
League Committee appointed to draft
the League schedule of championship
games for next season, and they met
at the Central Hotel this morning at
10 o'clock. Heretofore the Associa-
tion has taken the initiative in the
way Of preparing the schedules, but
this year the League will set the pace
and the Association can follow suit.
~.
In the opinion Of Mr.. Watkins,
Pittsburg has been strengthened more
than any League city. He says: 81
shall be greatly surprised If the Pitts
burgs finish below fourth place. They
have not the batting power to get
first or second indianapolis will also
do much better this year than it did
last season. The Hoosiers will be
considerably stronger" Referring
TO his own team, Mr.. Watkins said;
eve shall get all of our men signed
without any trouble. Already the
following are signed: Brouthers, Get
zein, Camel, Conway, Beatin, Gruber,
Bennett, Twitchell and GutclifTe.
Contracts have been sent to the big
four, and they will sign within few
days"
Already the fight among the base
ball scorers has begun. The Critic
declared two weeks ago that unless
there was absolute agreement among
those who aspired to make the scoring
rules for the ball players all attempts
in that direction would do more harm
than good. Now this is the declara-
tion of a writer on baseball affairs in
Boston,
Invitations have been sent to the Boston
baseball scorers, under the signature of Secre-
tary Stackhouse, to Join the scorers assooia-
tion formed at Cincinnati. have talked to
several gentlemen to whom the invitations
were sent and find without an exception q
willingness to Join the above mentioned associ.
alton, but upon certain conditions. If member
ship in the association carries with II an oh.
legation to follow in scoring such inter-
pretations of the playing and scoring rules as
a.
the Boston brethren will politely decline the
invitations referred to. If, on the other hand,
no such obligation is imposed, and the Boston
scorers can join simply from the social advan-
tages aocruing therofrom, several of them will
probably do so at the proper time. know
that the Boston scorers may possibly be
charged with posing as q "holier than thou
set of fellows, but that is the farthest from the
truth. They do not claim to be any better
scorers or any more competent to interpret
playing and scoring rules correctly or to he
better posted on the history and. fundamental
principles of the game of base ball than their
brethren who met at Cincinnati but they have
their own ideas as to how games should be
scored, and they possess independence enough
to carry out their convictions. They regard
the definitions of "stolen base" and ''unac-
cepted chances" as given by the Cincinnati
conclave, as simply ridiculous. and will not
connect themselves with any association
where they will be compelled to subscribe to
any such action. Out of all the discussion
this winter about the rules and proper meth
ods of scoring great deal Of good ought to
arise.
The Philadelphia NeOs says that
there is great deal of uncertainty in
Boston as to whether Radbourn will
pitch for the club Of the cultured town
next season or be substituted by one
of the other great pitchers of the
League, the substitute to be obtained
through deal in which Radbourn is
to be the chief consideration. Clark
son was Boston's first intention, but
after good deal of talk with no result
Spalding concluded that Clarkson was
good enough for Chicago. Now Bos-
ton is looking toward Pittsburg, with
an eye on Pitcher jim Mccormick.
There will be hardly sufficient infu-
ence in that eye either to draw Nc
Cormick from the club or the club
from Mccormick, as the latter will
probably sign in the near future. Mac
is said to be better pleased than ever
with Pittsburg since Dunlap has been
secured to cover second.
~.
The Tugf, Field and Farm statis-
tician has figured out the fact that so
horses ran a mile in 1.43 or better last
season, as against 55 in 1886 and "a in
1885. Ten of the II races in which
LAP were beaten were run over the
Sheepshead Bay track, where Stuy-
vesant put 40 and ! .40l to his credit
and Burch 1.40t. Eolian ran there
in ,404 and Troubadour and Orvid
each in 1.4l. Stuyvesanps race was
the fastest ever run, for Ten Brock s
1.394 was made over specially
prepared track, with the benefit
of running start. Up to
last season 1.41 had never
been beaten in race. 1t was done
five times last season, and 46 horses
ran in better than 1.43, all but 10 of
them carrying over 100 pounds.
Eolian carried 120 pounds when he
ran over the Sheepshead Bay track
Brooklyn track with 122 pounds up in
l.42t. Stuyvesant carried lllt pounds
when he ran LAO, and but ITO when
he ran half second slower. Garrison
rode four of the five horses who ran
in better than 1.4l, Harris riding the
other-Jacobin-at Chicago.
49,,
The Kansas City Club, the new
member of the American Associa-
tion, has selected the following play
ers: Pitchers, Porter, Toole and Har-
kins of last seasons Brooklyn Club,
and Fagin of the Metropolitansi
catchers, Donohue and Kinslow of
the Nets and Greer of the Brook
lyns; first base, Phillips of Brooklyni
second, Kummler; third, Hankinson
of the Nets; short, Davis, (presuma'
bly, "Our Jim," of Baltimore); left
field, Jones of the Nets; right,
Swartwood; centre, not yet filed.
| a.
Last Tuesday night the Alexandria
Gentlemen's Driving Association wa
organized at Alexandria with George A
Mushback, president Harry Smoot, vice