Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1889-05-23
THE NATIONAL GAME.
GOSSIP ABOUT BASEBALL CLUBS
AND PLAYERS.
The Present Championship Season and the
Teams which Are to Fight for the League
Pennant of 1Ss0-Ehects of tho Tour
Around the World.
[cHIcA0o coRREsPoNDENoE.l

Pennant of 1Ss0-Ehects of tho Tour
Around the World.
[cHIcAGo coRREsPoNDENoEl
Warm weather and sunny skies have re-
turned to gladden. the heart OF the base
ball crank in every State in the Union. and
summer has now come to stay and with it
the baseball championship Of 1899.
The real fight between the big profess
sional teams-the fight which shall deter
mine the location OF League and Associa-
tion championship psnnants this fall. as
well as that OF innumerable minor organ
ization fiags-begau during the last days of
April. and now tho teams are just begin
ming to settle down to an earnest reallza-
tion OF the hard light ahead OF them.
Of course some OF the teams which
have forged ahead during the open
ing weeks of the season may fall
down under the continued strain Of a long
campaign. and others. which have stumbled
bit at the start. may flnd themselves play
ing steadier ball as the season progresses.
Still the results OF the past two weeks OF
play are fairly indicative OF the playing
strength OF the contesting teams. and con-
sequently Of the character OF contest which
lovers OF the game may expect to witness.
In the League the prospects for a close
and determined race were never better.
The close OF the third week in tho race
finds the teams most interestingly punched.
Boston and Philadelphia are tied for the
load. with New York. Chicago, Cleveland.
and Pittsburg following SO closely in the
order named that game or two either way
might easily reverse the positions OF the en-
tire list.
And what ball the boys are playingl Few
seaso ms among those past have witnessed
or re corded start in which the work has
been of so uniformly a high character.
Boston and New York have been playing
ball with clinched teeth, in a desperate
endeavor to hold first place. and New York
succeeded in doing so up to the close OF the
third week in the rnce. when Boston, with
EnlarkSnn and Bennett, in the points. beat
the Giants ana wa 4ha .ia4@-T tIaaG sent
them ahead of the Gothamites. In the
meantime. however, Philadelphia had been
getting in some tall work. and although
Boston left New York behind it was COM
PEELED Immediately to lock horns with
Harry Wright's team for first place.
And perhaps Philadelphia is not putting
up game!
There is a team which is liable to play
sad havoc with the calculations Of some
OF the cracks this season, just as 1t did last
season and season before. Buffinton and
Clements promise to prove as great a bat
terry this year as Clarkson and Bennett or
Keefe and Ewing, while the regular in and
out fields are playing just the kind OF ball to
raise a grand stand off its feet with en-
tbusiasm and excitement, and, what is more
important, just the kind OF ball to win
games. The tour around the world which
Wood and Fogarty made with the Spalding
party last winter seems to have made 80
per cent. better ball players of them this
year than they were last. During the sea-
son of 1888 they were hard TO beat as out
ilelders. but now George Wood is play
ing the in1eld as we'll as he ever
played the out. and Fogartys work In
center is unprecedentedly brilliant in char
actor. Big Thompson. of last years De-
troits. is playing his customary hard-hit-
ting and reliable fielding game in the out
field. while Farrar at first an1 Mulvey at
third are playing a game with twenty per
cent more snap in 1t than IL had last year.
There has been some little trouble recently
between Captain Irwin and Manager Harry
Wright, with the result that Irwin de-
manded his unconditional release. and has
not played with the team dur ng the past
three or four games. This. however, will
doubtless soon be abridged, and Irwin will
play short for the Phillies this season as
he has done Tor seasons past. Philadel-
phia is strong-much stronger this year
than last, and should land very near the
top OF the list when the season closes,
while it will be very sure to make every
game 1t plays an interesting one FOR its
opponents.
New York should play no weaker game
this year than it played last. hut it will have
stronger opponents to face. With Keefe
and Welch and Crane as regular pitchers,
Whitney, and John Ward in the infield. and
Slattery, Tiernan, Gore, and O'Rourke all
playing the game Of their lives in the out,
New York should be considerable shade
stronger than 1t was last year.
III Bostons talent gets down to the team
work of which it is capable. however. New
York will by no means have things its cwn
way. The Hub. undoubtedly has the
weightiest aggregation OF batting talent in
the country. 1t has all OF the flower OF the
oil nntr r<Nff lnr IN, n11 Ns.f tee
original battery strength OF 'SS, and either
aggregation was alone capable OF doing
good work with the stick. United they
should be able to make any pitcher nervous
And Chicagol What about the team that
has since the close of its last champion ship
race enclrcled the globe in one Of the most
memorable trips in the history OF celebrated
tours, and which has brought almost as
many championship pennants to tho Lake
City as the other teams combined have
taken away from itP Some changes have
been made in 1t since last October. Bald
win. DAILY. Sullivan. and Petit have been
let go, and no new talent other than that
enga yed last fall has been secured Presi-
dent Spalding. however. Is OF the opinion
that none will be wanted. The absence OF
Williams on. OF course. is being felt, and no
matter who Anson may put in his place the
team will not play its best hall until the
great short stop RECEIVERS from the injuries
he received at Paris and reoins his fellow
medical treatment and Ryan is meantime
playing short quite creditably. The changes
In the pitching rules and Willamson's alb
sence worried the team not q little in the
opening games OF the season In the open
ing series at indianapolis. Pittsburg and
Cleveland, the boys lost a majority OF the
games they played, but upon reaching Chi
cago. for a series of four games with Pitts
burg they braced up in "a style that clearly
showed what was in them, although they
lost the first game OF the four to the
Zulus," winning the remaining three with
margin that pretty we'll established thoir
superiority In team work. batting and field
ing. Duffy, Ryan, and Van Haltren are the
regular outneld. and will play there so soon
as Williamson resumes work or some one
can he temporarily secured to take
his place. The teams pitchers arc
young but are showing up remarkably.
and promise to make records In the box
this year that will advance their individ-
ual regulations and materially increase the
chances OF the team in the pennant race.
The fight is now fairly under way and prom
ises to grow more interesting with each
succeeding week Of the season.
CHICAGO TEAM NOTES.
George Van Haltren has developed into
great outflelder and reliable batsmau.
Hugh Duffy Is the funny man OF the Chi
cago team this year. He is also great lit
tie ball-player.
Anson and his team are now playing ball
on Eastern soil. They will not play in Chi
cago again until June /.
More next week. HARRY PALMER.
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PERHAPS no newspaper writer was