Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-06-21
THEYMAKEMONDY
w. I. Harris Writes About the
Western Baseball League.
GOOD PLAYERS AND BIG CROWDS.

81. Paul IL the Only Weak Spot In the
Aggregation, and New Capital VIII Soon
Add strength Thers-some Queer Nick
names-Ths Fight Of the Big Leagues.
Ten thousand people attended the two
ball games at Minneapolis on Decoration
day, 400 one game ut Omaha and 5000
two games at Denver. In all, 1900. Had
It not rained at Kansas City the total
would have been increased to $4,000. And
these games were played by the Western
association, minor league, so called, but
surely good one to draw within couple
Of thousand as many people to five games
rs the American association did to seven.
One Of the causes Of this good attendance
was the closeness Of the fight for the pen.
nant.
The teams appear to be about as evenly
balanced as 1t is possible to have them.
The c.r.uit consists Of Denver, Colo; Des
Moines, Ia, Kansas City, Mo-; Milwaukee,
Wis; Minneapolis, Mimi; Omaha, Neb;
Sioux City, Ia, and st. Paul, MINI. Here
are eight teams representing Ave states,
and not one has won less than ten games
or more than twenty at this writing.
Dy tuS way tucy nave QuecE ulChudIueS
for the western clubs. The Des Moines
team are spoken of as the Hawkeyes; the
Sioux Citys are designated Corn Huskers;
the Minneapolis men are dubbed the Mil
lers; the Milwaukees are called the Brew
ers; the st. Pauls are rather appropriately
termed the Apostles; they call the Omaha
team the Omahogs, and the Denvers are
styled the Mountaineers. The only team
which has no set name is the Kansas Citys.
One bright young writer has styled them
the hot weather players. When they were
in the National league they were called the
Cowboys in the east From my recollec.
tions of them ut that time and the usual
luck Of visiting teams to Kansas City I
suggest to my western brethren, IL they
really need a name, to designate them as
the Petrels, for they have strong resem-
blance to those stormy bipeds, inasmuch
as rainy weather has always followed in
their wake
The Minneapolis team has Ryn, Hengle,
Miller and O'Day for an infleld, with Car
roll, Foster and Minnehan for an outfield.
Myers is their best catcher, with Dugdale
to help him out. The pitchers are Hark.
ness, Mitchell, Shreve, Duke and Hudson.
Some of these men are noted in baseball
circles-for instance, George Myers, the
great catcher Of the St. Louis and Indian
apolis teams; Elmer Foster. once q Giant,
and perhaps as great an outfielder as ever
played in the League; O'Day, of last sea-
sons Lowells; Hengle, once an umpire;
Hudson, late of the Browns, of st. Louis,
and Shreve, of indianapolis and Detroit.
Mitchell, think, is the young man who
had brief trial with the Phillies. This
team is under the management of Sam
Morton, as shrewd and able man as the
west has in the minor league baseball bust
ness. Those who are strange to eastern
people are all classed as good men.
There are many good men on the other
teams. Among those whose names are
known everywhere are Poorman, Dalrym-
pie, Shoch, Alberts and Krieg, of the Mil
waukees: Flanagan, Dolan, Fusselback
and McCullar, of Des Moines; Will White,
McGlene, Mcclellan and Dave Rowe, of
Denver; Burns, Hoover, Stearns, Swartzel,
Carpenter, Manning and Elmer Smith, of
Kansas City; Cleveland and Tanning, of
Omaha; Cline and Kappel, Of Sioux City.
All of these men are playing good ball and
the association apparently possesses some
first class pitching talent. Among the
pitchers little known in the east, who
have first class ability, are Thornton, Of
Milwaukee,; Kennedy, of Denver; Devlin,
of Sioux City; Hart and Sommer, of Des
Moines. 1t is noticeable that Tanning, Ell
mer Smith, Shreve, Mitchell and Swartzel
are keeping up their good work.
There appears to be only one really weak
spot in the Western association, and that is
at st Paul, but some new capital has been
interested and it is now expected that the
team will play the season out. From all
appearances the association will have the
most prosperous season Of its career from
both playing and financial standpoint, as
the baseball war does not seem to affect
any CT the cities of its circuit.
A friend asked me few days ago:
"When both sides are weary of losing
money how will the conflict between
League and Brotherhood be settled?" This
is question that is agitating the minds
Of a great many people, and none more SO
than the magnates of the two leagues.
Both are already tired of losing money
And both are nearly ready to make a set
tlement. Pride and money will probably
carry them through the season. What
thenS Does anybody knows Can anybody
name the result?
Judging from present indications any
prediction would necessarily point to
compromise of some sort. 1t is surely
either case of amalgamation, compromise
or quit 1t is a wise man who could now
point out which one it will be. The losses
will be large on both sides. One or two
things, however, seem to be certain. The
Brotherhood will have to quit in Buffalo
and in Brooklyn, and the League in
Pittsburg, if there is second year
Of the war. There is small doubt
also that the ball players of '91. '92
and '93 will get smaller salaries than the
players of 'S9 and 30. The war has proved
that there are as good fish in the baseball
sea as ever came out of it, and plenty of
them, too. Whether there is one league or
two in 1901 the woods will be full Of ca
pable ball players, and there will be SO
many of them that a salary reduction must
necessarily follow, except in the cases of
men who have long contracts or who are
stockholders in the clubs for which they
play.
There is only one course that can be
taken which will at once bring the profess
sional game up again to the notch of pros
perity it occupied in lSSS-9, and that is an
amalgamation of the two leagues into one
which shall be run under a national agree
ment and under the rules Of the National
league. A compromise arrangement, with
different division of territory, new names
for Players league clubs and non-con-
ficting schedule may effect the same re-
suit, but it would take about four times as
long to bring it about.
" HARRIs