Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-17
WILL WE BE LEFT?
The Prospects of the Coming Base Ball
Season.

There is undoubtedly tendency on the
part Of eight clubs Of the national base ball
league to reduce the league to that number By
dropping out Washington and IudianapoIis.
The enlargement to ten clubs was in the nature
of bluff with the idea Of frightening the
! brotherhood. but the time has now come for
action, and the leaders are beginning to realize
the necessity of reefng little sail before facing
the storm OF competition that awaits them
League men do not like to admit it, but the
fact is their hopes Of securing victory over
the brotherhood in the courts are well-nigh ex-
hausted, and they see that it is going to be o
tight for life or death, not in the forum but in
the diamond In view of this state Of affairs
they are going to bend all their energies TO
the re-establishment Of the leagues good
health, and there are pretty sure evidences at
hand just now TO show that at the spring meet
ing. which will take place little more than
two weeks hence, the league will reduce the
number of clubs to eight by purchasing the
franchises of two of the clubs. Who shall be
the victims?
HOW 1T MAY BIZ DOM.
The league can sever connection with club
by accepting its resignation, by expellipg it or
by buying it just as any private speculator
would. In the iast-named case it then decides
whether to run the club or let it drop, and if
this be done at Cleveland on the 4th Of March
the dropping policy will be adopted.
John B. Day has not yet succeeded in getting
club Of league players together to compete
against the New York brotherhood, the Brook
Ign league and the Brooklyn brotherhood and
Is said to have his eyes on some whole club,
such as Indianapolis. His plan is thought to
be to induce the league to buy the Hoosier
franchise and then to buy the men from the
league, II this is done Washington will also
probably go.
There are very many people here who be-
lieve that Mr.. Hewett Wilt be ready in March
to meet the league little more than half way
He has by his own declaration admitted that
be was willing to sell and that he had q price,
but that he had found no one willing to 90 high
enough to reach him. When a league presi-
dent and the league itself find themselves in
such straits as those that are apparent in the
present instances such thing as a dicker is by
no means improbable.
THE OUTLOOK NOT ENCOURAGING,
But If Hewett sells Washington does not
stand much OF show of having any profess
sionai base ball played here next season and
the outlook is not at all gratifying to the en-
thuslasts. If this state of affairs had culmi-
mated earlier in the winter we would have stood
good show, for then there would have been
plenty OF people anxious to place a club here
IN one OF the minor leagues, but now all plans
are laid, all money invested, and by the 4th Of
March the schedules will have been made up,
and 1t looks pretty blue for the local cranks.
AND INDIANAPOLIS, TOO.
In this line Of thought the following special
to the Philadelphia Press from Indianapolis is
interesting Notwithstanding reported denials in
the strongest kind of language, the story that In
dianapolis will not be in the league next season
continues to 60 the rounds with variations and
notifications in some particulars. 1t must be
admitted that the outlook is not reassuring
and that after all the theories of the base ball
writers who are trying to locate Indianapolis
outside the league may prove to be correct
The New York club has no players who can be
expected to draw crowds as counter attrac-
hons to the old favOrites and there does not
just now appear to be a strong probability that
MIR. Day will succeed in getting together a
good team of new players before the opening
of the season. 1t is hard to believe that In
dianapolis is to be allowed to have the best
club in the league while the brotherhood has
the favoritc players IN other cities.
With such players as Glasscock, Denny and
the rest of the Hoosiers who have signed con-
tracts for next year Day would expect to draw
games AZ would go to see the old favorites and
he might make their venture Improbable for
them even if he made no money for himself
With a new and rather formidable competitor
the league will surely not maintain its best
team in city where it has no competition and
where the patronage is almost the poorest in
the business, allowing itself to be forced from
the more profitable field Mr.. Brush's team is
therefore, it would seem, likely to be trans
terred to better and more profitable point Of
attractiOl