The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-02
EIGHT-CLUB CIRCUIT.
Mileage in the New League
Would Not Be Excessive.
SEATTLE WOULD BE BENEFITED.
ne FaIIacies OF Baseball Averages
Gossip of the National Sport
California Games.

The feasibility of the proposed consol,.
;stion of the Pacific Northwest and the
california leagues into an eight-club or.
..n;zation Is becoming more and more ap-
nsrent to interested parties who are max
Inc a study of it. The great advantage of
larger circuit, with a more frequent
,bange in visiting clubs and the sectional
r, vslry between the North and the South,
i universally recognized, and the only
usightv objection has been the mileage to
hs travelled by each club. Even this proves
,ot At all serious upon careful examina-
t;on into the subject. The Pacific North
rest League has demonstrated during the
n.st two seasons that long distances can
l. successfully overcome in the makeup of
.eircuit. 1t can be done, too, with the
nrospective eight-club circuit, but, of
sourse. certain conditions must be COM
piled with.
II is absolutely necessary to have four
Northern and four Southern clubs. With
schedule of 112 games this would give
zach club sixteen games with each of the
,ther seven. Eight of each sixteen would
he at home and eight abroad. For ex-
annie. Seattle would play San Francisco
eight games at Seattle and eight at San
Francisco. Allowing four games to a SER
l les this would necessitate two trips to the
South to play the eight games. Of course
all of the Northern clubs would go South
together, and make the round of the
Southern cities before returning. The
Southern clubs would adopt the same plan
in coming North.
comparison OF the mileage of the Pa
eifc Northwest League for the season and
Of that of the consolidated league planned
for next year will show some interesting
results. The new eight-club circuit is,
however, to be figured with Salem, Or, as
one of the northern cities in the place of
spokane. By way of illustration, the dis
tances travelled by the Seattle club are
taken. In making a trip to Tacoma,
Spokane and Portland and return the team
travels LILO miles; in two trips 2.340
miles In making the round trip to Ia
4, coma Portland, Salem, San Francisco.
Oakland, Sacramento and San Jose, the
average mileage is 1854 miles. There is
thus but difference of 200 miles between
! two trips with four-club circuit and one
with an eight-club circuit. In the longer
trip, however, seven clubs are visited and
twenty-eight games can be played as
against the twenty-four that can be played
With the smaller circuit in two visits to
each of three clubs. To be more explicit.
the Seattle club in the Pacific Northwest
league, as now constituted, travelled $40
miles to play twenty-four games, an aver
age Of $3.50 miles per game. Under the
eight-cub circuit the club would travel
1854 miles to play twenty-eight games, an
average of 9l.2l miles per game. This
stually makes a smaller mileage under
the eght-club circuit than now exists in
the Pacific Northwest League.
1t is true these figures would apply only
to the Northern clubs, but the Californians
recognize the value of consolidation and
are willing to make some concessions.
I Their larger aggregate population will also
allow them to incur some additional ex-
penditure. In the California League. as
now made up, the travelling expenses are
butayery small item, Sacramento being the
only city that is at any appreciate distance
from the others. The substitution of q
Sound point, say Bellingham bay or Port
Townsend, for Salem would increase the
mileage somewhat, but the additional cost
Of transportation would be very slight.
Regarding the time consumed in the
jump from the Northern TO the Southern
section no objection can be urged. From
Seattle, the farthest removed of the North
srn cities, to San Francisco is forth-elght
hours travel. In the League and the
Association, where six games are crowded
into week. there is often an open date in
the schedule to allow the clubs time to
shift from the East to the West, or vice
versa. In the Pacific Coast League, as
proposed. with its four or even five games a
week. two days could easily be spared for
>the clubs TO transfer from one section to
the other.