Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-12
Some Hopeful Features of the Local
Ball Club if the Management
Is Made All Right.
CONTRACT JUMPING OF RAYMOND.
The Conduct iOf the National Agreement
Parties.Not Very Commendabls
Upon this Matter.
0UR LOCAL AMATEUR sCULLEHS.
The Pendidg Battle Between Pritchard cnd Smith
other Leading Topics Discussed.

~ tting along better than they have been
Going in the immediate past. l don't par
y; ularly refer TO the quality of playing,
al nouCh in nv estimation they have played
e remely well lately even if defeat has
been their lot. refer mostly to the good
feeling that now exists among the players,
al when harmony is anything like su-
p-eme among any body of men depend upon
:, shings go much better along and much
y re successfully. have been in CONVEX
sa'ion with several of the players during
tie week, and, after hearing their opinions
en- the matter, I am thoroughly convinced
THAT the team has been suffering from an
overdose Of management. Players are the
-st to detect a weakness in the e1ecu-
tive structure of club, and when one
o. the executive officials is ordering one
wav and another official going in the con-
trarv direction the PLAYERS soon become con.
N,inced that it is time to take liberties.
Well, as l have Just said the prospects of the
team are better in nv estimation and the
present is an opportune time to repose in
Manager Hanlon all the power which a
manager should have. Not an official of
INV kind should be allowed TO humbug and
hoIher him in any shape or form; he should
ave full power TO cOntr1! his men and
when that is given him then it will be only
air to hold him responsible. That he has
peen interfered with there is no doubt and
pterfered with bv persons who have not
he least knowledge of practical baseball.
ONE of the greatest blunders have been
tade without his knowledge aud had he
neen manager in fact / don't believe that
aese blunders would have been made. 1
cont think that any practical man,
in he nv prIa1l
p.Iairs of baseball would have released
< .nlev at the time he was released; L don't
think that any man with anything like
good Judgment would have released StrattOn
g Browning when they were released. In
,.,cd. the releasing of these players under
tite circumstances that then prevailed con-
= uces me that the supreme authority Of the
ub was and is thoroughly incompetent to
al with practical affairs. Why, StGley
as released before anybody knew what
King Baldwin or Stratton were going to
.. | submit that this was proof absolute
inability to Judge the practical matters
{ baseball 1t then follows that beyond all
Z, practical man should have charge of the
cam rather than man of theory. Manager
lIutrie's views on this point, published in
THE DISPATCH the other day were eS-
client, and it is worthy the attention of
he local directors that Mr.. Mutrie stated
resident y. ID. LAY udu Iob DGth dluOuS
&c players more than twice this year.
There Is Still Hope
1t is not at all too late to hope for our
cam to do great, or at least reasonably great,
york vet. l have always held, and l hold
: preseht, the opinion that there is ex-
client material in the team; material that
an be utilized for successful purposes. The
ifeld is apparently better than it has been
hing definite about Shugart yet. He has a
light for a good, honest test before his
tailitv is pronounced upon. But TO all out
,-ard appearances our intield is better than
" has been, and very many games have been
.pSt by our faulty intield. And now that
sw infielder has been secured it NAV not be
90 much TO expect that Miller will do much
rtter work in the outneld than he has been
,ioing in the infeld, and we may expect him
bat much better But while talking
about the infield am reminded of feature
# tie signing of Shugart. Every now and
again we are being told about the "lies
7rilfully written" by newspaper men.
Well, when Shugart was signed those who
were directly interested in the signing OF
him gave ii out TO the world
that the Pittsburg club had paid
$1,000 for his release. This was pub
HShed all over the country. But 1t was
downright and evidently deliberate false
aood; a faIsehood to hoodwink the baseball
public and really does not reflect much
.'redit on the person or persons who adopted
MS cheap-jack and quack-like scheme OF
lvertising. L am told by director of the
jub that little more than half of $1,000
as paid for Shugart's release. But 1
-ust he will turn out TO be an excellent
iaver for the local team. There are some
ne gentlemen financially connected with
le club and I'm sure that none of us
1uld like to see them lose their money.
far amid all the nonsense of over-man-
cement the team have done well finan-
ally, and if a real business-lille step is
~ taken By the directors and the team
ace up, the club viii be a winner in the
H. Let me repeat, for l am very anxious
enforce this point, no team OF players
ant two or three managers buzZing about
I'm. One, and one in reality, is quite
iicient / have Just said that I hope
tugart will turn out ell right for Pitts
re, because so many frst-class men have
,en signed By this club and when they
we come here they have almost been fail
,es. cannot tell why this is, but people
iterested in baseball can easily enumerate
long list of men who have come here with
eat records and at once become almost
crthless. In this respect the club has
zen unfortunate. trust that Shugart will
an exception. If he is there is hope
at our team will pull up toward the front,
ID if it does ell Will be we'll
About the Contract Jumpers.
4 document arrived during the week, by
resident \. E. Young, of the National
jard, has brought to the front once more
question Of contract jumpers. My
lders know very well my opinion regard
= those players who left the American
ssociation just after their contracts had
en- violated by the American Association
lgnates, and Joined the National League.
aeSe players in my judgment were not
ntract jumpers at all, because they couldn't
ny well break that which did not exist
d a broken contract is no contract at all;
d, as L have just said, these contracts in
Iestion were broken by the magnates. But
nile / hold this opinion l have views of
most an opposite character regarding that
aId of contract jumping INDUCED in by
.avmond, denounced in the circulars of
resident Young Some time ago Raymond
.iGped his contract with the Lincoln club,
the Western League, and Joined the
louisville club Not long after he had
done that the National Board issued a de-
cree informing he world that Raymond and
Meekin and all others like them were
blacklisted for at least five years, probably
orever. Some time after the appearance
this decree Raymond returned to Lincoln,
lat is he rejumped and took with him
tcher Ehret, of the Louisville team.
ell, 70 cover up all this a move has
IN made which, to some extent, will
liify the operation of that great de-
.e of the National Board. Altogether