Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-19


| even confessed to benefit derived from sitting
in the open air for two hours. free from bust
ness cares, and enjoying q mental rest that has
replenished the energies worn out by day OF
| exertion. Now, if ball games began In the
/ morning and continued throughout the day, as
do cricket matches. they might be looked upon
| as hostile to business.
As to desecrasing the Sabbath tina. ;s not an
inherent evil of ball playing. The National
League has never played Sunday games and
the present league has scheduled none In
Difference to what appears to 6e the popular
| wish in some western cities Sunday games will
be played there, but the popular sentiment IN
those cities should be held accountable, not the
game itself, Regarding Sunday ball playing
decorously conducted religious circles are by
| no means all agreed that it is reprehensibie:
What is meant by generating idleness is
| hard to say. Only a small proportion OF the
work done by ball players is seen by the pub
lie. The long hours of practice the people
| know nothing abont 1t will be found that the
vast majority of ball players are employed IN
the months from October to May, the season
/ players when they leave the profession gen
orally become good business men. al Reach
and Al Spaiding were leading players In their
day and they work among the leading men IN
| their present business: Does any one doubt
| that when Ward, Irwin, Keefe. Arson, Brouthers.
Kelly and any number of others retire from
| base ball they will become active and success
| full business men? The fact is that the very
qualities which go to MAKE successful busi-
ness man are developed by base ball. Good
| judgment, quickness in decision enthusiasm in
ones work, patience under misiortune-these
every good ball player possesses. One might
| indict the game of whist on all the counts that
have been made against a game OF ball
ut cultivates gambling tendencies
Now if there is anything it does not do it is
that. In fact, there is no sport SO free from
gambling AS base ball 1t is true that an occa-
sional small bet is made, but even that is con-
trary to the rules of base ball grounds, and is
no more chargeable to the game than a wager
on the length of "a preachers sermon is to be
blamed on the dizziness OF his discourse. The
excitement Of n base bail game is enough with
out the necessity OF a bet to give 1t interest.
There is no inducement for q player to act
dishonesty. There is every inducement for
him to be fair. For that reason the sport is a
clean one-cleaner even than rowing and
athletic sports where prizes or stakes are
rewarded. Victory is its own reward.
The reverend gentleman asks: What is the
ambition Of majority OF the boys of the
country" 1t is a conundrum. but he thinks
ito be boss pitchers and catchers' is the an
| swer. Would he have them content to be poor
pitchers and catchers?
He goes on to say:
s15 600 to the another for the trans
fer OF PLAYER and the offer was rejected Twenty-Five
in S % ae hall ps jus,
salary as the Immortal Lincoln.
Here he has been getting beyond his depth
and has things little mixed. 1t is q piece of
base ball news that $4,000 has been offered for
players release and refused. Who is the
player? The gentleman has been imposed upon
by humorist Photographer. As to any player
getting $4,000 salary, the idea is ridiculous.
No one ever heard of such a thing outside of
Puck or Judge or Life.
Complaint is also made of the space given by
newspapers to base ball news. He says:
bara five
Let great Statesman speak vital issues the papers
give at nal gre ectnrer gets quarter
Now,in the very paper in which these extracts
from his sermon appears Just about one inch is
given to base ball His sermon is given three
times as much space. And this is a sixty-four-
| column paper and one of the leading base ball
papers OF the country In the same issue five
and one-quarter columns are given to a SER
| mon-which merely shows that a newspaper
prints what it thinks will most interest its
readers.
The games being played in the south BY the
Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Washington clubs
have demonstrated in the most emphatic
manner that the kind of ball we will witness
the coming season will be the very best To
be released or suspended means the almost
permanent retirement OF player from the
diamond. To play good ball a player must
keep in frst-class condition. The PLAYERS have
recognized this fact since the reorganization
and the way they are hitting and fielding down
in the country of orange groves amply demon
strates that each and every one is playing for
his life, as it were Bench warmers will be
few and far between this season, as all will be
i'll fine condition. Take q natural born PLAYER
who has but to keep in condition to play gilt
edged ball. He becomes careless, takes the
crooked path, and it is only his reputa-
ton of what he is able to do that
keeps him on the nine. Then, again,
club that carries from twelve to fifteen PLAYERS
must Of course have substitutes These sub
stitutes want to be assigned to the regular nine
permanently and will play game that will
make the regulars keep around the top notch
of playing all the time. The case of Shock of
the Washington club illustrates this. He was
understood to be substitute for the intield,
but the way he is hammering the ball and
picking up hot grounders justifes the belief
that he is back in his 1890 form, and Manager
Barnie will be very 10th to assign him to the
bench. Reports from the south speak very
glowingly of the local team and those who
have seen the three clubs now down there get
ting into shape declare them to be the equal of
any of them. This is saying great deal when
it is considered that the Phille3 are out in their
full strength and the Brooklyns almost So
The games next week with the Phillies will
demonstrate the falsity or truthfuluess of these
reports and afford lots of food for thought and
speculation.