Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-02
BASEBALL SMALL TALK.
Rem Mulford's Cosby Letter
of the National Game.
SOME FAMOUS OLD HAS BEENs.

Some who Have Dropped on the Dia-
mond-High Salaries and Good Work
Don't Always Go Together-BradIcy,
Expansive smirk and Radboume's
Scowl.
There are good many famous old has
beens among those on the retired list this
season. Dickey Johnston, Mike Slattery,
Charley Radbournc, Bob Clark, Louis
Rogers Browning and Long John Reilly
are a few of the ball playing corps who are
not on the pay rolls Of the major league,
and majority of them have failed to af-
fliate with the powers that control the
destinies OF the little fellows in the game
As the campaign wears on this list will be
increased rather than decreased. WASH
ington has given one veteran of the old line
passport into the ranks of the talent at
liberty George Wood. In this array are
men who have marched to pennapt music
in more than one championship race.
Father Time has chalked the hats of some
of them, and they have bowed to the inev-
table and given way to more active play
ers. If the opening games Of the'clubs in
the Western league can be taken as any
criterion, the cities in that circuit are
bound to see some very eyeable ball ere the
leaves begin to turn. When the Western
adopted the deadline in the game and es-
tablishel a4salary limit, there were doubt
ing Thomases who predicted that there
would not be enough players in the bust
ness to;fil the quota of ninety-six at the
shrunken figures-compared of course to
those that obtained when good business
sense was a small ingredient in the make
up OF: aminor magnate. The false prophets
have gone out of the profession.
Bob Clark, who helped win flag for
Atlanta in the Southern league and later
on aided Brooklyn in it's bunting win
nings in 1889 and 1890, dropped into the
press quarters at Cincinnati during the
recent series with the westerners from the
Buckeye State capital. He could have
found refuge in that class had he been
ont the lookout for q berth.
II was fooled" said he, ''for 1 didn't
think the clubs would all fill with the cut
rate in salaries. When you come to think
about it Columbus cannot afford to pay
any more than that team costs" Colum-
bus with its 81 200 team under Captain
Campau made Captain Comiskey's Sc, 600
beauties stir their stumps to beat them in
both contests that took place in Porkopo-
lis. 1t would be absurd to claim that Gin
lcinnati played five times better ball than
their opponents. If the article of ball
could be measured by the size of the roll
disbursed at the captains Office on the 1st
and 18th of each month such a difference
might confidently be expected. Salaries,
however, cut no figure in the case The
cheapest salaried team Cincinnati ever had
won the only championship bunting that
ever foated in the Mill Creek valley
breezes and split even with Chicago in
series before the birth of the worlds cham
pionship idea.
Last year the highest salaried group OF
players who had worn the red managed to
boost poor old Pittsburg into last place,
after they had occupied it all season. There
will have to be some very clever ball play
ing done to keep Columbus from success
full filtration with Miss Victory when the
time comes for her to smile upon the
favored one in the west. In Clausen and
Stevens the Buckeyes have pair of pitch
ers it will do to watch. There are some
who sincerely mourn over one phase of the
recent lottery, and in the little coterie of
the sorrowful is Charles II. Cushman, the
chief of the Brewers. He had his mana
gerial hooks well fastened upon both Clau-
sen and Hughey, and neither of them was
in his net after he had pulled it out of the
Chicago fish pond.
ut was tough luck to lose both Of
them," said he to me. columbus got
sClausen and Kansas City has Hughey.
They will both make their mark in the
Western"
Gossiping about the situation in that
circuit he said: II think Milwaukee has
got the baldest man in the business. The
first time met the boys l saw one in the
group with conk that would have wor-
ried a nearsighted billiardist. Come to
find out he was sone of my young blood
pitchers, Henry Jones. Pop Corkhill and
little Jack Munyan could act as under
studies for Paderewski compared to my
1indp'
Another one of the "outs" this year is
Eerd Schmitt, the pitcher with Father.
land accent. Schmitt was as queer a gem
ius as ever twirled ball. He used to
'skeep books" between innings. While his
team was at bat he spent his time entering
the weaknesses of the opposing batsmen
on.a little memorandum slip. Schmitt is
in Pittsburg doing some long distance
knocking at the doors of minor clubs.
II got the bookkeeper' a berth once"
declared Manager Cushman. ''He wrote
to me for place with the Milwaukees,
but ]. had no room. turned his letter
O'OA wv Ahohh9Ol w ttohlLS, however,, WlUQ
the recommendation, 'Watty, here is q
man who ought to do you some good.'
Well, sir, the next afternoon Schmitt an
peared in the box for st. Paul, and he beat
us 4to2. He was tickled to death and as
he ran off the field he shouted, over to me:
Mr.. Gushman, dot vos gradidudep"
One of Cushman's old twirlers-Thorn-
ton-is with the Phillies. where he has
earned the new title of the 1.-THE Mysterious
Boxman." One day he is '.invincible;''
and the next afternoon he is as easy to hit
as a seltzer lemonade with the mercury at
80 degs. Fair. Both Thornton and Elton
Chamberlain are pitchers" declared Mr..
Cushman, ''ikely to impress a crowd with
the idea that they are Indifferent. They
chaH the batters and smile all through the
game. I've seen Thornton's smile on the
iield change to stormy scowl after de-
feat as soon as the clubhouse was reached
In that mood he grows mad enough to
light. That is behind the scenes. The
crowd that has gone out sore gains theidea
tnat ne doesn't care rap This example
proves that there are cases of 'Oh-whatra-
dlference-in-th n-the-clubhousep
The reference to the smilers of the box
stirs up memories of the old days when
George Washington Bradley had a grin
tnat needed no protection by copyright.
NO one before ever had such a tantalizing
smirk, and none of the modern detachment
has given evidence that they can success
fr111v Unit 10