The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-08-31
QUEER COMBINATIONS
Baseball Makes Strange Bed
fellows.
A SUMMARY OF THE SITUATION.

Tho Present. Position of tho Clubs I1lu,
tr'ates tho Advantages Enjoyed by The
Homo Teans-Temptations Bcsct the
Travelling Players
It is a remarkable fact that tho close OF
the first fortnight in the second champion
ship season Of the National league found
all but one OF the eastern clubs occupying
places in the first half Of tho race The
single western exception was the Cleve-
lands, anu that club had the honor at the
same time Of filling the place Of leader. at
no time during the first season did such q
state OF affairs exist in the standing of the
twelve clubs.
The question at once arose, Wero the
eastern clubs under the reapportionment
OF July l. made stronger than their west
ern associates2 The only answer which
could be given from the mere showing
made by all the clubs was that the New
YOrks and Baltimores certainly seemed TO
be stronger than they were in June, while
the Chicagos and Cincinnatis appeared TO
be much weaker. In fact, however, such
q deduction proved nothing There is no
| doubt that the six eastern clubs oollec-
lively are stronger than the six from the
west. But had the general readers of base-
ball literature stopped to think over all
the elements which have tendency to
help clubs win or cause them to lose they
would have borne in mind that during
| these two weeks the eastern clubs were
playing at home and the western clubs
were ON the road. Those circumstances
had great deal to do with the placing of
the clubs in almost sectional divisions.
The only western club to do well on its
eastern trip was the Clevelands And vet
their recorl did not equal the Brool1lyns'
Inst western trip, when they won nine out
| of ten games played. That ACCOMPLISH
ment, believe, was never equa&eti by any
club on the road since the League WIN, or
ganized.
Statistics will show that n club wins on
the average 80 per cent more games on its
own grounds than 1t wins ell tour In the
days when pools were sold on the result of
baseball games sbrewd bettors were sue
cesssful in always buying the home club ut
whatever might he the odds either way.
To illustrate the system, the present Bos-
ton club would always be favorite in the
pools il pools were sold OH baseball games
Generally when the Bostons played the St.
Louis club the odds would be about ten
dollars TO five dollars In their favor. The
shrewd bcttor would take Boston rs ten
dollars when the game was played I'm Bos-
ton aud St Louis at five dollars when the
two clubs played in ST. Louis
There is much cause for the difference in
clubs success with It's team at home or
abroad. On the road the men are handi-
capped by railroad travel and ite fati9ues
by the temptation to overeat at the first
class hotels in which they are quartered.
by the bad effects Of o strange oouglornera-
ton OF drinking waters, by temptation
to tDdulSe In excuses more than when fhev
are at home, by the Disadvantages of
Otrango grounds, by the lack Of encouThSS-
mclt from spectators, ed fassiS S1t not
tip least cause, from the almost universal
Egls q rs qppires e give every close do
After the eastern clube ennN have On
ished their long westscrli TIP, which ep,,.s
in the T;;p1 w.ceE 81 Septembef, Httie beE
ter cstimate can be made Of the coinpara-
tive strength Of the various teams. It is
safe to predict that Labor Day will see
more than one western club occupying
place in the first division. Cincinnati and
Cleveland oIIght to have certainty of
that honor, and either the Chicagos or
Pttsburgs have good chance to squeeze
In also. The Baltimores began the season
with squirt similar to that which the
Iouisvillcs made in the start Of the first
fer materially from the fate of the latter
This western trip of the eastern clubs is
their long engagement on the road, en-
bracinS three games in each Of the six
western cities. The club which wins ten
of the eighteen need not be cast down
The whirligig of time works queer COM
binations in baseball At this time the
csii,4eiEEIa5i teain ss2ntai9s SIX players YA1o2
were formerly members Of the ST. Louis
team-viz, Comiskey. ONcil, Latham.
Wclch, Chamberlain and Genina The
first four were members Of the celebrated
team which won the American association
championship for Won der Ahe number
of years in succession.
The ST.. Louis team contains three uf last
years New York teani-Glasscock, Gore
| and Buckley--and the New York team
has three of the St Louis 1871 players in
its service-I.yons, Fuller and Boyle. This
state of exchange vase brought about
largely by the spirit OF reprisal which OK.
listed last winter between the League and
| American association before tire two bodies
| consolidated.
The temporary bluff which Tony Mul-
| lane made on the variety stage has ndver-
tiscd him enough TO make his future use
fulness TO any ball club as n financial fac
tor IA matter Of much concern in this year
| OF baseball depression. am reminded,
too, that as an NIL aronDd athlete no man
lives by professional ball playing who is
his equal There never was n pitcher who
could boast of such n powerful and perfect
right arm as Mullnne. II is not straining
the truth nor going beyond fact to say
that he never knew what it was to be dis
abled by sore arm, md he has pitched
more games during the last ten years than
any other pitcher living, notwithstanding