Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-29
A REVIEW OF SPORTS,
Effects of Hero Worship in
Baseball and Its Re-
dictionary Influence.
CHANGES IN LOCAL TEAM.
Two or Three Features of the Recent
Relay Race of Bicyclists.
PRITCHARD'S LATEST DEMAND.
A Few Words About Jim Halls Chall enge
to Fight at 162 Pounds
THE SLAVIN AND JACKSON RATTLE
CHANGES IN LOCAL TEAM.
PRITCHARD'S LATEST DEMAND.
A Few Words About Jim Halls Chall enge
to Fight at 162 Pounds
THE SLAVIN AND JACKSON BATTLE

The contest for the pennant of the first
division of the National League, as it is
commonly called, continues to be very
close one. The Boston and Brooklyn teams
hold on steadily to first and second place
respectively, but there is considerable
scrambling for the three or four next posi-
tions. Steady playing of good average
quality is what is going to win out and it is
simply by this that the two leaders are
keeping in front.
The trip of the Western teams to the East
has been an interesting feature of the week,
and Eastern cranks are now thoroughly sat-
isied that the Eastern contingent have the
best of it. While it is safe to say that the
winner will be among the Eastern clubs, it
Is not so easy to say what section She next
in order will come from. The Eastern
teams have to come West again before the
first race is over and that trip may make
many big changes, no matter how things
stand at the end of the present trip East of
the Western teams Altogether it is a mat
ter OF fair speculation to name the first six
clubs in the first race.
l would not be surprised to find the Louis
vile team out of the first six at the end of
the first contest. The brief history of that
team this season shows how strange are the
vicissitudes of baseball. At the start, and
tor week or so after, one could hear moth
ih- but talk about the Louisville team and
Pielier: indeed. some of the most foolish
and gushing pictures were pu blished lauda-
tory of Pleffcr, simply because the team
Won a few games extra at the commence
ment These trothy and extravagaut
rlaudits raised the Louisville cranks in par
ticular to high pitch of excitement But
the scene hSS been changed The team has
been losing, and recently not PLAYER in the
business has been jeered more than Fred
Pleiier by the Louisville patrons. This
NAV be baseball lite, but there is no reason
for these extremes. 1t is this low type of
hero worship in baseball that causes so
much UupleaSantness, because the man who
is eN:rava-antly extolled to-day is likely to
be the sad victim OF a reaction tomorrow.
i Plctier and his friends mad not encour-
aged the excessive praise in his behalf at
the offset the reaction would not now have
been So great.
The good baseball General is the man who
can keep up his pluck and exercise good
Judgment in defeat. ReverSes invariably
hiring discomfort and the latter begets a
desire tor change and sometimes on a very
large scale. 1t is in deciding upon the to be
or no, 20 be of these changes that a captain
or a manager proves his clear head and
intelligence in very many instances. Mad
deHed by defeat and the jeers of the public,
managers sometimes are glad to make any
kind Of change in the blind hope that it
NAV have good effect, and the change
makes matters worse.
Well. II is always worth while to- keep
an eve on the action of the managers of
teams that are meeting with more than an
average share OF defeat. If we do this we
Will find that scarcely one man acts like
Captain Anson under the circumstances.
The matter is worth thinking about
The Changes in Our Local Club.
Time is passing along with tolerable
EmootGness with our local ball club, and,
taking everything into consideration, mat
tcrS could be much worse. Captain Burns
now has full charge of the players, and he
has released Ed Swartwood and Billy Earle
a a means OF reducing the clubs expenses.
As tar rs this goes there can be no fault
found with the Captains action. While all
o. as. I dare say, will regret to part with
such a fine fellow and good PLAYER as Swart-
wood, we must not forget that the club Off
c&is have perfect right To manage their
own business. They are to be Judges as to
when they are doing right and when they
are doing wrong. Don't let us forget that
But two such players as Earle and Swart-
wood are sure to be wanted by manv clubs
They are, indeed, good players, and know
q Few better catchers in the country than
Earle. 1t was incumbent that somebody
should lie released, as the club could not
carry l6 men. Depend upon it the wet
weather has been very hard blow to the
club and the directors need all the encour-
agcment they can get. l venture to say
tEat there Is not a club in the League
VlUCkier than Pittsburg in the way OF put
ting UU cash for the good of the team. The
directors are at all times ready to go a verv
long way; bat unnecessary expenditure S
folly
So tar Captain Burns has gone al ong very
nicely. He has deal of practical knowl-
edge and his position allows him to be right
in among the players This is very good
advantage. lie has made some good
changes IN the team and altogether the fu-
ture OF the team looks very we'll If the
weather is fine tomorrow there ought to be !
q very large number of people at Exposi- |
ton Park to see the two games. Our mu-
tual friend. FL Hanlon, will have his men
from Baltimore here, and there ought to be
some very interesting features in the two
games.
Lessons OF tho Big Relay Race.
Il is 81 e to say that bicycling has had no
such boom in this generation as it has re-
ceiyed by the recent relay race from Chicago
TO New York. That contest against Father
Time has caused thousands of people to dis
cuss the merits and demerits of bicycling
who, probably, never gave a moments
though to the matter before This is the
kind OF advertising a sport wants and it is
wha- the promoters of various sports and |
paStImes are striving for.
Outside Of the booming of the recreation,
the relay races teach US two things: First, |
what can be accomplished by bicycling, and |
second, the great loss the had condition of |
our main roads entail upon the country. 1 !
dare say nobody will dispute the fact that /
there Is more bicycling today all over the |
world than there has ever been. know of |
no sport that has jumped into popularity so
suddenly aud so extensively as bicycling
has done And it is a very healthy sign, be-
cause bicycling is not only recreation or
pasiime, but Ii can be utilized in the busi-
ness affairs Of life
Bat the relay race points ont to ne the
Of the bievcle's usefulness in the
army, AMI after thinking over the features
OF the relay race none of us, think, will
fail TO see The utility Of the bicvcle in mill
tarv service. Leading military authorities
definitely STATE that bcvcles can be of great
use in the army, and L am content to take
these statements as true. The race, though
the riders were awtully handicapped. was
satisfactory enough to the military authori-
ties TO prompt them TO state that the bicy-
cles would he o! use in military campaigns |
bat had the roads been at all good this o9in,
ion would probably have become a crvstal-