, 1892-04-11
SPORTSNRNS NICHE
Manager Works Ball Tossers
Loom UP Like Pennant
Winners.
A Team That Lovers Of the National
Game in This City Should
Support.
Pointers From the Arena of Pugiltsm.
Tips From the Race Track Sport
ing Gossip.

''They look like winners, y said hun
dred lovers Of the national game who
stood watching the members OF the Ia
coma team at practice yesterday after
noon, at the baseball park at Eleventh
and South M streets. There can be no
mistaking the fact that the new manage
ment of the local team in the Pacific
Northwest league have succeeded in get
ting together the best aggregation Of ball
players that this city has ever had to
represent it at the beginning oi a sea-
SON.
All the members Of the club were at
the grounds yesterday, and every one Of
them is in the pink Of condition. Each
man showed up better in practice than
might reasonably be expected. All Of
them seemed to be rid Of his winter
stiffness, and was as active and energetic
as ii il was the middle OF the seasons
work. sippi, Patton, Cody and Rout-
clife showed that they had not forgotten
where they left off last season. They
chased the leather with their character
istic ardor and enthusiasm. Cartwright,
the big man who is to cover the initial
| bag, endeared himself to the cranks as
soon as he had time to do anything.
The new pitchers, Borchers, Tom
Parrot, Gross and Grifiths, had no
occasion to demonstrate their worth,
but they have all the abilities and quail
| tications which Manager Work has
credited them with. Borchers and
| Parrott are well known here and need
no introduction. One OF them will
probably pitch in the opening game on
/ Wednesday afternoon. Grifiths and
Gross come here very highly recon-
mended by their past work. Each has
good control, speed and all the latest
improved curves. Goodenough, who is
to play in center field, looms up we'll,
also. His name has already attached a
prominence to him, which he will find
4 difficult to lose. Instead Of pronouncing
his name as ii it was spelled Good emo,
the cranks take full liberty and he is
constantly the recipient Of the informa-
ton that he is "Good enough" Lauer
the chunky Pennsylvania who is to
guard third base, looks like a good !,
reliable man. Third base has been the
weak spot in the Tacoma team ever
since the Northwest league has been in
existence, except during the latter part
of the first season, when Dick Van Zant
was in good condition and played the
position to the queens taste.
Speer, the new man who is to divide
the work behind the bat with Mike
4 Cody, is the kid member of the club.
His record with San Jose last season
was excellent and in him the manage
ment have secured one of the best
catchers in the league. 1t would be
hard to pick out a really weak spot In
/ the team. Four good pitchers and two
| good catchers make those departments
better than they ever have been. 1t is
not saying too much to give Cartwright
at this time credit for being as good, if
not better, than any man that the club
has yet had to cover first base. Sippi
and Patton at second and short need no
| improvement. Manager Work is salts
fed that he has very valuable man in
Lauer and there is every indication that
Work has made no mistake. The in
| field is a splendid one. Work, Rout-
cliffe and Goodenough in the out-feld
stand with the best Of them, both as
4 felders and batters. All the new men
have regulations as good stick men.
1t is. 10 be hoped that the opening
game on Wednesday afternoon will be
attended by a big crowd. The Seattle
club has much better team than she
had last year, and che is out for the
! pennant. Manager Powell has already
declared that his men are winners, and
d good game can be looked for. On the
score Of pennant winners. it is interest
ing to observe that Manager Work has
carefully refrained from trottfng out his
men as the coming champions. There
4 is no use in saying that we are going to
win the pennant," said he Amy man
in the state can get up and say that a
certain club is going to win the pennant
and he will know as much about it now
as he did ten years ago. I will say for
my men that we will make it very in
teresting for every club in the league
We may not win the pennant, but we
are out for it, and if we don't get it we
will make the winner play the best kind
of ball to beat us. If we have any kind
of luck at the start we wilR ask no odds
from any OF the other Clubs"
1t is a pleasant chance to meet a con-
servative manager. AS Works says, any
manager can make the assertion that he
has winning team and before the sea-
son opens may succeed in convincing the
cranks that he really has. Work has
been ball player for nearly ten years
and his ex perience has taught him some
things which other managers have yet to
learn. And besides, it's the manager
who says the least who generally springs
the most surprises in the race toy the
honor of champions.
Tacoma has a good club this season
and the next thing in order is for the
people to support it. The gentlemen
who have subscribed money to start the
club should not be expected to stand all
the expenses. The club is an advertise
ment to the city and from that adver-
tisennent there are very few people here
who do not in some way, directly or in
directly, reap some benefit.
The twenty-five inning game played
here last season did much to advertise
the city. The game was the talk Of the
sporting world all summer, and will be
talked Of until Tacoma has almost
doubled her population. Not only was
it talked about in the sporting world, >"
but it was discussed by the best class of
people as well. A good baseball club
advertises a city, and unless Tacoma
supports hers the lovers of the game
will have no ground for complaint if
there is no club here next season. There
are a few men in the city who are aware
of the close shave which Tacoma had
from being shut out in the cold this
season.
Before any particular effort had been
made to organize a club here, the little
town of Salem, Or, had raised purse Of
$4,000 for the support Of club, and
stood ready to guarantee that much
more money to see the club through the
season. Then it was that a few lovers
OF the game stepped to the front, and
through their indefatigabie presistency,
enough money was subscribed to give
Tacoma a first-elass club. These men