Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-09-01

til after the season closes. Each club has
an official scorer. That scorer sends tho
individual record of each player who par
ticipatcS in E',nC played in his city to
President Young. Thus all games played
in Boston arc scored eli. tally by the Bos-
ton scorer. But when the Bostons go to
Chicago tho Chicago s-..,l, = Is the sole Off
cial judge of their individual plays in that
city. Therefore il Is easily seen how diff
cult it becomes, how impossible, to OBJ
tain complete official data during n season
on which to figure out averages or even to
approximate n guess.
So long as the rules of scoring permit
such n wide latitude in distinguishing bc
tween hits and errors, just 50 long SCORERS
arc apt TO b. far apart in the results Of
their SCORES. The rule says, Whenever
the ball is hit 81 hard Ia an inflcldcr that
he partially or wholly stops it, but cannot
recover Cstcady) himself in time to field
out the batsman, score n hit and excuse
the fielder from an error" The general
amateur scorer usually wholly ovcrlOOks
this rulc and works upon the old time
theory that IL the ball touches players
hands il is an error, though in many such
cases the fielder has no moro chance to
put out his man or handle the play than
IL the ball had missed him by 10 feet. i
have even seen scorers excuse n fielder for
mufling foul fly, provided the hatsman
didn't aftcrwartl reach first base. That is
the most faulty kind of scoring. Any
mu1 of n fly gives the batsman another
| chance, and IL hc does reach first base he
has to be put out twice rs the blcacheritcs
| express it. 1t hit his hands and is an
error, " Is often heard when n fielder makes
n long run after fly and barely gets his
| fingers against the ball. Yet so long rs
| no has no chance to close his hands on the
ball he might ns we'll have been 90 feet
away for all the good il docs him.
| 1t may be useful information to the great
| army of baseball readers who score games
for themselves and watch for printed ia
blcs of averages during "A season to know
| these facts about the unrcliability of I'M
official scores. have known men to lose
money by betting on such information
| and aftcrward discovering, when official
| statistics are made public, that they have
| been very widely mislcd.
One indication of the unusual prosperi-
| ty of the baseball season of 1894 is the fact
that the Eastern league magnatos have
| been quietly discussing the advisahility of
extending their season beyond the 18th of
| September, the time originally fixed upon
for the ending of the Pennant race. Pres
| ident Powers told me- recently that the
season in that league Ind been one of I'M
usual success from financial standpoint.
The Buffalo teams run of ~ straight
| victories, which WAS ended by their defeat
at the hands of the Providence leaders on
the 18th of August, is, ! believe, tho
straight winning record of tho year.
Manager Chapman's team accomplished
this feat with two pitchers-Nickcry and
Hofford.
The sensational developments in the
transfer of Kelly's Allentown club to the
Eastern league served us n good advertise
ment for the kings men," 1t would
not be Kelly If he didn't bob up now and
then with a sensation. When Mike and
his partner, Albert l.. johnson, disbanded
the Allentown club, n written notification
of the release of all tho players was drawn
up and put In Kelly's hands to mail to
Secretary Young of the national board.
KEEL, in his characteristic way, put the
document into his pocket and forgot oil
about It's existence. This little blundcI
under the laws of the national agreement
left all tie AllenOwr players, including
Kelly himself, subject to tho disposal OF
the Pennsylvania state league. and thG
clubs of that organization took advantag,
of the situation to parcel out the goods
That caused n call for the meeting of tho
national board, but Kclly's club was az
forded ITO relief.
The board decided that IL any Pennsyl
, vania State league club wanted an ex-Al
1
rendering n contract with n salary equa
to what he got from the Allentown club
AS Kelly's contract called for n nomina
salary of $50 a month, it placed his roya
Q highncss in n E1ost embarrassing position
for $50 month would scarcely keep hiu
, supplied with cigarettes and tolu. I be
lieye johnson camo to tho rescue with
little monetery inducemont, and the Kcll
I club will move to Yonkers-on- the Hudso
l next year. and as an Eastern league mem
Der net as a feeder to Johnson's newly nc
quircd street railroad and trolley lines 4
t that city. These trolley systems, it seems
0 dispense with old broken down thrc
and four legged horses, but make room fo
spawned baseball players and the Charlie
horses of the passing baseball stars.
In the west the gamo goes mcrrily o
toward the end. In the Western associi
Q ton particularly Is there seen such
o struggle as has seldom been known in th
history of the game. At ono time six {
the eight clubs were punched, with onl
/ Ga per cent dividing 20 leader from I'll
sixth UIincoln) club rho first five wei
y included in n diffe of 4.6 per cen
The standing at tne was: