The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-08
NOW FOR base BALL Season
Cranks Are Asking Themselves What
the Harvest Will Be.
A VERY PROMISING OUTLOOK
Billy" Bnrnie Seems TO Know His Busi'
ness, and tho Players Are All Right on
Paper-Scranton Teams First Prac.
tice in harrisburg Wednesday.

Base ball III tne EaSteTH iea6ue VIZ
open in dead earnest this week, and, al
though no championship games VIII be
played until April 20. the interval Will
be entirely filled with exhibition games.
This period will be- of particular inter-
est to Scranton cranks. new man.
ager, a new directorate, now team
and almost a new bow to the public
in q comparatively new league renders
it extremely difficult for even the best
Informed enthusiasts to tell where we
are at.
The signs are good yet admirers of
the home team have no good reason for
believing that their favorites will be-
gin the season with a whoop and i'm
petus which will be kept up until the
end. The team and its management
are strong, but the fact must not be
ignored that seven clubs equally wen
backed and containing equally good
players are to be pitted against them.
Scranton Should DO Well.
To a man up tree 1t appears that
those clubs which are best managed
and whose players take the most pride
in their work will be in the leading d.
vision. From this standpoint the Scran-
ton team should do well. BILLY" Bar
ME is certainly no novice in the busi-
ness and may be relied upon to bring
out every pound of base ball possessed
by his players. The players them
selves on paper look to be all rlght
and give promise of being able to earn
their salaries, but it is a waste of time
to indulge in a forecast until after the
season of practice play.
The team will contain fourteen play
ers, and Wednesday afternoon VIII
open the exhibition season in Harris
burg. Pitcher Johnson, Third Base
man Whitehead and Shortstop Swee-
ney are expected to reach here from
California this morning. and with
Rogers who lis now in the city, will
leave with Manager Barnie at 6 o'clock
Wednesday morning for Harrisburg.
The Players Engaged.
One man only has been engaged for
each position, excepting four extra
pitchers and an extra catcher. Win
kelman, the young right fielder. can be
played in any position. Brown, who
pitched last year for Baltimore, Is the
man most recently signed.
A complete list of the players is as fol-
lows. bCiiiCy' II osN'
Brown, Johnson; catchers, Rogers and
Patchen: first base, Clark; second
Ward; third, Whitehead; short stop,
Sweeney; left field, Brady; center
johnson; right, Winkelman.
The foregoing list is subject to change
when the National league clubs dis
gorge their annual spring stock of over
rated phenomena. The minor leagues
always snap up some of this material
and it will not be surprising to see the
Eastern organization get few of them.
At Harrisburg Manager Barnie and
the four players who leave here with
him will be Joined by the others of the
team. After two days play with the
senators they will go to Pottsville for
games Friday and Saturday, and to
Newark for a Sunday game, returning
home for Mondays opening exhibition
game with the Pottsvilees, the State
league champions. From then until
April 29 the team will be at home. ex-
cepting an occasional trip to nearby
cities. On April 80, the regular league
season will be opened in this city by
Syracuse
improvements at Grounds.
Meanwhile improvements, too nu-
merous to mention in detail, are being
made at the Base Ball park. The ice
has entirely disappeared from the field
which is being graded, raked and
rolled.
Not the Least commendable work is
the renovation of the grandstand,
which will be SO altered inside that last
years patrons will need a new intro
duction. During the coming season
tough man will be tabooed, the grounds