The evening times., 1896-09-04

81 WONDER" said Malachi kittridge, in
a letter To a Chicago friend, IF any course
OF travel that could be mapped out would
give better chance to study the character
istics and peculiarities of the people of our
great cities than journey around the
present League circuit? II seems TO me
that such trip gives one a thorough ac-
quaintance with the genus ban crank, rep
reseDting as he does the people OF every sec
tion of the country, and 1air knowledge
OF the dialect, uress and other peculiarities
of the inhabitants all along The lihe. The
only fault to bc found is that the circuit
does not take in San Francisco, where the
ball crdnks are in Il class all by themselves.
There are great differences between ball
crankS here ana there. In Baltimore the
cranks are hnpetuous, hotheaded, devnt-
ed to their team and never sore upon their
players, They forgive all errors with cheers
and cries Better luck next time-can't get
them am and they lionize the player who
does anything worthy of mention. Visit
ing clubs are treated with courtesy, but in
sort of patronizing, sorry-you ve-got-'--
lose manner.
The Boston cranks are fair-minded, and
cheer the visiting team almost as often rs
their own. They are keen judges of plays,
get angry at errors, but are extremely peace
able and well-manncred.
In Brooklyn The mob is joviai, humorous.
fond of jollying the players of both teams.
and never obnoXiou OF troublesome.
.'Washington's attendance is of a pecu-
liar kind, being made up very largely of
government clerks, largely coming from
other States, and of visitors from outside
cities. They don't care who wins and pa
tronizethe Washington nine, watch has been
losing one from time immemorial, simI.y
to kill time during warm afternoons. OF
course, such an audience as that is never
quarrelsume Or disagreeable, excepting to
the Washington players, who are guyed and
asked how 1t seems to eat snowballs after
being released for incapacity.
New York cranks are enthusiasts OF the
hottest kind. There are more strange, orig
inal Characters, many OF them famous
throughout the country, at the New York
gaines than in any other city. The New
York crowds occasionally get into the game
and invade the field: they roast the nm
pire; they scream like demons when a. hit
is made 10y a New York pla yer, and they
impede the visiting players by every means
in their power. There have been many
games lost to visiting clubs in New York
by the mob seizing the bail when batted
among them.
philadelphia turns cut gang that goes
crazy when the Quakers win AT one of
their opening games this season the home
club was behind in the ninth and then
won out by a hard rally. The scene that
followed was beyond description. Men
and women sprang apon their seats and
screamed, sbrieked, hugged, and kissed
one another, and generally made large,
pronhscuous monkeys OF themselves fcs
seventeen minutes.
Louisville crowds deserve credit for
coming out to look at their team at all.
They are pleasant, jolly fellows and would,
with a winning club, be enthusiasts OF the
first degree.
In Cleveland the gang is sarcastic, in
clined to roast their own players and vet
sticking closely to Tebeau in time of trouble.
Why the game is a frost there and the at
tendance so small for so good a club is more
than can explain.
..St. Louis cranks seem to go almost as
much for beer as anything else, and Ger
tainly care little about he pla ying of von
der Abe's men. They are no longer the
fiends who used to cheer Comiskey's win
ners on, and never will be till Chris gets
winning team
'Pittsburg has crowd that gets dan
Eerous at times and is apt to lombard visit
ing clubs with mud and rocks after the
game. Yet this disagreeable push does not
root half as hard for its players as the
comparatively harmless tribes of New York
or Baltimore.
Cincinnati has a sturdy throng of deep
lunged enthusiasts, all good fellows, all de
voted to the Reds and yet willing TO give
visitors fair show.
Chicago crowds are, think, the M ost
unpreiudiced on the circuit. They give as
good hand TO long hit or star catch
by a visitor as when one of their own
men does the trick and many of the spec
tators seem too glad when Chica 70 doesn't
win"