The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-01
"BIG BILL MASSEY
HAS BEEN SIGNED
Attached His Name to . Scranton Con.
tract Yesterday.
WILL PLAY FIRST BASE TODAY

He and Ward Have Gone to Buffalo.
Hutch and Keister Will Try for
Third Base HOnOrs..W What Griffin
Has Accomplished. Accepted the
Management Of a DemOraIized Club
and Has Done Better Than Nc.
DcrmOtt.
big Bill" Massey. has signed. He
has put his fist to a Scranton contract
and will wear the club uniform In this
afternoons game at Toronto. While
trying to land Massey. the Scranton
association officers had. at Manager
Griffin's request. been angling with
Freedman for "Bill" Clark. tho 1895
Scranton first baseman. who was sold
10 New York when the old association
needed money to keen itself out of n
hole. The Clark deal has been dropped.
Massey was with Scranton in 1894. He
followed Marty Swift to Carbondale in
1895 and played there this year until
the team went to smash and he with
few others was transferred to Pottsville.
The latter club went to the wall last
week and Massey went to his home in
Philadelphia to catch his breath. The
Philadelphia National league club tried
to get him and so did Tom Burns for his
Springfield team, but Massey said them
nay.
Marty Swift was in Scranton Thurs
day and that was the beginning of the
end of the negotiations which within
twenty-four hours had the big first
baseman's name to the contract Swift
returned to Philadelphia that night
and was here yesterday noon with his
man.
Massey left here on last nights Il
O'Clock Lackawanna train for Buffalo
where he will report to Griffin and go
with the team to Toronto for this at
ternoon's game.
Ward went with Massey. The second
basemans strained stomach has i'm
proved with the weeks rest and as the
team is suffering from the absence or
his hitting and infield work 1t was
thought best to get him back in the
game at once.
With Massey on the first sack. Hutch
inson and Keister will be candidates
for third. The latter will probably be
the choice. His poor playing with
Scranton has not been real example
of his ability. A player who can play
i'm fifteen games for Baltimore when
that team is having such hard bat
tie to keep UP in the National race,
wouldn't have been in the game ff-
teen minutes had he not performed
better work than he has for Scranton.
But his poor showing with Griffin has
been due to some cause unexplainable
and which comes to all players at
some time during season. BY the
time the club reaches home, the cranks
will be- wondering why he showed mp SO
poorly early In his Scranton engage
Inent. ....'
Th. fact that Pitcher T-ovett. who
has been signed by Scranton, was re-
leased by Rochester does not belittle
his ability. Baltimore takes cast-offs
and so does Anson. Dan Shannon with
some of the same kind Of cattle Is
leading the race. and Springfield. with
Reilly and Fuller, Is shooting to the
front so fast that one can hardly See
them ny by. shannon, ON account OF
his friendliness for Griffin, would like
To See Scranton win from every team
In the league Rochester excepted
shannon said that. When he decided
to let LOvett go he notified grimm.
Iovett had lost heart with Rochester
and asked for his release. When Low
EFT or any other player really loses
spirit a manager can do nothing but
release him, but in nine cases out of
ten If the arm, eye and head are right
the player Will do credit to the club he
signs with. and this Is likely in Lovetts
case. He will go in the box against
Toronto this afternoon.
1t Is just now a favorable opportunity
to compare the work of the team under
McDermott and Griffin. McDermott.
when he resigned on June IL, had the
management for just about a month
and a half. and Griffin has been man.
ager for a like period almost to day.
Anyhow the club has played 80 cham
pionship games under McDermotts
Management. and sc games since Grif-
fin took the helm.
When McDermott resigned the clubs
record was:
Played, 81; won, Il; lost. 81: per cent, .sl4.
Under Griffin the record is:
Played. 96; won, l6; lost, 20; per cent, .i4i.
That is since June Is the club has won
five more and lost four less the number
of games than while McDedmott was
manager and under Griffin has played
.l3O per cent. better than under McDer-
mott. In other words, Griffin has been
nine games better than McDermott, and
with the odds against him at that.
All that Is the showing made In hg-
ures. but Griffin Is entitled to greater
credit, considering the loss OF Harper,
Johnsons illness. Browns truancy.
Berger's, Outcalt's. Eagan's hands and
his own injuries. Meaney's leave Of abb
sence and the Latham and Corbett dis
appointments. McDermott had hve
whole months and unlimited money
privileges to gather together good
team, while Griffin took the aggrega-
ton in the go-as-you-please and de-
moralized state in which the Fall River
man left 1t.
Griffin has done well. 1t Is time hats
were raised to him and a guess made
that Scranton will finish at least as
good as fifth.-and Scranton was the
club tipped by nearly all the Eastern
league writers to finish eighth! That
doesn't seem likely.
--