The evening times., 1896-08-05
TRlDING N NIDs[lSON
In No Instance Has A Team
Improved BY Changes.
THREE LEADERS THE SAME

Anson, Who Tried Several Young
sters t Second, Was Forced 10 Take
Up Seasoned Fred Pfeffer-The
Phillies and Other Clubs Have Fal-
len Off by Reason OF Changes.
Disregarding the old alage against swap
| ping horses in midstream, more than balf
the National League teams have made ex-
tensive changes in their personnel since the
present. season began.
AT the close OF every season the man.
ayers of League teams get to hustling
In dead earnest, swapping and buying and
drafting players, all OF whom. are hoped
to be- phenomeDons, who will so strength.
en- the various clubs as to put each one
at the top Of the pennant ladder Last
fail and winter many changes were made,
and In the spring, before tIte season
opened, at least half the clubstfelt rea.
sonably certain of Landing that flag
Since that time, however, many disap.
pointments have come to pass, and as eacl,
pennant aspirant '.struck tile toboggan''
sbakings up and changes ito strengthen the
team have been in order. Itisa a significant
fact, however. that the teams which have
had fewest changes since the season began
are the teams now leading in the race.
This is partly because the losers are the
only ones who thought it necessary to
change. But it is also true that the clubs in
which most of the changes have been made
have not only not improved their standing,
but have gore from bad to worse, az a gen
erai thing. This is true OF Washington,
Philadelphia. New York, ST. Louis and
Louisville. On the other hand. clubs which
lost steadily for a while, but made few
changes and held on TO their old men, not
withstanding, have since climbed up to
respectable positions in the race. Chicago
and Pittsburg were both near the bottom,
for while, but they had no shaking up
and are now in the first division.
LEADERS ARE THE SANE.
The three teams now in the lead have
made practically no changes Of moment
since the season began. MeGraw's absence
from Baltimore's ranks was, of course, un.
avoidable, but with that exception and the
| change OF Dan Brouthers for John Doyle,
the Orioles are identically the same team
that won the pennant in 1894. Three of the
pitchers, even, are the sime-McMahon
Esper and Hemming.
Cincinnati has not made a change, and the
team is the same as last year except that it
has been strengthened by Ehret and Pietz,
and by Irwin in place of Latham.
Manager Tebcau tried to strengthen his
team at third base by trying new man,
Deiehanty, but 1t was not long before the
veteran McGarr was back at his old pace,
and he has been playing great ball Te-
beau also tried to improve on Blake in
right field, but Blake is back and Shearon,
minor league ranks.
Washington started the season with
Scrappy Joyce as manager and captain.
He played second and when he reallze,l
that he was out OF position he went back
to third, Crooks taking second. Lush and
Abbey alternatedin right. The first change
was O'Brien for Crooks, and since then the
team has not done any good. The trade
was made without Joyce being Consulted.
Scrappy kept on as manager and captain,
but the crisis came with the end of the
last Western trip. Schmelz resumed his
last seasons place of manager and Joyce
went to New York
Uncle Anson knows the value of tried
and experienced players. and has made but
few changes. He tried many men on second
base, but finally had to go back to lis old
second .baseman, Fred Pfeffer, TO get a
satisfactory man. Uncle A nson tried several
new men in left field in wilmot's place but
he let all the new men go and placed his old
stand by, Decker, in left. He hangs on 10
Ryan also.
ANsoN's YOUNG MEN.
ADson has tried number OF young
pitchers to replace "Old Hutch" who hai
gotten too slow for the big league. He
made one rather lucky find in Friend, hut
upon his old-timers, Terry and Griffith,
he still places his reliance
Pittsburg has made but one change since
the season began, which was the exchange
OF Beckley for Harry Davis with New York
Connie Mack seems to have gotten a good
man in Second Baseman Padden, but wheih-
er he will permanently supplant the old
timer, Louis Bierbauer. who has been dis
abled, is yet to be seen.
Mack has tried a number of new pitchers
and Iughey and Hastings have done well.
but the old pitchers, Hawley and Killen,
are the winners.
Boston has made few changes except such
as were necessary by the disabling OF play
ers. Manager Selee has tried several new
pitchers. but has dropped them. anil de-
pends upon Nichols and Stivetts, as In for
mer years.
Every club now in the second division
except Brooklyn has been shaken up''
and changed SO much since the season be.
gan as to be in some cases almost an en-
trely different team.
OF the Philadelphia infield, BroIthers
has dropped out. In the outfieid, Only
great old Sam Thompson Is left, Cooley
having come from st. Louis in exchange
for Sullivan and Turner to play left field,
and Mertes having been purchased from
St Paul to play center field. Delehanty,
the great outfielder, has been brought in
to play first base Cross has gone back
to his old position at third, replacing Nash,
aud Hulen plays the short field.
THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN GIANTS.
About the only men who have played
the same positions all season on the New
York team are Gleason, Van Haltren, and
Tiernan. Stafford, ,Connaughton, and Harry
Davis have been left out. II. Davis. w.
Clarke, and now Beckley have played
first base. Fuller, Stafford, Farrell, Con.
naughton, Pfeffer, aud George Davis are
a few who have played sbortstop for
freedman. Joyce now replaces George