Kansas City daily journal., 1897-02-10
FIRST INDOOR BALL GAME.
Spectators Are Not quite Sure How
the Game VIII Take in
Kansas City.

Kansas City baseball fans were intro
duced last night to the indoor game, which
has been all the rage in Chicago for sew
eral seasons. They are not yet ready to
say how they will take to the game, for
it is radically different from the outdoor
game and was presented under a COM
bination of unfavorabIe circumstances. An
other game, when the players shall have
become more familiar with the fast style
Of work necessary, and in which the pitch,
ing, baserunning and batting rules shall
be more strictly adhered to- may present
the sport in a light which will make 1t
popular.
Last nights game was played at the
Third regiment armory before disappoint-
ingly small crowd of spectators. The hall
was cold and while the players could keep
themselves warm by their eXertions, the
spectators had no such advantage. The
SchmelZers and the Sunfiowers were the
contesting teams and with their limited
knowledge of the game they certainly de-
serve credit for putting up a good eXhi-
bition. The SchmeiZerS seemed to catch
on more quickly to the necessities of the
game and they scored rather easy VIC
tory. 1t took the Sunfiowers two or three
innings before they learned that the ball,
when it came to them, must be handled
with the rapidity of lightning, but in the
closing innings they played just as fast
ball as the winning team.
Neither Williams nor Baehr. the oppos-
ing pitchers. pitched with straight arm
delivery, according to the rules, but de-
livered, the ball with a half round arm
swing, which enabled them to get up con-
siderable speed. With the pitcher only
twenty-three feet away the batters had
little chance to hit the ball. and it was
only when one of the pitchers would take
compassion and let up in his speed that
the batters would do any hitting. Then
they would occasionally soak the ball good
and hard, there being several twobaggers
and one long home run drive in the course
of the game. 1t was made evident last
night that there will have to be different
style of pitching to put any life in the
game. StrikeoutS were the rule the bat
ters who hit the ball being the exception.
Notwithstanding all these disadvantages,
both players and spectators managed to ex-
tract considerable fun out of the contest
The players were all huddled together and
when a ball would be hit into the iafield
three or four of them would pounce onto
it like a hen picking corn. AS a rule by
the time they would find the ball the run
ner would be safe on his base. Ambitious
base runners who attempted to slide found
that the hard floor of the hall was not
quite as soft as real diamond and as
rule they did not care about trying it
more than once. The big ball would per-
form at times some very peculiar antics
If short fly was hit In the infield from
floor, at once recoil towards the batter
from the english impaired by the bat and
1t was lauEhable to see two or three field
ers chase bali clear behind the catuher's
position before capturing it.
The biggest sensation of the game was
when the rubber bulb on the end of the
bat came off and the batter let it slip
out of his hand. 1t is a rather unusual
thing to see a bat thrown away out into
center field, and the players had to step
lively to get out of the way.
1t required an hour and a half to COM
plete the nine innings and when they were
ended the Schmelzers were victorious by
the following score:
SCHAET ,ZERS