Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-02-20

u
| No matter what sort of a game Capt.
Ewing puts Up next season. he is needed on
the initial bsg. His headwork and batting
| are needed. and Ewing even at his worst
Is better than half a dozen other first base
| men in the league that could be named.
Ewing Will clay first base IL he is able to
| training that his underpinning won't hold
his body. then the bag will be looked after
] by Holiday and Vaughn. There Is no use
to speculate about another first baseman.
didn't want any one for this position, and
| that ought to settle 1t. Bug Holiday
played first base in a number of games last
| year, and he demonstrated that with a lit
| tie practice he will be able to play the po-
| sition with the best of them. Bug Is
! faster than Vaughn: he can play deeper
| field and get back to the bag in better
| style than the good-natured. hard-working
| farmer can. Last year Holiday led the
red legs in batting. and it is the best policy
to have the best batters on the team in
| many games as possible. Both Ewing and
| Holiday are harder batters than any first
| baseman that car BE- mustered from the
smaller leagues. The most assuring thing
to the admirers of the club is that Ewing
| will be on first for the Cincinnatis the
coming season. barring unlooked-for diff
| cult:es.
| new and clever trick has been played
on the base ball world by the hackers of
| the New Orleans club 1t consisted simply
in falsely recording the averages of a first
/
| club has been able to hold on to player
that would have been drafted to the bigger
| league had the players work been truth
| 1uiy recorded. This scheme is great one.
| and similar tactics will no doubt be resorted
| tc by other minor league clubs who desire
| to hold on to f1rst-class players. The
players name was Gonding. and he played
| behind the bat for New Orleans last season.
| When the players and umpires of the South
ern League drifte1 north and westward last
fall they all told wonderful tales Of the
catchers ability. This Gonding. they said.
| vas a second Bennett as a catcher and a
| glorious batter.
But when the averages came out the
player was credited with batting per-
in The eyes of the big league managers
As much as they Liked his catching they
didnt want man who could hit only so
weak as that. Now that the rush for
| players IS over and Gonding cannot be
| drafted the people down in the crescent
city are smiling with themselves and have
let out the fact that the player is won
| derful batter, hitting over 800 throughout
| the season, and his catching average is
close to the 600 mark. and that his aver
| age was deliberately falsiffed 80 as to keep
MIN In New Orleans another season This
| IS great work for the magnateS. but ard
| on the player. Newspaper averages are
handy things to have around. and if this
| sort of crooked scoring is to spread they
Will be found to be more reliable than the
| official reports.
| 1t looks now as if we are again to lose
| the Senators to Washington on Decoration
lay. 1t has been President Young's policy
! to assign the western clubs to the best
| cities in the league on Decoration day in
| rotation. The Cincinna;is have swung
| around the eastern circuit until 1t is now
| their turn to play in Washington. This
city has the reputation of being a poor
| place for base ball on Memorial day. and
| as consequence games have been trans
ferred to Pittsburg and other cities. This
| year the holiday falls on Sunday and will
be observed on Monday. AS the Senators
play Sunday ball it is easy to put two:
| anG two together. If the Cfncinnatis are
! scheduled for this city on Decoration day
| it is more than likely that the Senators will
| play In that city on Sunday. a big Sunday
| city, and then two games on Monday.
| These games come at the winding w OF
| the first western series. and il will he an
| easy matter for the local club to reach
| Cincinnati for the Sunday game. Both
| Bancroft and Wagner are good business
| men, and the arrangement will surely go
| through, as that Sunday is open one
and would be lost entirely but for this
| arrangement. Cincinnati has not had a
game of ball on Decoration day since the
| twelve-club league was organized, and a
| tremendous crowd would undoubtedly turn
| out Washington fans will not relish
| the idea of transferring games. but when
| it comes to pitting crowd of 5000 against
| $1,000 counting the Sunday game, Mr..
! Wagner can hardly be blamed for making
| the transfer.
Notes OF the Game.
| In 4 little less than month, with good
| weather the Senators will be at work at
National Park The first regular exhibition
| game will come off April l. the Norfolk
| club of the Virginia League being the at
| traction.
| Captain Willie Joyce recently said that
| New York had no deal pending with Wash
ington and that he was not anxious to Sc
cure Mcclure. He admitted however, that
| he would like to have Mercer Setback,
and might worry along with De Montre-
vile.
If there is Sunday ball in Cleveland this
| season none of the Cleveland players will
be sold. and the great team will remain in
| tact. If there is no Sunday ball-well, that
is different.
1t looks if the coming season would
he poor one for young blood players. The
best nowadays are the boys that have been
| in the thick of the fray for about four
years. They know how and are surely the
real people. Still the work of the veterans
| on the New York team must not be over
looked.
, 1t is stated that President Kerr of the
PittsbLrgs will go to the league meeting
next week loaded for bear He says that
| the rules about changes in the pitching box
are aimed at his darling-Killen-and II
| adopted will surely handicap that left
handed pitcher. Kerr says he will fight the
proposed changes 10 a finish.
Three or four players on the local team
Will nave to play good ball the coming
season or take dose of minor league med
icine. New men can be had for the ex-
peEse of telegraphing, and this fact will
| help the club more than can be imagined.
| A special to a paper from st. Louis says:
STANLEY Robson. vice president of the
Cleveland Base Ball Club passed through
| here yesterday en- route from Hot Springs
10 Cleveland. Robson said that the leag
clubs would nave to come to the aiG of
Won der Abe. He added that four of the
| eastern clubs would. at the coming meet
| ing of the league, each turn over a player
TO the Cleveland club, and the latter would
| In turn give to Won der Abe quartet Of
its stars
Manager Burns of the Hartford CLUB has
signed Paul Radford to play shortstop or
second base. Las. season Radforl led the
New England League in base rnnnin, ami
| 1un getting while playing with Bangor.
WILL HAVE ANOTHER SHOOT,