The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-04-08
$S
I Sports
BASE RALI..


The Wheeling ball playerB were COM
No IN on the trains OF yesterday from
al directions and Manager coylc was
psnt busy receiving his boys, Among
hose who arrived were Pitchers Gar
y.y Kerr and Baker. who came down
from Pittsburgh, outhelder Nestcen
was another PlttsbmEher whe came,
Curtis got In from Cincinnati lassevcn-
ing! second baseman Ktess e'tl1e In
rom WestGeld, n. y. his home. ana
pitcher Iuest arrived from the wfids OF
jtansIprdam. This morning First base
man O'Brisn, Catcher Messitl, Third
hasrniAn Lyons, and OutheldeE Me-
GInnIs viii report, and the team VIII be-
nrrcticaily complete. with tho aAScep-
lion OF Pitcher Jack" Easton, VINO VIII
moi report until the opening ". the
Interstate season, on April -. 80
Coyie had some Of his players eyer at
the Island ball park yesterday Aftcr-
noon. and the way they handled them-
selves showed that all had dong cpnstd-
erable training before reporting, Tay.
Ior is playing short Held In n way that
,nthuseS all who witness his Wttk ana
NcNamara, the outfielder- whn was
tried ut second yesterday. fefded
beautiful game, and batted like hend'
The team Of professional players
gathered By George England. when ~
10 10 against the Nailers at thd Island
mark on Friday and Saturday after
Moons OF this week, includes IN US
ranks two or three players WHO We're
moi deerhd good enough for -NpeeliniES,
and for this reason the Nlst4Ts VIII
make n desperate EFFORT to take the Sc
Nos from the Interstate team. Eng.
land sends this list OF his players
Mitchell. cathccr, OF Washington IN
'yS, Johnson, pitcher, OF Wheeling last
season: Woodward, pitcher. McKim
hrst base OF the Little Senators last sea-
son. "Red" McSElRen, with Twin Cit
is In '95. second base; Donaghy, third
base. OF Washington In '96: Hart. short,
nf Titusville; outfielders, SChroSder, OF
Jackson and New Castle: Yengle. Of
Niles; HarEins, Of BellevernUnS
Columbus Is tint nome Of many minor
league professional players and Us sew
erai OF them have not signed for the
HnproachinE season they have decided
- play exhibition games around the
stale. says the Journal OF that city, The
team as organized includes some star
plavers and as they have been prActic-
igg on the city leaEue grounds FOR two
weeks PAST, they are ready for the frat
right u the present time. Bobby Quinn
will be behind the wind pad for me
team and as pitchers they have Sid
Armstrong and Nick HRndiboe, VINO
Rrc good all around players and VINO
will play other positions when not on
the slab. Inhelders Gus Dundon. Frech
and Jim Welsh will be with the aggre-
cation as well as Bert Dennis and 9TH
er clever outAelders. OF these men Han
ditoe has had experience IN the Amerl-
can association and several minor
leagues while Quinn. Armstrong, Dun
don. Frech and Dennis have played one
or more seasons In the fast little Viz
EjniA league. This team would like eX-
hlbltlon games with any OF the Inter
state league teams. Ohlo-West Virginia
clubs, or independent teams and are
strong enough TO give any such a stln
argument. Springfield. DAYTON, Mans
field, GAINESVILLE, Wheeling sud Marietta
ara All within easy distance OF CoIum.
bus and the managers OF those teams
Will do well TO correspond with the Col
umbus professionals II they have any
OpeO dates, Letters addressed TO bobby
Quinn, S62 Edwards stree, or In care
Of The state Journal, will receive
prompt attention.
Billy George and Jack Glasscock, Of
the 81. Pauls watched the Cincinnati
Reds at practice Tuesday afternoon.
from the grand stand. When the work
was over Glasscock remarked 10
Commercial Tribune man: No use
talking. the Reds have great team
thls wear. / can see no reason why they
shouId not finish very near the top.
BillV George said: Charley Irwin has
really made that team. irwin Is the FIRST
re0l third basemnn the team has had In
many years !. think him the greatest
ficidinE third baseman In the league To-
dav. / played out on the Coast with
him several years ago, and We played
together in st. Paul. Irwin Is In a class
by himself, In my opinion.
Rase bail writer's east and west have
sor the last four or five gears written
numerous paragraphs lamentiag the
decline IN base running. and assigning
numerous reasons. none Of which. when
viewed with critical eye, seems exact
ly probable. Some OF the sCribes In
comparing the small number of bases
stolen last wear with the many cRptuf-
ed in 1883 allege that the incessant
baking OF the pitchers has killed the
FAST sprinters. Undoubtedly the pitchers
do baik--but is there any one IN the big
league to-day who can balk and get
away with It as kllroy and Calvin did
30 long ago? Others remark that the
Cftchers' throwing IS what keeps down
the base thieves Do any Of the modern
catchers pick OF runners better than
Bennett and Ewing used u dO7 stu,
Others think that the sacrifice bunt Is
responsible--but how many sacrifices
are there 10 game? About one club.
Sheer decline In daring spirit and red
hot ginger, dread OF being spiked and
team work Of a kind that Is cautious
rather than nervy, are the causes OF the
decay. Harry Stoyey, who led the
country in base running IN .lSSS stole
1856 bases. Rfll LANCE stole enc hundred
last year. Stovey Is not noy in tho
league. nor was Lange league player
la 1855 A comparison. however, OF the
men who played in fast company N 1855
and are still In the foregrnunhishows by
Ihc cold medium Of percentage figures
Just how fearful the fnlltpE on has
been. In 1888, according tome average.
the fast men averaged 1876 per cent OF
atllen bases to Eame-that is, fairly
fast runner might be expeCksd In sea-
son OF say one hundred AMI thirty-two
games. to steal fifty-scven bases. Last
year the average percentage had sunk
10 25j-that Is to say, man who stole
thirty-four bases in the season was do
ing we'll