The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-07-09
BALTIMORE'S BAD LUCK
Law of Compsns ,tion as Applied to
Baseball.
Queer Bunching OF Injuries--Th
Prophets Have Their Inping.

zone woe doth tread upon another's
heels, so fast they follow" The Baltimore
Baseball club has had practical illustra-
ton of the great Shakespeare's meaning
when he put those words into the mouth
of one OF his famous characters. All last
winter players and expert writer's on the
game were united In their expressed belief
that the Baltimore team would this season
be due for Its share of i'll luck. The prob
able reason of this general prophecy was
the fact that for three years that team had
ulayed with a marvellous freedom from
sscident to its men in spite Of the dashing
and reckless style of its play, and also the
we'll established theory that misfortunes
are part of the great game and It's rare un-
certainties in which each toam In the
course Of time evens up with its copartners.
Whether that which was predicted last
winter was tho spirit Of true prophecy,
only common guess, or the result Of this
evening up theory may not be shown cop-
clusiyely But the "turn was called"
The Baltimores misfOrtunes began on
their first western trip when Doyle was hit
on the head with pitched ball and put
out of the game for several weeks. When
the team got TO Cincinnati, Captain Rob
inson was badly spiked on one knee and
laid up. Catcher Clark soon afterward
suffered from split thumb and joined
Robinson Sin the hospital" AS soon az
Doyle got back upon the nine Stencil fell
Ill and was followed by Kelley In the
New York Baltimore series at Baltimore
the regular nine got together again, but
the chapter of accidents was not closed.
Robinson had gone back too soon and the
old wound in the knee had To be reopened.
In the important series between the lead
ers In Boston Keeler suffered a sprain Of
the groin and that great little run maker
left the nine for The first time In nearly
four years.
Still the tide of accidents flowed In. The
team went TO New York and In the first
game on the Polo grounds an III bounding
ball hit Doyle in the left eye, closing IL In
less than five minutes Then came the
worst accident Of oil. One Of Rusie's ter
rife high in shoots struck Jennings on the
head just above tho left temple. The great
player staggered and then fell. When he
recovered consciousness, he insisted on
playing, and for an inning went through
bis work. Then he began to talk incoher-
emily, and his fellow players realized that
Hughey's injury was serious. He was led
off the field, taken 10 his hotel and put TO
bed, suffering from slight concussion Of
the brain.
This chain of accidents TO the Baltimore
club is almost Unprecedented. Ii Is only
equaled by the misfortunes which punched
themselves upon the New York team in
1895, whereby Doyle, Davis, Rusie, Meek
in, Tiernan and Wilson were all most Sc
verely injured during that season. The
Baltimore punching of injured players
came at such an important period that It
may have put them out of their chance to
win the pennant for the fourth successive
time
This injury to Jennings was not a sur
prise 60 players who arc familiar with his
reckless methods. How he has escaped sc