Evening star., 1897-04-10

| those interested i'm the local club can get a
good line on several players who may some
day in the future wear a Washington uni
| form. Manager Irwin believes he has a
! winning combination. and the three games
| should be full of life and energy. The
| Richmonds have been doing good work so
| far with the major league clubs they have
met, and are sturdy lot of young players.
Twelve days from today the champion
| ship season Of the National League and
American Association base ball clubs will
| be irauguratcd at National Park. The en-
| thusiasts of this city must be well pleased
with the reports and showing of the Sena-
| tors, to the effect that every member is
training gard. and will be in the best Dos
sibie form and ready to give battle from
! the sound of the gong. winning team is
wanted in this vicinity, and wanted badly
and 1t Is to be hoped that no slip will occur
| i'll these expectations. The delightful
weather of the last two weeks has greatly
benefited the players in their outdoor
| work, and it is a much mooted question
between Manager SchmelZ and his players
! as TO whether the team has ever been In
| as good shape at such an early date as it
is this spring.
Manager Schmelz has been putting his
| men through the hardest kind of practice
since they have reported to him last Mon.
cay week All the pitchers, except "Cy"
SWAIN, have shown remarkable form and
speed, and, with the exception of Nc
James, have fair command of the ball.
Swain Is suffering from an attack of
the grip that is hard to shake off,
but the physician attending him claims he
will be all right before another week has
gone by. McJames appears TO have more
speed this spring than ever, and Jimmy
was never shy IN this respect but when
putting on steam fails to locate the plate
as regularly as he would like. AS the sea-
SON advances he will settle down to his
work, and should prove the same old puz-
zling boy as Of yore.
N Mercer nothing foo pooG DO
said. As ''Chimmie Fadden" would ejacu-
late, Hes a peach" Six weeks practice
In the gymnasium has placed him in fine
title, and coupled with the work in the
open air the past two weeks, Win is
about on edge. German, Norton, Maui,
Ashe and Kimball are also in almost per-
feet condition, but with several of them
their true worth is yet to be proved when
the big sluggers toe the plate Silver
King has been shy on letters, and moth
ing can be said of him definitely He will
undoubtedly report when his contract calls,
ard he is too old bird to be caught out of
&C ndition.
If Manager Schmelz can develop even one
good man from his string of young pitch
ers, he will be doing very well indeed, as
good pitchers are as scarce as Jewels
or course, 1t is never good policy to push
over team in its spring practice, because
productions made at this time of the year
come nome to roost later in the season, but
harmony and hard work count for consider
able, and place in the first division is the
goal the entire club has in sight.
1t was lucky day for the Washington
club when Tom Brown drifted into the
contract calling upon him to play the CEN
ter garden for the Senator'S With the ex-
oeption OF Joyce and MCGUIRE the entire
team could then be classed as youngsters
ana while Joyce was supposed to steady
the iDfeld, Brown was expected to do the
same for the boys in the outer positions
Then came Joyce's release, leaving but one
veteran IN an the positions in front of the
plate. Manager Schmelz knows the value
OF an Old head, and on taking charge inn
mediately placed the reins in Browns
hands. 1t was Capt Brown for the better
part of last season, and he will carry that
title through the entire season of '97. There
Is perfect harmony between Manager
Schmelz, Capt. Brown and the players AMI
as a result. all the moves are made with a
precision and quickness that speaks vol
umes for the big center fielder
Capt. Tom Brown began his base hall
career in the National League with the
club played under the banner of the major
association. From the first Brown has
been star player, his work that year he
ing SO good that the Boston club paid a
big price for his release. and the next sea-
son he began his four years stay with the
Beaneaters. covering the seasons of 1855
80. 80 and 81. When the consolidation of
tne league and American Association took
place in 1892 II was determined to dis
tribute several of the best players to the
weaker clubs. thereby making all the clubs
as nearly equal in playing strength as pos
sfble. As Boston had Duffy and Mccarthy
it was thought by them that the club could
put up with one weak fielder and Brown
went into the pool. That right field posi-
tion on the Boston team has not been filled
since. President Nick Young had the dis
tribution Of these players. and when n
became known that Brown was among the
number Mr.. Young received more apnIi
cations for the services of this player .han
any other in the pool
The Louisville club was weak then not
to say that It is a strong club now. and
President Young banished the speedy CEN
terdelder to that city. Through the sea
sons of '92. '83 and 04 Brown played first
class ball for the falls city team, but the
team was shy on heavy hitters, and. of
Continued on Ninth Page)