The times., 1897-04-04

"The baseball season for 1897 opens
April % in every city but Boston. There
the first game will be played April lS,
which is a State holiday. The game will
be between Boston and Philadelphia, and
it win count in the championship series.
The opening games Of April % will be
played in Baltimore, Washington and Phil
adelphia in the East, and Cincinnati, st.
Louis and Louisville in the West.
THE outlook forthe season isenoouraging
from a sporting and also from financial
yiewpoiut. The season of 1896 was a sue
cess and the season OF 1897 promises even
better. In 1896 the clubs were of more
nearly uniform strength than in former
years, and were fairly well punched
throughout the season. This year the di-
vision OF strength is even better, think.
This is due to the fact that managers or
clubs have seen the necessity of strength
eninG the weaEer organizations IL the sea
son is to he made interesting and profit
able The proposition to eQualize the
strength Of the clubs by dividing up the
players, already suggested by some writer's
not long ago, did not meet with success
because while managers recognized the
fact that it might be good policy to do
this under certain conditions, they had
to take into account the possibilities of
accident A far-sghted manager Will al
ways keep extra strength in his team TO
provide against the chance Of a player
breaking his arm or being i'll or in some
other way becoming useless in the middle
OF the season.
But the weaker clubs have been re-
cruited from the minor leagues and the
present season show plainly the value OF
the national agreement not only to the
minor organizations but to the National
League That agreement has been In force
about fourteen years and it has been
thoroughly satisfactory to the greater
league as wen as to the smaller ones. Under
it, the minor leagues have become schools
for the training Of players for the National
League. They have been protected in
their rights as against each other; and
the best evidence of the value of the agree
ment TO them s the fact that we are getting
applications for membership from small
leagues all the time. II is fair TO the
player because, while it places him under
strict rules and makes it impossible to play
anywhere but in the club to which he is
assigned, it gives him promotion and in
creased pay with each enforced change;
and we have yet to see the player who
preferred TO stay in smaller club at small
nav rather than be advanced into club
OF a higher grade at better pay. IL is in
fact the ambition Of every baseball player
to become a member OF the National League
and the system OF promotion under the ma
tIonal agreement makes it certain that ii
a player is worth employment in one of the
National League clubs he will sooner or
later get there.
"In figuring on the financial prospects
of the coming ason, Of course, baseball
managers are counting on the better times
which have been promised Us. But hard
times don't make such a difference in the
baseball season as in some other business
enterprises. If the summer is very busy,
people in New York and Boston. and other
great commercial cities, cannot get away
from their offices to 80 to the game.