Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-22

y
the pennant race of the National League
will be inaugurated. The prospects for the
national games prosperity In all sections
of the country are decidedly promising. It
! Is matter OF regret that the St Louis
President Won Der Ahe's lack of funds and
managerial ability are the causes of the
| slump in st. Louis. President Ebbitts of
| the Brooklyn club has pulled himself to-
gether and will, no doubt, do some tall
hustling, with the assistance of Manager
Barnie. from now until the opening of the
season, but the old handicap of having
grounds too far from the center of the
/ city will still be the drawback to great
success for the Brooklyn club.
In all other cities IN the National League
circuit the outlook is very hopeful. The
| Western Leagues slowness in completing
its circuit will prove expensive during the
playing season. The final club to round
out the league should have been selected at
the first meeting last fall, SO that the feel
| ing in the cities selected could have been
worked UP and the benefits resulting there
from placed to the credit of that club. AS
1t Is now, the man selected to handle the
Des Moines club will have to hustle from
| the word go, and can consider himself
lucky II he breaks even on the season.
The Eastern League will be as strong, IL
not stronger, than 1t was in 1897, when
civic pride carried two Of its clubs through.
Wilkesbarre and Scranton were tail-enders
from start to finish, and money was lost
almost continuously, but the men back of
these two clubs possessed the necessary
backbone and hopefulness to continue in
the league. and 1t is the wish of all the
| followers Of the national game that the
prospects of these two cities for the next
season may turn out to be of a very SUBJ
stsntial and successful nature.
The Atlantic League affairs are in good
shape, and the Western Association and
Interstate League have earned the right to
| be considered as fixtures. The Southern,
| Texas, New England, New York State In
ternational and other minor organizations
will be in the field the coming season and
| should succeed. 1t is a matter of general
rejoicing that the interest in the national
game has been revived to such an extent
| in California that professional ball will be
again played successfully in that state.
The umpire's troubles, while for the
rost part seriously depicted, are pretty
| well illustrated In the following humorous
clipping from the Buffalo Evening News
It is supposed to be in the shape of a
| diary loaned temporarily by a tormented
| judge of play:
Monday-Got along pretty well today.
Captain Soak called me liar, but 1 pre-
| tended not to hear. I'll fix him later on
Larry Graham shook his fist under my
| nose on close decision in the third, and
| nell get the benefit of no close decisions
| from me. As 1 IVES going out of the gate
hoodlum struck at me with a scantling,
| put saw him in time to dodge.
Tuesday-Hot day? Oh, no. Half the
| 6ohAo Hdu pOtn nlneS around me four
deep. The balance of the time 1 was dodg-
ing souvenirs from the audience In the
sixth inning there was a rush for me from
the right field bleachers, but the police
| stopped EN- in time. I have only words
OF praise for the officers. They saw that
| the home club still had an even chance
OF winning, and they didn't want the
game interrupted. In the seventh Pete
blow took Catcher Feeney square in the
ear He told me lodged on purpose. and
we mad quite powwow. Finally 1 sent
| MIN to the bench.
Wednesday, told the police this after
| noon If they didn't stop the audience from
| throwing beer bottles and cigar boxes and
snoe brushes at me l would give the game
20 tne otner team. They said they'd try
| 10 persuade the boys not to throw the
1hlnss until after the game was over.
| reward the end Of the ninth / stood as
Iar PACK OF the catcher as 1 could, and
| when the last man was out I ran for INV
| life and the street car AS darted tbrongb
| the door l heard the beer bottles CRASHING
against the fence.
Ihursday-This was a red-letter day for
me. only one rumpus spoiled an other
| wise clean record. Fergy Mcclure was a
little too fresh in the second. and / sent
MIN to the hen-h- He tried an upnercut
IN me, ana l.fIded him with a left hook.
he didn't go to the bench. They brought
| the bench to him. 'iousn'
| SSrloay-It rained today. Thank heaven,
saturday.1t took seventeen policemen
| 49, vi "dSoil 10 save me this affpr-
noon. The trouble commenced when T Do
| ciareo F1nigan out in the fourth. The
! t o~u mentlef ed me as "robber' six
| Teen minutes without cessation. In the
| sixth, when / called Muggsy SWINGS afe
| On second, the audience broke loose M
sWore, women tainted and dogs barked
me crowd swarmed on the field. and T
The Ner ron away Va surrounded by the officers.
.ney Isn In the patrol wagon, chucked mo
| INTO II. and then the whole outfit racad
around the field three times, with the
| GeoMa IN pursuit 1t was like one of those
| RUSSIAN races between a sleigh ana q nns,
| OF wolves. lost my hat had nv 800 a puck h
Oh, one OF my eyes is closed and III
s notue famed my left knee Finally We
Gro crowd 1u ron through ,i the gateway, and the
| tio"q ran US all the way back to H. -
TEL wonder what will happen next ueeS >
Notes.
captain Griffin of the Brooklyns ia ont
win an original proposition to hurry tho
same by getting the players on and ofr
'ne helo IN shorter time. and several
nave come back at him with the
| a., u STUDY up the proposal himself.
| ~ undoubtedly slow. but as he in
TENDS to reform himself the proposition can
De taken as good one
The report that the spring meat;r, 30 t,o
| National League will ba hold q, ~.
| YORK Is rather premature. The tweI,,
CLUBS at the last meeting resolved to eatber
! Iosetner Tor the spring meeting at 81
o.n' ana In proper rotation take in the
oiher cities on the league circuit. II looks
| nke small piece of business to trv ia
wipe out this resolution simply because
Inc 81 Louis magnate is in hard lines.
Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Chi
cago are the only clubs that have SO far
voted Tor the change, and it takes three
| more votes to shift the meeting place
| east. Outside of Chicago, the other west
ern cities are opposed to the change and
| II IS more than probable that BROOKLYN.
baltimore and Washington will stand by
the original proposition. Won der Abe has
promised an elaborate spread to the mag
mates, and it is dollars to peanuts that
ne will carry out his proposition, finan-
cial difficulties to the contrary notwith-
| standing.
The Stewart secured by the Louisville
club Is not Second Baseman Ace Stewart
put pitcher named Charles Stewart hail,
ing from Tennessee. He played last sea
son with Atlanta, along with Coleman nov
OF st. Louis. and Commit, lately drafted
| by Washington.
Algie Mcbride, the Washington bow.
GRATED from the Western League by the
cincinnati club. is causing considerable
Worriment to that clubs officials through
their inability to locate his whereabouts.