Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-18
WILL BE AGGRESSIVE
Earl Wagner A(opsR a New Base
Ball Policy,
MEN ARE TO GO y TEE GAME TO Win
Seventh consecdtiys Defeat Of the
SenAtofs. .e.-4
A NEW FIRST BAsEMAN

Following in the footsteps Of President
Brush of the Cincinnati club, = and Pres
! ident Hart OF the Chicago club Magnate
j. Earl Wagner has decided to throw to
| the winds his desire to purify base ball at
the expense of his own club
When Chi11s, the Cleveland second base
| nan. pulled off. his blocking feat in FRI
| days game at National Park, and the UNI.
pires refused to see the Interference Mr..
Wagner declared most emphaticaIly that
| he was done with gentlemanly base ball.
| At the meeting of the league last spring
all the maglates signed an agreement to
| the effect that they would look after their
own players, keeping. them from playing
trCwdy baii-oY objectiHg to the .,ITfpfres' de-
c!sions. The first months play under this
agreement clearly demonstrated that it,
was the sort of legislation the game had
needed for years. But there were about
| three clubs in the league that have had to
depend upon rowdyism to win, and whsn
this trio dropped game after game, and the
gate receipts suffered great howl went
up, and the agreement was. shattered. ....
President Freedman of the New Yorks
was tho last masnate to sign the spring
agreement, but he was Undoubtedly the
| first to break faith with his fellow mag
mates. When the New York club fell back
on roWdyism victories came their way with
astonishing frequency, and the other clubs
with1the same@inclinations were quick ID
see the advantage of bulldOzing the umpire,
ard at once felt into iRe1 Strange torsay,
the Philadelphia club was one of the first
to join the New YorkS in it's defiance of
| the spring agreement, and the Baltimore
and Boston clubs were not left at the pos.
when aggressive base ball playing was
decided upon. = I"
When the western clubs made their first
trip over the eastern circuit Presidents
Brush and Hart We're with their clubs, and
their employees Conducted themselves on
the ball field like gentlemen, and the con-
tests Were rendered more enjoyable there
BY ss, ,-..5. -
But the playing of the home clubs proved
an eyeOpener for the western qmagnates.
A-essrs. Brush and Hart cannot be cIassed
as unsophsticated backwoodsmen who
have never been through the fire of base
ball legislation, and they came to the con-
clusion at once. that they were being I'M
posed upon in the most barefaced manner.
1t didn't take the western contingent of
the league long to decide upon its future
course. The trip east for the present series
of games will be different. President Brush
has remained at home, likewise President
Hart and Robson The absence Of the
magnates is auicklysnotsd in the different
style of bah put up by their respective
clubs, and like their predecessors, they are
winning at the game. i. The Cincinnatis
TseR an ns tha ana and s
followed suit IN Ph,fa dssPhia and Brook
-lyp. The Washington patrons of the game
have had six exhibitions by the Chicagos
and Clevslands, and me way these two ag-
gregations have worked the umpires was
an eye-opener to the local management.
From start to finisk ofItIhe games every
player on the Chicago or Cleveland bench
took a hand in the protests to the urnpires,
and as a result, every elise decision Went
their way p I'D -, -s@..1~s-l ~. ..s
1t has taken some timstto open the eyes
of Mr.. Wagner to the effect that he was
about the only magnats, standing by the
rJpige he made la ST STJriHP iS prV
thoroughly satisfied tilagC 4S97 ball will be
played for the REMAINDER Of. the season.
Before the season opened, Mr. Wagner took
particular pains. to protect the umptres'
from abuse by the 'l6cdF eA trsinists. putting
barbed wire around, the right-field bleach
ers, and stationing policemen in all the
stands. 81 TH'''
Last Saturday a new order of things went
into effect. The barbed wire came down
with a rush and the extra police force was
given Vacat ton. From this time on
everything will be wide open at the park.
II the umpire doesn't suit you, protests
can be registered without the slightest
chance of being warned by policeman,
and should the yelling benefit the Senators.
50 much the better. This Is exactly the
course adopted in other cities along the
league circuit. When the Washington club
leaves for trip over the circuit, they ara
confronted with umpiring that leans SO
much toward the home club that the ad-
vantage is fully 20 per cent in the game;
WREN our players return to National Park
the umpiring is so partial that 1t bends to-
ward the visitors and again the Senators
receive the losing end of the argument.
The entire staff Of umpires is fully aware
of this state of things and cannot be blaIn-
ed for governing themselves accordingly.
But when Mr.. Wagnerdecided to instruct
his men to play aggressive" ball he reck
oned without his host. Imagine our digni-
fed, good-natured senatorial aggregation
playing aggressive or roWdy ball. 1t is
simply not in them. Can Jake Gettman
spike or block a player? Would big, goodr-
natured Anderson throw his weight against
any other player if he thought for a minute
that his opponent would be injured? I'm,
agine Jim Mcclure, Charley Farrell, AL.
Setback, Reitz, Wagner. Wrigley- and the
entire outfit, pulling off; any thing that was
not strictly above board and on the square.
These men have been playing clean ball all
do otherwise. They may yell from the
bench when their individuality will not be
made too prominent, or protest family to
the umpire from the coachers' boxes, but
this is about as far the Washington
players can go in aggressive" playing.
And this is about as far as the Washing
ton patrons care to see them go. The sort.
of ball played by the Baltimores, Cleye-
lands and sChicagos, may suit, those cities,
but it is the clean, gentlemanly ball that
has made Washington a good ball town,
and such contests VIII continue at National
Park. Notwithstanding the wish that crops