Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-01-16

week.
If the New England League scheme is
foolish, the idea of a Central Massachu-
sets league is even more absurd. MARI
boro, Grafton, Milford and one or two
other towns in this county have played
fairly good ball the past season. When,
however, an attempt is made to get
those teams and half dozen others into
a league, trouble is sure to result The
combination would be too unwieldly and
the local option" theory as applied to
base ball, would prevail to altogether
too great an extent. Again, there would
be the question of salary limit, in
which the amount suiting Worcester,
for instance, would be far greater than
some of the smaller towns could stand
and pay expenses. The idea of playing
two or three games a week in such a
league is decidedly amusing. In Wor-
cester they would not draw hundred
people for mid-week game, and it has
been shown repeatedly that in country
towns, a Saturday afternoon game is
all for which the people win turn out.
So it is that base ball affairs will prob
ably be the same locally in 1898 as they
were in 1897.
1t appears that President Powers was
not SO sure about getting the Wilkes
barre franchise for the asking as he had
imagined. The Wilkesbarre cranks-
and they are true sports-have main
tanned all along that Wilkesbarre would
be in the Eastern League again in '9S,
and although they have lost money for
two or three years ii looks as though
they meant what they said President
Powers went over to Wilkesbarre last
week from his New York office to pur-
chase the franchise and said the cash
NNvs1 L.
however, informed him that while the
franchise could be bought if enough was
offered, his own proposition fell far
short of their figures and they intended
maintaining a team in SO. Unless
Wilkesbarre is paid a fancy price, she
will not surrender her franchise in the
Eastern League, but will continue her
present work of strengthening her team
for the coming season No one seems to
know for whom the franchise is wanted,
but the general impression is that ii
was for Rochester. That city was
turned down at the annual meeting and
has been making efforts ever since to
get in. The fact that Powers purchased
a ticket for that city when leaving
Wilkesbarre adds color to the rumor.
The failure of the New England
League officers, at their meeting in Bos-
ton last Wednesday, to decide the
league championship for '97, looks to
many like a confession of weakness on
their part The fight that came at the
end of the season between Newport and
Brockton is still fresh in the mind of
every crank, but IL was expected that
matters would be settled at the annual
The minor leaguers, however, evidently
thought that the best thing they could
do was to let matters stand as they
were and leave the whole thing still in
doubt. Decision in favor of either city
meant more or less hard feeling from
the cranks in the other place.
For once the Eastern and Western
League officials have stolen march up
on the National League magnates. And
this is the way they have done it. The
season for drafting players from tbs
minor leagues in class A has just closed
Each year the National League
teams have always made pretty
heavy inroads upon the smaller organi-
cations depriving them many times OF
nearly all their best men, The drafting
has, in almost every case. been done
after a consultation of the official field
ing and batting figures of the league
during the past season. This year, how
ever Presidents Powers and johnson
have automatically withheld the aver.
ages until the drafting season closed
and now they present them to the pub
| lie In this way the National League
| managers have not been able to fine
out just who of the Class A players were
| worth picking. 1t is probable that al
| their next meeting the magnates viii
| add a cause to the agreement govern
| ing the minor leagues compelling the
PRONUNCIATION at certain date, and all