The San Francisco call., 1898-10-27
EGAN SHOULD HAVE BUMPED
HIS DISPENSING WITH TEAM
 WORK INJURIOUS.
With a Man on First and One on Second With Nobody Out It : Is a Good Play to
 Blunt.
By doe corbett.

The "Florists" of San Jose really star | tied me on Sunday last by the poor and
 strictly amateurish methods which they
 employed while at bat during their con- 1 test with the Oaklands.
 Since the game began to flourish l
 have not witnessed such instances of in-
 ferior batting. and by a team which is | composed of such good talent The partic-
 ular play which I intend criticizing (and | it will stand just little bit) is visible in l the makeup or all the clubs in the league
 barring the Sacramentos, and is one
 which should be corrected before the | lesser lights of baseballdom become fm-
 bued with the idea that the present man.
 ner of consummating it is the only and l proper way.
 This misplay originates from the fact l that there are a number of players in
 this Pacific Coast League who do not
 know, and, dare say, never will know
 what team work really is, and the i'm | mense amount of benefits that are to be l derived from it's use; and also that they are 1 either ignorant of the fact or are familiar
 with it and don't care-which would make
 matters a trifie more serious-that an oc- l casional bunt or sacrifice at the proper
 moment would do more toward team s
 success than almost any other play.
 In Sundays game the Florists made but one run despite the fact that on three l different occasions they had two men on bases with no one out. This Is very poor baseball. True, Pitcher Russell of the opposition was doing excellent service, vel it makes no difference how well a pitcher may be doing, he can be bunted. He can be bunted when 1t is almost 1m-
 possible to hit him safely, and when the
 Florists had men on hrst ana secoIla.
 with no one out there was but one play
 to make, especially when it was apparent
 that safe hits were mighty scarce, ana
 that play was to bunt or sacrlhce. Had the Florists indulged in this style of play,
 and the situation did demand 1t, surely
 they might have won the game, and 1T not so fortunate at least runs would have crossed the plate to their credit l ms Is
 so for the reason that in each instance
 where a bunt would have advanced two
 runners, long fly or a hit follows, ana
 on each of these the man who should
 have been on third would have scored
 Instead of sacrificing or bunting, how
 evr as every team should do in such
 situations, each player did his ,,lta utmost 10 to
 Ninth street. and in consequence one
 fouled out, another went out on snort
 fly and another hit a liner to second
 base from which double play ensued.
 To better acquaint the players and readers of this article with the, point in question l will take up one ot those mls- takes from its beginning. With man on first and one on second Truck Egan, that handsome individual, came to pat.
 His only play was to advance the run
 ners and to do this it was necessary to
 bunt or sacrifice, which in such an
 exigency, would be about the same thing. Instead of doing so he attempted to knock the cover off the sphere, and failed, lit
 tie foul fly being the best he could do, and this was gobbled up by the catcher. The batter following Egan hit a fly to short center field and was out; The run
 ner on second could hardly have made
 third, and displayed excellent Judgment 1 in remaining where he was. The next Ia osf -ierl+ F11a hall c fielde1 rapidly and this runner on second could not score. The next man up went
 out on a grounder. and mind you, out of 1t all, not run crossed the plate. Egan was the one responsible If he had bunt- ed the runners on first and second would have advanced to second and third. The fly to short center would, l feel certain, have scored that man on third, and on the throw to the plate, made in the hope of shutting off this run, the one on sec
 ond,. would, in all events, have gone to | third, and scored on the hit to right field Egan, by his Init it over the fence
 methods, simply threw two. runs away, 1 and if he is accorded the privilege of us- ing his own judgment at bat, 1t is high | time the management censured him. If,
 Init 1t out" it Is time the club directors 1 elected man to the captaincy who is 1 capable of directing players to do some
 thing that is baseball and worthy of com mendation.
 l It was really aggravating, after all that 1 has been said regarding team work at bat ! lO oSt pidy lHTOW games away simply 1 because they desire to make of themselves l heroes-that only shine, by-the-by, but a { brief minute. The patrons or baseball in | the Eastern clIeS will hoOt and hiss a
 player unmerctfully if he casts aside team l work to satisfy any other motive They 1 do this because they understand the the league know the missing and hoot act will be taken up by the fans at Recrea-
 tion Park, and goodness only knows
 There is no getting away from the fact l that team work at the bat, as well as in the field, is indispensably necessary to a
 to see an aggregation like the Florists l play such poor ball at bat. One indiscre- l ton in a game might be overlooked, but
 when three of them occur of a similar nature in the same contest and game that might be won is thrown away, one i thoughts that reflect no credit on the 1 team or it's captain.
 i It Is impossible to state what really ] would have happened had the Florists
 made some attempt at team work in Sun l days game. EgenS stupidity have men, i toned, and 1t is not difficult to conceive I the amount of damage his eagerness for ! glory brought his cohorts. And as two ! other players on that team made the same
 mistake, one can readily see that the San l dispensing with team work at time
 when 1t Is most needed. There are a
 number of other players scattered f through the league who also need a shak- i ingsup on the same point. and the sooner lit is done the better. They should be
 made to realize that team work is more desirable than off-handed playing, and the patrons of the game shonfd not interfere
 with the. players intentions when he Is the proper play by yelling to him to Init if out This is very bad form. and often spoils a good play. In conclusion, I will say once again that it is always a good Dlay to bunt with man on first and one on second with no one out. And I trust the Florists will make all the runs they can in the future instead of throwing them away.
 HEAVYWEIGHT PUGILISTS.