Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-16
WORK DONE ON The DIAMOND
Excitement at Discount in Closing Games
Of National League.
BOSTON FAILS IN GAMES AT HOME
Philadelphia Team, which Finishes
Third, Too Erratic to Win PEN
nant, but strong Enough to
lie Dangerous.

NEW YORK, oct. 15.-In the National
league base ball race just finished excite
ment on the whole was at discount There
were many exciting games and in some re-
spects the playing, generally speaking, was
high class. 1t was too much of a process
sion to be a race. Long before the season
ended the Brooklyns were conceded to be
the coming champions, their lead after they
had once went to the front, which was on
May 20, seldom being so small as not to be
reckoned as safe. The real fight was for
second place.
Broollyn's win of this years pennant,
while devoid Of any grandstand elements,
was thoroughly impressive. The Brooklyns,
as result of their consistently strong game,
performed the remarkable feat OF never re-
linquishing their grip on first place after
taking that position. They had couple OF
bad spells, however, in which their lead
was reduced materially, but each time pulled
up. Their most uneasy time was toward
the end Of June, when they lost eight
straight games.
Boston gave indications at times Of wrest-
ing the lead from Brooklyn, doing some fine
playing In the west, but failing to put up
the old invincible game at home. One of
the best period the champions had was in
May. On May 16 they were sixth, on June /
they were second.
The Philadelphia team, which finished
third in the race, was a bit too streaky to
win the pennant, but still enough to be
dangerous. They held the lead at one time
in the first part of April, but by the middle
of June they were as low as fifth. Then
they began climbing up again and for the
last three months alternated with Boston
in second and third places
Baltimore finished fourth In April and
May they were in the second division, but
they went into the first division with a
| rush. They jumped from seventh place
10 third in the short space Of two weeks
| within two weeks more they had dropped
back to sixth place. then they went UP the
ladder again, staying in fourth place for the
| last two and half months
Perfectos n disappointment.
The st. Louis team proved Disappointing
| they were the only team besides the Brook
| lyns that held the lead for any length Of
| time. AT different times, however they oc-
| cupled every position in the first division,
their close fight with the Cincinnatis for
fifth place being one Of the seasons
| features.
The Cincinnatis have to their credit the
most remarkable squirt of the season, win
ming thirteen straight games They were,
however, once the race was fairly under
way, never prominent for the pennant.
The Pittsburg team was a second division
factor from the start, but they did especially
well in the last two months, when their
| playing was Of first division caliber and
better than one or two teams Just ahead
OF them.
| The Chicagos, who started off we'll, grad
| ually went down the scale, winding up
eighth, and the Louisvilles did shade
| worse.
The New Yorks made the worst showing
ever made by a New York league team. 1t
may be said, with grief, of them
that they got away poorly and stayed there.
Apart from general decentralization, the New
Yorks had the worst luck in the league.
Many of the teams players were hurt during
| the season.
The Washington and Cleveland aggre-
| cations were next to last and last The
former was conspicuous for the amount of
experiments in players that it tried and the
persistency with which it hovered near the
tail end.
or the Cleveands it can simply be said
that no league team ever did so poorly.