Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-22
INAUSPlCIOUS SEASON ENDS
Little Regret Expressed mt Conclu-
sion of Base Ball Senson-Hope
for Future Betterment.

Another National League season, closed
now for a week, will soon become a relic
in the memory of base ball enthusiasts. 1t
is not i'll timed to say that the season OF
1899 has been far from bowling success.
Too much dead timber has been carried dur
ing the year. and with syndicate ball. the
sandbagging methods used in taking
desirable dates away from the Louisville
club and the Freedman quarrel, the bal
ance on the right side of the ledger is
not visible to the naked eye on many OF
the books in the circuit syndicate team
won the pennant by large majority, Han
Ion lootng the Baltimore club of several
desirable players after the season opened
in direct violation OF base ball laws, as we'll
as strictly against his promise to leave Nc
Graw's team severely alone from the open
ing to the close Of the season. In st. Louis
the same tactics prevailed, Robinson TAX
ing men at his pleasure from his other
club in Cleveland, and as the result of the
raids the Forest City team made the worst
record in the history Of the professional
game.
Manager Irwin in Washington talked
loudly and made extravagant promises be-
fora the season opened, but the motto
seemed to be mot how good, but how
cheap" and the lot of minor leaguers that
he gathered about him made a sorry show
ing. New York was little better, but the
poor work Of the Giants was due to the
fact that Freedman tried to ruin the game
in New York, being willing to lose big
money himself for the purpose of causing
the other club-owners to play to losing
gate while in the largest city in the league
and the one that should be productive Of
tho best returns. Things have come to
pretty pass, indeed, and it is to be hoped
that the proposed new league has had the
effect of bringing the magnates to their
Senses even If it does not take the field
and force them to pay little attention to
the sporting feature of the game at a great
cost such as a base ball war would in
| volve.
The exhibition games played between the
pennant- winning Brooklyn team and the
Philies have afforded the base ball cranks
a little amusement during the past week.
| Discussions of the future and reflections over
| the past, however, have been the principal
| topics, and soon the base ball enthusiasts
will be heard no more for a brief period,
and the admirers of the eXhiaratng game
of foot ball will hold full sway. The truth
! of this is even already noticeable in Omaha.
Buck Keith, the patron saint of Omaha
! base ball is himself organizing a foot ball
| team, and all of the gossip among the de-
votees OF outdoor sport is on the subject
of lend runs" "bucking the line field
| punts," touch downs" and other foot ball
| palaver.
Some interest is taken nevertheless. in
the records made by the base ball league
players during the past season. There was
a spirited contest in the national league for
batting honors and the season ends
with big Ed Delehanty, who has consist
emily and persistently stuck to the batting
honors all summer, figuring as the top notch
hitter of the profession, coming in just few
pegs ahead of his greatest rival, the man who
twice led the league in batting, Jesse Burk-
EFT.
AS "Del" is straightaway hitter and