The evening times., 1899-02-14
BASEBALL GOSSIP.
Notes of the Game. the MaSnatcs and
the Players.


As The Times predicted, Baltimore will
lake on new enthusiasm in the national
game next season. and instead of being a
dead town ii Will prove TO be very much
alive Albert Mott, who is in close touch
with baseball matters in that city, says
in this weeks Sporting Life"
Baltimore was tired of the old club,
and that is fact II was bright, snappy,
scrappy little team. but at last it got scrap
en- the brain and scrapped with the man
agement. scrapped with the public, and
| therefore scrapped with fate.
And so. although ii was the best in the
world, it wore out its welcome in Oyster
Vile and required change in location 10
| recover its prestige.
1t is a case OF leaving the country for
the country's good.
1t will unquestionably do well in Brook
lyn and another team in Deadburg will
demonstrate a resurrection TO the baseball
world, provided it is in the grip of Hopper
and McGraw-I mean Robinson and Nc
Graw."
Those fans and writers who belong 10 the
'know-it-all'' crowd, who have declared
so vehemently that Baltimore would be
dropped from the League, ought now TO
lose themselves III the smoke of some new
pipe story. Baltimore. with its half million
population, has contributed nearly as much
money TO the Golfers of the clubs as any
OlUeT city IN tnS League. anu IL Is ABSURD
to say that it is a dead city.
AS an example of what Baltimore has
done for the big League We will state that
during the existence of the present CT
ganization Baltimore has paid the Wash
| ington Club, on an average, a fraction over
$500 a game. These figures are official.
But say the smart ones, Baltimore had
one of the greatest ball teams the country
ever saw" While that is true, ii is :.lso
tr1Ta that for no hn
pie became surfeited with having pennaut
winner. and thousands of fans stayed away
from the games because they became tired
witnessing so many unequal contests. A
perpetual pennant winner viii destroy in
terest in any city. With a hustling new
team of ball players at Baltimore next
| season new and enthusiastic interest will
be inspired that will bring back all the
/ fans and rooterS that have made the game
| memorable in that city.
Instead of being anxious to sell out the
| Louisville Club Barney Dryfus is quietly
! buying up all the stock of the club that is
| lying around loose. His last purchase
was the stock of eX-Presdent Drexler, in
which he invested about 81, 200. When il
comes down to business, Barney can gen.
orally take care of himself.
If the baseball writer's want real live
|
| should call their attention to balls" the
manufacture of which has been monopo-
| ly long enough. Break the combine, gen.
| tlemen, and enable baseball magnates to
buy as good or better balls at reasonable
price.
The baseball editors who have been
| roasting Mr.. Brush on account of the tenn
| perance clause in his players contracts
will doubtless be surprised to learn thai
the innovation is meeting with popular ia.
vor by both the players and the public.
In the opinion of self-assumed national
baseball critic, everything that John T
Brush does is villainously wrong, while
everything Colonel Rogers does is super.
latively right. This is tough on Mr.. Brush
and doubtless pleasing to Colonel Rogers
but from every standpoint Mr. Brush oc.
cupies the more satisfactory position.
Brother Phelan writes breezy and com.
forting epistle with reference to the Dab.
len-De Mont deal. II. his logic could be
re-enforced by facts, which a careful anal.
ysis of the question will fail to disclose
there would be something really exhiIar-
| ating in his cOnelusionS