Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1899-09-09
BY GEORGE E. STACKHOUSE.


any secure control OF the club. Spalding
is supposed to be a Chicago man, but
most of his financial interests are now
centered in the east, and he has become a
New Yorker to all intents and purposes.
The release of mike" Herman by that
club recalls to mind that mike" is about
the last spark of romance left in the or
ganization. He was the last OF the IA
nous old pennant winners Of 1889, and
there Is a lot of good work left in him
yet. Herman, like Rusie, Seymour, Nee
kin and others who might be mentioned.
did not really have his heart in his work,
and he will do better somewhere else. In
condition he is one OF the greatest snap
hitters that ever lived. Herman would
seldom swing at a pitched ball, and he
and Ward did as much to improve the
science of batting as any two men who
ever played the game. Never robust
physically. still Herman was one of the
hardest hitters In the country. In team
properly managed there are years Of use
fulness yet before the man called "Silent
Mike" Buck Ewing, the captain of the
old champions, is still in harness, but
not as a player. Herman was signed by
New York as n pitcher, but in his early
work II was shown that pitching inter
fered with his hitting, and he was placed
In the outield. He was one of the most
graceful runners in the profession, re-
minding one of Sunday. the evangelist,
who was star on the Chicago team
many years ago.
One Of the club owners in discussing
the baseball situation the other day made
rather significant remark. He said:
Pay no attention to that war talk In the
west, for there Is nothing in ii. An effort
will be made this fall to reduce the
league circuit to eight clubs, and this will
mean at the same time reorganization Of
the old American association. Still. il Is
not certain whether the circuit can be re-
duced or not before that agreement ex-
pires. There is one consolation, anyway.
II nothing can be done until the fall Of
1901, then something will happen to some
people. Then the club owners will at
least be able to select their business part
ners, and we will start all over again.
Nothing was said about New York and
Philadelphia, but heap was implied"
Mike Griffin ought to prove to be
positive acquisition to the Chicago club.
Griffin ia a genuine ball player in all de-
partmcnts of the game, and he is n gen
tleman off and on the field as well. Chi
cngo needed just such a man to play In
the outheld and to captain the team.
Griffin has certain brewery interests and
his lay off this season has not frightened
him Il particle Griffin makes fewer -four
ishes in catching bali than any other
player since the time of Tommy" Ester
brook. Esterbrook set his hands when
the ball left the bat, and 1t was seldom
that he ever changed the position unless
II required sudden jump or stoOp
Those who have watched the game
closely this season In both the major and
minor leagues cannot help but feel that
In many cases the batting record of play
ers is not worth the paper II takes to
write them on. The honor of having the
champion batsman of the year Is some
times too much for the fairness of some
Official scorers. and in consequence GER
tain players are never known to make
anything except base hits when they go
to the bat. In the smaller leagues the
temptation to bolster up the batting OF
! certain players in order to get a good
market for the man Is too well known to
require further comment. Remedies have
J been suggested, but none of them has
been feasible, and consequently false
records will continue to materialize 81
long ms local pride exists and good casl
is to be had for promising young bal
players.
The fact that Frank Seele, the hus
! Ting manager of the Boston club, has
been In the west foraging for ball players
| need not mean that he is dissatisfied
with any of the present champions II
simply means that Seele Is looking ahead
ms the careful manager should at this
time OF the year. ......- .......
The accompanying cut shows charac
tcristic pose of a pitcher who has played
! an important part in the League Dennani