Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-26
BASEBALL GOSSIP.

"There is nothing so d~iscouraging to a
BALL team as a long losing streak re-
marked Joe Kelley the other day. When
ever a team falls in a losing rut every
thing breaks wrong, n it seems almost
impossible to win a game, no matter
what the conditions may be. Brooklyn
had a losing streak last year that took
a long while to recover from. We lost II
out of II games ON one trip.
The poor policy of appointing a staff
of umpires who cannot umpire in all the
league cities was illustrated in st. Louis
Friday. Hurst, who cannot umpire in
New York, owing to the objections of
President Freedman, showed his feelings
against the New York management FRI
day by putting one of their players out
of the game and rubbing it into the New
Yorks good and strong. The appoint
ment of umpires by a vote of the mag
mates is on a par of the appointment of
a judge at the race track by a vote OF
horse owners.-Enquirer.
With the season only a month old. the
Reds have six postponed games on their
list, as follows: One at home with Chi
cage, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, and
one at Chicago and two at st. Louis.
With a little alteration in the schedule
dates to fill them all can be obtained,
and, as the team may be putting up bet
ter ball later on. these six games give
them a decided hunch in their standing
for the season Of 1900.
There is no use trying to find a batter
who is superior to that man Lajoie. His
position at the plate is the ~personifca-
tion of grace, and in addition to that,
how he can meet the ball. He must have
an eye that is perfect. At least 30 per
.ao,nf nf 1ic hits a ma Y1aHa NV driving ina
ball squarely or the trade mark. 1t is
seldom that he hits over it or under it.
1t seems as if other batters would take
pattern by the Philadelphia man and try
to follow his style. On the contrary;
many Of them will cling to their old
habit of crouching at the plate, when 1t
is almost certain that if they hit the ball
they will only push it into the air. Two
thirds of the batters who cannot under
stand why it is that they are always
pushing up little fly hits do not seem to
comprehend the fact that their position
al bat has as much as anything else to
do with it.-Enquirer.
Baseball writers contend that the only
rule now that needs amendment is the
one giving a man his base when hit by
a pitched ball. 1t is asserted that Jen-
nings, McGann and others Will always
try to get hit when a run is wanted by
their side. and that umpires should at
least De allONeQ " use lHelI JuuSIlCHI
in giving a man out for Intentionally
placing himself In front of a pitched
ball. Rule As covers such cases and the
umpires should enforce it. 1t provides
that a batsnan becomes a base runner.
among other cases:
Section |. If while he be a batsman,
without making any attempt to strike at
the ball, his person or clothing be hit by
q ball from the pitcher unless. in the
opinion of the umpire. he plainly avoids
-. zEc-~% -. -at ~,,f n E tho wa "
of the ball from the pitcher and thereby
permits himself to be so hit.
Another baseball landmark Of the early
sos is removed in the death of poor Billy
Taylor. a fellow of infinite jest, large
of heart and expansive of pulse. Billy
was one of We palnmy-day stripe. with a
FUND of wit and budget of twice-told
tales of a Boccaccio flavor. Whenever
Billy found himself in the damp COM
pany of kindred souls he would spring a
story in lieu of a drink when it came up
to him to buy. This happened in Big
Lou Siler's bar in Jacksonville, Fla. the
day of the Corbett-Mitchell fight at
Jacksonville. Steve Brodie being of the
party, and also being strictly next to
Billy. limited that some one in the SYM
postum was in the ruck. Yes. it's me:
I didn't see the flag drop. But amt ]
making it an even break by supplying
the entertainment for the party sale
Billy. Finally a Dempsey slipped
Billy a coin with a hin to buy. The
and Siler and his assisting chemist
writhed around to the verge of a~oplexy
And you amt going to pay for 1t, are
you, Billy gurgled Big Lou: Yes ane
here's the cash" "Then you're the mos
deceiving cuss I ever met" roared Siler
Taylor while at his best as a pitcher
possessed great speed but never was &C.
cused of carrying more gray matter thai