The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-05-26
Right Off the Bat.

~ ClkhN loN HAS never Depn repre-
y scented in any league in which
there We're such a large number
of hsrd-hitting battery players as
this present Atlantic league. The old
idea, however that q catcher or
pitcher, particularly the latter, is nec-
essarily weak batter is being done
away With, and the twirlers and back
stops rre lining 'em out with a ferocity
almost appalling. Scranton leads in
hard-litting pitchers. Kervin, Mill.
gan and Jameson are three of the
hardest hitters on the team, and Ker-
vim in particular seems the batting
find OF the Atlantic league Kennedy
isn't H. Slouch with the stick either,
but can also bat a few. The Wilkes
Barre twrlers, particularly Magic and
the mum with the vegetable cognomen,
Mr.. CIuliflower, are also fair stickers.
Even burdened with that name. Coll
last ytnr hit .311 in the National lea
que and up to date in the Atlantic in
eleven games, banged out 400. His
swattinE powers have led to his being
played regularly in right field. Magic
only played in four or five games, but
hit it up for 1875 in them. The Athle-
tics hn.ve in Conn, Whiting and Dug
glety three men who can bat like Il
trio oI fiends. and on the Jersey City
team Josh Keener biffs the, leather
vigorously. For Newark Mr.. Viau is
considerable at the bat, and of the
Allentown twirlers Stimmel the elon-
gated nine inch complacent grin
wearing man, can occasionally imprint
his mark on the ball by vciously
banging it out. Eason is Elmira's
best alI-around twirler. and is a fair
l@ate A.,
of the very best batters in the league
are found among them. Messitt, of
WilkeJ-Barre, is a dangerous batsman
to any pitcher, Coogan and Fox, OF
Reading, are both hard hitters, Jack
litsch. of the Athletics is one of the
best hltters on that team of hard-hit-
ting youngsters, and at Jersey City
Byers, who last year played with
Paterson, has gotten in two or three
hits in almost every game he played
this season. And most of them were
good long drives at that. McManus,
or Allentown, is a good hitter, and
AccorsTni, Elmira's italian catcher, is
one of the best hitters on the Elmira
team. Millerick, of Scranton, is also
fair batsman.
Pat O'Brien, Scrantons second base
man, holds one kind of a record-he
has been put out of seven games by
the rcpire.-Allentown Chronicle and
News. Poor Pirate! His record of
four benchings is a rather somber-
hued one, but it is not as black as the
Allentown paper makes him. And not
only that, but they must change his
Christian name of John j. to Patrick
The same paper makes the following
commants regarding the Scranton
team In Kervin Scranton has a
pitcher who has speed, endurance and
judgment We will be greatly mis-
taken # he Will not turn out one Of
the bent twirlers in the league. "Old
Hoss" Scheffler made one of the finest
catches of the day in right field. He
fell with the ball but held on to the
sphere.
The work of Virgil Garvin, the tall,
slim young pitcher who, when he play
ed last year with Reading, was the
terror of every Atlantic league bats
man, has been exciting universal
comment this year. He is now in the
box for Chicago and is pitching splen-
did ball. 1t is doubtful if any pitcher
ever received so much favorable criti-
Cism fer a lost game as did this same
Garvin for the game he pitched Mon
day against Philadelphia, which he
lost by one run. He made himself
solid with the Chicago fans byS maxi
ing the mighty Ed Delehanty fan out
three times. Since Deehanty made
his great record of four home runs
and a single OFF Adonis Terry at Chi
cago, the Windy City fans have re-
garded the big Quaker as something
a bit unearthly, and when he steps to
the bat they anticipate a punk against
the fence or at least a crashing single
And so when the lean GarVin caused
Del to almost break his bat polling at
his deceptive little curves and shoots
he certainly scored a big hit. The
Chicago News remarks about him:
THE consensus of opinion seems tC
be that in GarVin Chicago has a
pitcher of the Rusie and Cy Young
type for speed and all the marvellous
control and twists of a McGinnity, a
Callahan, a. McJames combined. He
is the only man that 1 ever saw out
side of this Niger Wilson, who can
shift from the overland to the under
hand or side throw and retain con-
troll is the remark of one old oily
league player. 1T is wonderful and
! think Chicago has as good a man
as ever spiked the grass in that tall
slim fellow. He needs some hitting
behind him. though, when he can hold
the Phill.es down two runs and lose -
Manning, of Kansas City, must fee
pretty sore at having let Johnnie
Burns go. He released the Avoca lad
early this season without giving him
a chance, declaring that he wasn't
good enough batter for the American
league. Billy Clymer, who played side
nv side with Rurns all last eaaoon
made an eager grab for him, and
Burns so far this season at Wilkes.
Barre has batted over 800. True, the
Atlantic league is not the American
league. but nevertheless theres are
some pretty foxy propositions in the
pitching department, and Burns would
probably have batted considerably
sw 800 at Kansas City. Burns was