Daily inter mountain., 1900-05-05

mark as a starter for the season of 1900.
One of the advantages of the eight
club league this season is that there will
be no poor attractions during the season.
Every club that comes here is composed
of high class players, and there are no
Louisville, Washington or Cleveland tail
enders to cause people to stay away and
wait for a good club to come. Every
game this year ought to be worth wit
nessing.-Enquirer.
LOTUS was seated with John T. Brush
and a messenger boy brought him tel
egram addressed to President Hart.
LOTUS opened it and found it expressed
the sincere wish of Frank Robson Of st.
Louis that the Chicago club would have
happy and successful season and win
the opening game. Pretty soon another
messenger boy came up and handed
Brush telegram. Brush smiled and
handed it over to Lotus. 1t was exact
ly the same as the one sent to Hart,
with the exception that 1t hoped that the
Cincinnati club would win. Brush hand
ed the telegram over to LOTUS. Tom
read it, looked astonished, and then
handed the Hart telegram to Brush.
Tableau!-Chicago Journal.
Left handed batsmen are better batters
than their right handed brethren, says
the Enquirer. They have increased in
number generally during the past few
years, and as the National league now
stands nearly so per cent of the men do
their stick work from their left side. The
many advantages accruing through this
style of striking at the ball have induced
the younger element to practice it.
The first statement has it's basis in
the National league records of last year.
Nearly all the left handed strikers can
be found high up in the batting average
list. The figures show the marked supe-
u nf ic Cfx- 10 f1,n 9TH
Twelve of the IS best hitters in the
big league last season We're off side bat
ters And again, among the 60 men who
averaged within the 800 mark 35 did
their welting from the right hand side
of the plate. or in other words, left hand
edly. A large percentage of the 35 were
nearer the top than the other end of the
list
In all the baseball community, anna
teurs and Others the ratio that the left
handed hitters bear to the right handed
swatters is about one in every 10. The
showing made in the profession circles
is greater, however. Four of every 10
bat left handed.
Professional players and managers
have learned that the style not only ben
fits batter individually, but is also Of
great help in the direction of team. EX-
perts opine that nothing tends to demor-
aiize an opposing team more than to have
bunts or slow bounders beaten out. A
leIt nandeQ Datter, DelnS ABOUT fVe feet
nearer first base, gets better start and,
| having less ground to cover. stands a
better chance of beating bunt hit.
Billy Keeler of the Brooklyn team, for
| instance, bats left handed and gets to
| first on scratch hits at times when a
| right handed man would have no show.
The statement has been made that a
south paw pitcher with good bend to
| his offering can fool the best left handed
batters in the league. Bill Joyce says
| this is SO because good south paws are
seldom met. Therefore, when one does
stack up against a good left handed bat
| ter he has the man at his mercy simply
| because the batter has not had sufficien,
pract ctice in solving left handed riddles.
OF the 10 best pitchers (according tc
the average) in the league asst year only
three are left handed-Hahn, Doheny
and Seymour. The others at times lack
control, and rise bodily from terra firma
In the field especially the nfield, right
handed throwers are almost always bet.
ter For some reason a sharp, quick lef,
handed throw has a bend to it which
between bases, hampers quick work. O.
course, there are many good fielders wht
throw from their left side. but. as a gen
eral rule, the right handler is the surer.