Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-10-15
National Leagues Closest Contest on
Record.
WAGNER LEADS TEE HEAVY HITTERS
Mccain the Best First Baseman
and F reeman Bats .305.
GENERAL SPORTING NEWS

From an artistic standpoint by which the
base ball season of 1900, which closed yes
terday, Is to be compared with other sea-
sons purely as to the scientific development
of the game, there Is none displaying a
standard of skill so high as that which has
just been concluded.
The percentage Of the Brooklyn club,
which has again won the championship. Is
.6O3. In the history of the National League
the winning team never before has had so
low a percentage, and the decrease in per-
centage of winnings shows the intensity
of the struggle.
So far as equalizing the playing strength
Of the teams. and making base ball more
entertaining by increasing the possibility
of uncertainty, the National League Is
nearer the standard of perfection which 1t
has sought than at any time in its history.
An ideal league would be one in which the
various mines would stand upon an equal
footing in all that pertained to the sport
and players. and the only doubtful quantity
would be the element of chance, which is
wooed with much fervor in base ball
as it is in others of our familiar sports.
AS whole the players have shown more
Improvement in batting and base running
this year than before. Men who were I'M
able to bunt have been forced to acquire
the art by the imperative necessity of re-
tanning their positions.
On the face of the figures it would appear
that there had been a marked falling off in
base running. This is not true. The devel-
opment of the hit and run game and the
adoption of more sensible scoring rules by
the National League officials have put base
running on it's proper basis. A record of
stolen bases made by any player this year
may be considered the best evidence of his
ability as a runner that has been adduced
since the beginning of professional base
ball.
Taken as whole. the pitchers Of 1900
may be said to have surpassed those Of any
year of the leagues history. There have
been years when the pitchers of some one
or two clubs were far superior to any of
their contemporaries. This season there
was no team that did not have one man
who could be classed as excellent, and at
least two who were good
McGlnnlty of Brooklyn easily leads the
League In the matter of games won but it
is impossible to class any one man as hav-
Ing undisputed right to second place Half
score deserve to be included in that
grouping.
While the National League has been such
splendid success this year from the ar
tlstic standpoint. it has been a bed OF hy-
pocrtsy In its dealings with the public as
field.
1T Is serious reflection upon owners and
players that. in the very face of the splen-
did race that has been made for the cnam-
plonsh1p pennant, they could not command
the attention from the public that was
once theirs, because they outraged decancv
by the rOwdyiSm on the field
NO owner or National League team
care say that 1t Is not within his power tn
controi MS players 1t Is written In black
anu "hlte upon the league rules and upon
the league minutes that good order must
be preserved.