The evening times., 1901-06-05
VACANT LOT CHAMPIONS.
The Future Greats ia Action Gem
crate Much Enthusinsm.

crate Much EUthu n iaSIii-
At this time when the Senators are
/ trimming, and. Incidentally. getting trim
med hy the Western teams Of the Ameri-
can League. the vacant lot champions
have the call The star Of juvenile base
haildom is away in the aSCeudency- The
Young TelIowhammers or the Excelsior
I Juniors daily wage fierce battles on the
/ diamond and the future stars Of the ma
tiouaI game are being developed on every
/ piece Of vacant ground not Vet givcr over
/ to tn erection of the business blocks or
/ flats OF rapidly growing Washington
/ Doubtless the fact that Washington =
again represented in professional ball has
/ had a stimulating effect on the number
! of kid teams which are in the baseball
! business this year. No one watches the re
/ suits of games played by the Senators
( mere closely than those most eXuberant
/ Of all fans. the ones between eight and
! eighteen years of age No one is better
! acquainted with the merits and defects Of
( the players on ManninEs team. When
/ the team is at Washington games among
/ the kid" teams fall off in number and
/ young pitchers and catchers haunt the
/ American League Park and vicinity, seek
/ ing good viewpoints on the big bank out
/ 81 lie centre field fence. or stealing
/ glance at the cracks Of the professional
world through knothole in the fence
when the cops" are not too close for
! comfort.
/ But on these occasions the young ball
| tossers do not look much different from
/ any other boys It is when two rival mines,
! representing rival gangs. probably from
/ rival nafghborhoods. get together that the
Z true spirit Of the national game crops out
/ in its intensity The scene Of these games
J is often a lot none too large, perhaps
/ OTeTgrOwn with weeds. Inc paStS are
/ sometimes good sized rocks. A side 10
] second or third sometimes results IN
/ large bump on the head of the ambitious
/ base runner where that end OF ms DodS
/ encounters the SO-Called bag or, perchancer
/ the swift swung ball in 4 baSeman hand
! Windows in adjacent houses sometimes
! seem to be magnets WnIch dTaW Win
/ deadly accuracy foul tips and liners from
/ the bat. The sound of crashing glass, as
the leather sails into paTlor Where
afternoon callers are gosSiping OF taking
gowns often puts an end 10 game, and
/ the diamond is cleared in q Tlce OF the
/ players of both teams. who seek refuge
1 in nearby alleys to avoid the maIedlcuons
/ Of angry janitor or butler
Every nine has its stars The pitcher
position is perhaps the most sought after
Nearly every boy CheriSheS the secret be
| lief that he is a coming MatthewsoH OF
| Carrick- But the other positions have 10
be filled. and the one who displays the
| most proficiency at the delivery end OF
/ the battery Is picked for that position
while the other members Of the gang are
reIeeated TO other positions. those VINO
/ cannot play much going to the outheId-
/ The pitchers generally copy the style Of
I some favorite slab artist. II CarTicH
I wiped his hands in dirt as did Casey
in the lyric made famous by King
! Kelly and De Wolf Hopper. before send
ing a not tWiSter over the southeast cor
uer Of the plate, Jimmie Jones does the
same stunt before he assumes the pose
which, in his opinion. Of necessity precedeS
the delivery Of the spheruid-
Jimmie IS doubtless the essence OF Su-
( perfnity of the team for which ne pitches
He has fabulous records OF opposing bats
men sent to the bench after swinging
/ futiIeIy at his elusive benders and he
was once known to swat the ball out Of
sight when the bases were full IN the
ninth inning, two men out and the score
. a tie, and all other conditions pro-
! pitious for such deed with the stick.
/ Consequently, he thinks every one he
passes up should be a strike and if not
so deCreed by the umpire. that luckleSs
| Individual is more than likely to get
cOntemptuOuS glance Of Scorn-
Few Of these juvenile teams are without
their embryo prototype OF Muggsy Nc
/ CTraw- Kicks, and vigorous ones, too are
therefore not missing There IS no Ban
johnson to issue decree Of suspension,
and this picturesque feature bids fair to
1 be a permanent one in kid baseball
The umpire IS by no means the final arbi-
ter II the decision is too raw for one
team, their eEpUstUlatiOns viii often
! switch from vocal efforts to fistiCUffs. and
I
noble sport usually conducted in the
squared circle
After the game is over. there comes a
I wild desire TO get into print Some one
/ Of the team, the victorious one. viii
Scrawl on a piece of wrapping paper the
! Information that the Young Senator's have
defeated the Southeastern Stars IF the
/ real score does not apparently indicate
! the vast superiority OF the Young Sena-
! tors over their opponents. the writer viii
/ jot down q few extra runs for his team.
]
young players the invaluable news VIII
be conveyed TO one Of the newspaper
Offices
We wants to see the Sportin Edter.'' -
IS the message given the Office boy who
looks enviously at the baseball bats car
ried by the visitors and wishes he did
not have To run copy but could him
self. get out and play If the ''Sportin'
Editer-' is not in, the message is left with
injunctions to put II in the next issue of
the paper There IS an eager rush for
the next mornings paper and hearts are
made glad if the type says the feature
Of the game was the pitching of J. Jones.
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