The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-21
Basket Ball.
REVIEW OF
SPORTING EVENTS.


THE baseball season started of with
a hurrsh and flourish that sur
= prised even the most enthusiastic |
fan. The crowds were All THAT could |
ossib1v be expected. which only goes |
40 snow that the sport IS at the height |
Of popularity in this city. All that re-
mains TO keep ulD he interest so thor
oupbIVy manifested is to give the pubhc
q ZOO article OF ball. The future OF /
the snort is now in the hands OF the |
rlavers and with them alone rests the
5esftny OF the game in this city. A
GOOD. clean article of ball VIII COZ
ti,yne 70 draw the pgtblic, ana ~ IS 70
hs f.oped that the lesson learned Dy the
Players last year Will prove lIiseL oosise
and the season may close aas SUCCESS
fully as IL opened -,
The Salt Lake team seems 10 De the
strongest in the league and STANDS me
best chance to win the pennant. A.
cording 10 the showing made IN the
opening games. they are rs good an ag-
gregation of ball players as were ever
5 zen ia this city.
lOf. course, Ilisley's men have had an
edvantage over all the otner ems 20 IS, -
account of the two weeks good prac-
L &c before the season opened Dul
nevertheless each man seems TO NJ MS
Race and there is not a weak SPOT on
he team The other clubs are sun on
he hunt for good players, and a mum
Der OF new faces VIII be seen before
the season is many days older. Inc
announcement the past week lhdl d
purse of $3.50 had been omered 20 the
winning team IS Sn additional lncen-
i've to the players 10 put up good baii,
which, together with the pennant, VIII
make trophies worth striving for.
@ g
So much lault has been found with
in ms
by the National league that IL VIII not
l,s AT all surprising il the magnates are
compelled TO cut out the opnoNlouS
points. The American league, Inc
eastern league and neatly all of the
leading college teams rave refused 10
accept the changes and Will play undSr
the rules that prevailed last year. Inc
two clauses that have caused no end
of ttnfavOrable criticism axe those re-
latinjg to foul balls and batsmeli hit BY
prtcised balls. Rule A has been amend
I'd as follows:
.. 9fstrike is a foul nit ball not caught
on the ny, unless two strikes have al
ready been called.
In other words a ba5sman can come
to the plate. hit the first Two balls
pitched into foul ground, for which Two
strikes are called on him, and can then
have the ghird pitched ball = lied a
strike by the umpire il II cuts tie plate
Another batsman can hit a ball over
fhf. left or right field fence, When the
ball leaves the bat it looks as II II
would go over the fence inside OF the
soul line and therefore be a homie run
INT the wind blows il outside OF the
foul line by q foot or SO. and the UNI
pire is compelled TO call a strike. Inc
rule was originally intended to prevent
such players as Jennings. Thomas,
Hamilton and others from andulging n
the practice Of "fOdling off the good
ones" which has served 20 delay many
games. But as It turns out the rule
will handicap the majority ot>batsmen.
The rule iaSt year called Dunted
fouls and tho foul tip strikes, which
was "A handicap in itself; but the
change now in vogue mas been found
to be so much OF ar OBSTACLE to sue
sessful batting as 10 be generally Ia
By p.scher" has also betsn severely de-
uounced-
In the same manner as the foul-baIl
rule, it serves to weaken the batting
Pitchers are bound to take acvantagt
OF the fact that a batsman hit cannot
take his base and deliberate intimida-
ton may be a common occurrence IN
cidentally the National league rule
makers have forsotten to take out the
old rule whereby a batsman hit BY :
pitched ball was not charged in Tx
score with a time a. bat.
As the rules read now the batsmaT
must have a time at. bat'' deducted
whenever he is hit by a pitched bail
THIS Iaughable condition OF affairs Z
wal illustrated by the assertion that {
batsrgan hit by a pitched bah and theT
receives q base on balls can have TIVE
times at bat" taken off his record
or he can be hit by a. pitched BAH ans
then make a base hit without having
time at bat" Bungiing of this kim
by the rule makers rs inexcusabie
Ba3eball players all over the countr.
are rfdicuiing the changes and there i
r. ,,-ice-snr.ad demand for their i'm
mediate withdrawal. AS an excuse 70
instituting such radical reforms tn
ragnates sly that they We're trying Z
make the game faster IN response {
the outcr.f againzt the long-drawn -ou
contests OF lasr season. There IS iittf
logic in such statement for the reasoi
that the American league made all o
its games quicker ioy an average o
thirty minutes. though they We're gov
erned by National league rules. Tn
solution of 4his problem was ginlps
the fact that President Johnson's Usn
rires were allowed to enforce the rufe
against rcwdyfsIn. The America
league players were not permitted I
waste any time IN wrangling. xickin
was reduced to a Surprising minimum
IN the National league, on the othe
hand, hOodlumisn prevailed as Tlsua
and the games .draEged because Of i
Tt IS significant that svhlIe the Ma
tiOnal league maSn1tss have been t-y
ing TO hurry the games by the enact
nnenr Of senseless rules, they have stu
csously avoided any reference t. thei
policy regarding diScrderly conduct o
the diamond s5ith the case before tn
public it would seem 20 be up to tn
National league to rectify these cllriou
errors Of judgment.
a movement was made ky the locs
Wheeimeai the past week that bids IA