Evening star., 1902-02-19
Remnants. but he got the worst of 1t from

Remnants but he got the worst OF 1t from
the Ouakerss and the Mound City Minions
Barry Mccormick, the old third baseman
Of the Orphans, signed a st. Louis contract
yesterday, and will be the regular third
baseman of McAleer's strong team. The
signing Of Mccormick means that st. Louis
will use Friel as a reserve man. The latter
can play either the in or outfield. and Is one
of the most promising young players In the
American League.
A noticeable feature was the work Of the
colt pitchers in the National League last
season. There were twelve youngsters who
tWirled fifteen or more contests for the hrst
time in their National League careers and
seven Of this class-Townsend, Duggleby,
White E. Murphy, Harper. w Donovan
and Mathewson-won half or more of their
games. OF the other seven all but Phyle
are sure of re-engagements in fast COM
pany next season.
Pete Husting, probably the fastest base ball
pitcher that Wisconsin has ever produced,
has signed to play with the ST. Louis
American League Club for the coming sea-
son for $1,000, despite his oft-repeated
statement that he left the diamond for
good. Last season he asserted would be
his last, and he formed law partnership
with his brother at Fon du Lac.
The Boston National League manage
ment is after Roger Bresnahan of the
Orioles. He is known to be under contract
to play with Baltimore. Roger, who is In
the employ of a Toledo detective agency
was asked by wire by the Boston people
to name his terms at once. He says he has
no desire to leave Baltimore. and thinks
there is no leader like McGraw. He de-
cided that he would send back figures SO
high that the Boston people would not
even consider them, he wired that he
would take $1,000 for the season. The re-
ply resulted in Bresnahan receiving a let
ter that the offer was satisfactory. Roger
considered the matter again. and decided
that he would prefer to remain in Balti-
more. and SO wired the Boston manage
ment A little later on he received another
letter asking him how much more he wants
for the season, and to name the price that
will take him to Boston. He has decided
to stick to Baltimore and SO notified dhe
Boston manager.
It is a well established fact in base ball
that the main strength of club lies In its
pitching department. Never mind how Inn
pregnable an infield may be. or how fleet
and otherwise proficient an outf1eld there is
to depend upon, victory will never be won
in face of an avalanche Of base hits or fire.
uuent free gifts to first, due to ina ability
of a twirler to find the plate. However. it
is often the case that good pitcher wins
his own game as the saying is in spite OF
very ordinary talent behind him.
Willie Keeler Is a credit to his profession.
He knows he is a star, but is not afraid
to give due praise to others. L figure it
out that the old Baltimore bunch was the
fastest team that ever played ball, and
Hanion was mainly the cause of it's success.
He was out on the field for two hours every
morning, working with us, and cooking up
ne" trlckS all the time. some OF might
miss morning or two. Hanlon never did
He used to lie awake nights thinking of
new tricks to spring on the other fellows
Most OF them were perfected in the morn
ingS.'
When Bill Joyce was manager of the
New York club he made several attempts
to buy Jack OConnor. II needed a catcher
and some one to help me get good work out
would have filled the bill better than any
man in the business. A manager who is
playing the infield or outfield can do little
with his batteries beyond giving advice He
can't sign for the kind of balls that should
be pitched. and about all he can do is to yell
encouragement to the pitcher. With OCon-
nor behind the bat, there is no trouble for
the manager or any one else, If the pitcher
will follow the instructions that are wig
wagged to him. Freedman was willing to
pay good money for him, but the Robisons
would not hear of it. 1 put in whole win
ter trying to con Pat Tebeau into consent
ing to the deal and / was just as far from
it in the spring as l was when 1 began
Sporting News.
The selection of an official ball was left
by the National Association to Individual
leagues. This opens the door to competi-
tion and every brand of bail will have to
depend upon merit for it's success Price
should be the last consideration in the
adoption of a ball. 1t is admitted that the
brands which have been used by national
agreement clubs for years have given sat
isfaction to professional players and the
exponents of the game will not be satisfied
with an inferior article. The magnates
may make contracts for balls at prices that
will cut down this item Of expense one-half
or more, but IL the standard is not high,
the men who play the game will make com
plants that will reach the press and pub
lie. Some manufacturers. who are resort
ing to fraudulent claims to get their pro-
duct on the market. will find out their mis-
take In time. 1t does not follow that be-
cause ball bears the name of a prominent
hof ia To fha
In workmanship or material. The true test
is in game and until this has been made,
club owners should exercise great caution
In making contracts with manufa cturers,
who lay more stress on what their goods
will be than what they have been.-Sporting
News.