The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-27
SEVERAL NEW FACES
WILL Be SEEN ON TEAM
Watkins viii Come to Indianapo-
lis to Make Trades for
Players.
COX MAY JOIN MILLERS
He Was Asked to Report for Con
ference with Phillips and
Watkins.


indianapolis team next season and few
of the men who have worn the Hoosier uni
form in the past may be traded in the near
future. Following the meeting of the Amer
lean Association in Chicago tomorrow
Charles Ruschaupt, president of the local
club. and w. H. Watkins, president of the
Minneapolis club, will come to Indianapolis
and On Tuesday afternoon will meet Will
liam Phillips. who is to manage the Indian
apolis team next season. conference will
be held in the Indianapolis clubs office
and the list Of players under reservation
and signed by the Indianapolis club will
be carefully considered. Watkins desires
to make a few trades or purchase few or
the players. President Ruschaupt admits
that he will dispose of some of his players
to his former partner, but will not state
the names OF the men he may decide TO
turn over to Minneapolis.
William Fox, captain of the Indianapolis
team last season. may be one of the Hoos,
lers TO go to Minneapolis. Ruschaupt Will
not admit this, neither will Fox, but 1t Is
known that the second baseman is greatly
desired by Watty Fox called upon
ted about the weather, baseball in general
and other athletics, but not a word was
said about Fox going to Minneapolis AS
Fox left the office Ruschaupt said:
billy, want you TO come to the ONCE
about next Tuesday. You know Watty and
Phillips will be here then and we want to
This is taken to mean that Foxs consent
is needed before a trade can be made be-
tween indianapolis and Minneapolis for his
services. Ruschaupt would not admit that
Fox might be traded to Minneapolis, but
said that the Indianapolis team would not
| be weakened and that second base would
| be taken care of by a good man.
+ I
Joe Cantillon, manager of the Milwaukee
| team, has been doing lot of dreaming of
late. He claims Schaefer for shortstop
and Stimmel as one of his pitchers.
| Schaefer traded to indianapolis some
| time ago by St Paul for Pete O'Brien and
| Stimmel is still on the Minneapolis list.
Canullon could figure a very strong team
| on paper by claiming players who are
| under reserve by other clubs.
| This office is about the gloomiest place
in the world this winter declared Presi-
dent Charles Ruschaupt, of the Indianapo-
lis club, as he sat looking out of a second
story window at the Majestic building one
day last week. when Watty was here
| We could sit and pipe by the hour and
| the winter days never seemed dreary.
| We won the pennant a thousand times for
| indianapolis and many times saw visions
! OF the crowds being so large that we could
| not accommodate them at Washington
| Park. Those were happy days. Now Wat
| ty will be in Minneapolis and l suppose he
will have to do his own piping the same
| as l do now"
| Joe Cantillon, who is now the manager
| OF the Milwaukee American Association
| team, but who has been an umpire in both
! the American and National leagues, and
| was considered one of the most successful
that ever handled the indicator. is out
| spoken in his advocacy of the foul-strike
| rule.
1T would be a long step backward for
| the rules committee to turn down the
| rule now he has been quoted as saying.
There are all kinds of arguments in favor
| of the rule, and none of those advanced by
| the opponents is at all strong, it seems to
| me. Certainly every minor league owner
] or manager should be for it, it helps
| them run their teams at a reduced expense.
| 1t helps the pitchers and makes good box
! artist of man who would only be
ordinary twirler under the old rule. 1t
| does away with all the wrangling with the
umpire and makes the games clean and
] gentlemanly.
Under the old rule such men as Billy
| Keller, Fielder Jones, John McGraw and
! forty others that could be named could
| foul off any good ball that was over the
| plate and then walk. There is nothing to
| the argument that the rule hurts the bat
| ting average. Lajoie won the honors in the
| American League last summer, just as he
| did the year before, but it was not quite as
| high an average; but then he mad been sick
| a long time in the spring and that could
| have caused the slump well anything
| else. 1t did not hurt Delehanty'S batting
and II does not nurt the batting or any
/ free hitter. A batter makes his averages
| off the hits that he makes and not off the
! fouls that are made. The foul-strke rule
| was a necessity, and a decided improve
ment in the game, and L hope it has come
| to stay"
| The official averages of the Western
League. which have been made public, will
prove interesting to the baseball enthusi-
asts because a number of the players of
that league have been drafted for a trial
in the major leagues. The Phillies, espe-
cially, have secured number of players
| from the Western League. Many of the
old-time league players, including Bill Ev-
/ erett, Stewart Thornton, Dolan Genins
| Sheibeck, Shugart and Lattimer finished
below the following list of go batsmen:
| Player and Club G.. ABB. H. SH SB Pc
Hayes, Denver ..:..:....... l6 "a 81 .41s