Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-05-05
AMERICAN LEAGUE STRONGEST.
Expert Opinion on the Two Big Base
Ball Organizations.


From the New York Sun.
The following is expert opinion on the
comparative strength OF the National anu
American leagues and Is given Tor what IL
is worth. 1t comes from one or the pest
ball players in the country, who was with
the National League year before last anu
the American League last year, out VINO
now is not playing in either league and lis
in a position to express a dlspasslona'e
o0inion:
THE American League is the strongest
base ball organization in point OF players
that ever existed. It's harder to win games
in the American League than IN the Ma
tional League There isn't team ahons
the eight but what you feel when you go
against it that you have got to play your
hardest to win. 1 have played against all
but one of them, and that one played on,
and 1 know how strong they all are. In
the National League, when such team
as Pittsburg comes along the chances are
in favor of that team winning, but such
chances do not exist in the American. 1t
Is harder to bat out games In the American
League on account of the strong array or
pitchers, and the pitchers are racing q
harder lot of batsmen at that than are TO
be found In the National.
Just take look over the pitching talent
in the American. There isn't team In the
bunch that has not got at least two first
class boxmen, and some of them have
three. There's New York with Chesbro,
Tannehill and Griffith. not to mention How
ell; Boston, with Young and D1neen; Phlla-
deiphia, with Waddell and Plank; st. Louis
has Powell and Donahue on its staff; Null
len, Donovan and Kitson are pitching for
Detroit; Cleveland has three corkers In
Bernhard, Joss and Moore. and in Chicago
are Callahan and Patterson. I don't re-
member any league that had as many good
pitchers and where the teams were so well
matched"
Nevertheless there are several teams In
the National League which just now are
one Of them, and as the New York Amer1-
cans also are playing a fast game, New
Workers are enjoying double dose OF good
home work 1t remains to be seen which
team will maintain the clip the longer. and
while, according to the opinion quoted
above the New York Americans have the
harder opposition to buck against. they
have the strength with which to do it.
the home-run honors Of the league. In fact,
the long-distance hitting of the team has
been a vast Improvement over that of all
recent predecessors. The team so far has
made seven home runs, five three-baggers
and twenty-four two-baggers-a total of
ninety-one bases on long hits. Mertes Is
the crack distance hitter of the team. He
has made two home runs, two triples and
five doubles. Bresnahan has made two
home runs, one triple and three two-bag-
gers. Brownies record to date Is two home
runs and three doubles. Mathewson is the
other home-run hitter of the team.
The New York Americans also have done
well In long hits. They began later than
the Nationals. but have so far hit for sew
enty-two bases from long hits. They have
made ten three-baggers and twenty-one
two-baggers. No home runs are to their
credit as yet, but there would have been
several were the new grounds here extend
ed to the distance they will be by the time
the Americans return from their next trip.
Williams and Keller are the best distance
hitters, the former with two triples and five
doubles. and the latter with three triples
and three double. Conroy has made q
triple-ba gger and five doubles.
President Johnson was present at the
American League game here last Friday,
in which the players forgot themselves and
kicked and wrangled at the umpire in a
manner that would have put the members
OF vacant-lot league to the blush. He also
was present the next day. on which there
was an immense improvement and decorum
reigned. The change was so marked as to
lead to the belief that the president might
have given those responsible for the kicking
the strong rebuke they deserved. Base ball
can be entirely sportsmanlke and yet lively
and snappy No greater fallacy exists than
that umpires by being firm with the growl-
ers take life out of the game. Also on last
Friday, two Brooklyn players were put out
of the game by the umpire. and on Satur-
day two American Leaguers, who bounced
in st. Louis so that neither league has
any occasion to look for beams in the
others eye.
With Presidents Johnson and Pulliam both
determined to have base ball free from the
kicking talent, the thing is quite easy If
they have the cooperation of the owners
and managers, provided those owners and
managers are of the right sort II they
have the desire and sufficient grasp of the
finer side of things. to appreciate that one
of the fundamentals of sport is to abide
by the presiding officials rulings without
question, they can make the players live
strictly up to the rules. There appear to
be managers and owners whose conception
of sport is too blunt for them to grasp the
idea of sportsmanlike ball. And it may be
mentioned that there have been instances
| of umpiring this season wherein the UNI.
| pire was in part to blame for not nippine
the kicking evil in the bud Give the
ell. 49,