The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-10-11
z. J. DONOVAN.
JIMMIE BURKE,

DEPAkIMENI fpoi-
Their pitching department and hrst base
have been practically vacant all season
Their team work has been poor and &C
cording To Don0van's own statement ihs
team has been unruly and ml~HdL4Ltu-
With these conditions p~revdillS. u Is ~
tie wonder that the Cardinals Won the
'boCby prize" OF the National League
WORLDS CHAMPIONSHIP
The predictians in The Republic that tho
Bostou-Pittsburg series would in all re-
spects be one Of the greatest champion
ship battles in the history o. the national
game are borne out.
The chances are that It will take the last
game Of the series - determine MhetneF
Boston OF Pittsburg Is entitled 10 the lau-
Tbe loud claim OF the superiority Of the
Pittsburg Pirates over Boston has been
silenced by the gallant work Of Collins i
The claim OF the American Leaguers
that Young and Dineen would knock the
bats out Of the hands Of the PittsburS
stickers has been shattered:
As the two teams near the sitelCh lAt
difficulty of picking which Is the better
team is being demonstrated
With two more pitchers as TehaIls As
l burg would win from Boston. With Nag-
ner and Leach out OF the Plttsburg team
Boston would have q Halk-9NeE, h sIs
fact that the We teams are the m9~'
evenly matched that ever fought for base
ball supremacy remains.
In the Cutheld Pittsburg looks a nlt
stronger. In the infeld P~ittSburE has me
/ call. The Boston pitching department i
superior TO ~PittSburg's. Behind the nat
Phelps has demonstrated that he Is every
bit as aluable as Criger-
As the series now stands either side - a
The work Of Charles Oeacon) PhillippI
for the Pirates entities him - The ever
lasting gratitude Of the P~ittsburG haSe-
ball public. His marvellous lea. OF vim
ming three in a row from Boston STAMPS
him as one Of the greatest pitchers IN the
| country. Nor has his work been OF a
huky order. He wampe the Boston
team the first three times ne me- them,
and may do so again during the coming
week.
Dineen has also performed well for Bos-
ton. Irish BIZ" captured two u ms
/ three games against the National League
I champions. and II Boston captures 'se
title the ~rooters. players and owners OF
Boston should handsomely remeh'FF theiE
brilliant twirler.
BROWNS LOCAL CHAMPIONS.
The Browns, a. expected. have walloped
the Cardinals numerically and are now
entitled to call themselves champions OF
ST. Louis. whatever that may mean
The title is indeed an empty one Time
was when St. Louis sent to the fore base
ball teams that We'd with the world. but
] the conditions have altered 10 such an eX-
tent that St. Louis. as a baseball town,
has become the laughing stock OF the
country.
And the sad feature Of the whole thing
Is that unless McAleer's youngsters make
good and the Robisons strengthen up. st.
Louis will fare little better in the national
game next season.
Already the Robisons rave promised the
local patrons Of the game an improved
I A--ws---H - 49, -. .a-H E.aENm
That the Robisons will fulfill their promise
goes without saying. II money can pro-
cure talent the Cardinals will be a much
improved team in 1905.
From the jump, next seasons Cardinal
players will have TO make good. There
will be no more ''monkeying" at League
Park. The game has been a loser. and
while the Robisons will let the past take
care Of itself, the future will be closely
looked after.
McAleer and Hedges AVE also strength
ened I'D and st. Louis will see improved
baseball at both parks.
COMPARE BEST SLUGGERS.
Napoleon Lajcie and Hans Wagner. two
OF the greatest ball players that the ma
tional game has ever known, nave had a
hard fight for the premier batting hOnors
Of the country.
In the opinion OF experts, both Laioie
and Wagner rank as batters with any OF
the greatest hitters Of the past Both
would undoubtedly have better averages
only Tor two reasons. One is that they
are both impatient while at the bat and
VIII mt al anything That comes within
reach instead OF working pitchers for bases
on balls. Another eaSOn Is that the field
Crs play 50 much deeper for Larry and
Hans than they do for most other bats
men, and that in most every game they
are robbed Of hits on tremendous drives
man in the game.
Both are free hitters and can pick a ball
from on their shoe tops OF from behind
their ears and poke IL out for two bases.
Both are fast in going to first base and
can beat out short slow hits with the
speed OF Willie Keller and George Browne.
In past performances Lajoie has some
what the better OF Wagner. The French
man was the first major Lacquer TO 20
through an entire season with a hating
average OF 400 per cent or more since the
organization OF the American League. He
accomplished this remarkable feat in 1901.
when he led the American League with a
Both men began to attract Intention In
1896. before which they found Il difficult
to make a living at baseball Larry drove
a hack in the winter at WoonsOcket. r. L,
and played semiprofessiOnal bali in the
summer. Wagner was a butcher boy in
C~arneEte. Pa. and played ball for a few
dollars a game when his services were re-
quired.
Wagner's first professional engagement
Mds Win the SteubenNlle team and his
clubmateS were Frank RowerInI1. George
smith. last year with New NorE: Henry
smith and Claude Ritchey. both now li-
rates, and Al Wagner. brother OF Hans.
now with the Toronto E7-.ern League
In 1896 Laioie played with ths Eau River
team and Wagner with the Paterson club
ot the Atlantic league. Larry led the
New England League with - per cent.
wagner batted .134 in the Atlantic.
In ny. Laioie Joined the Philadelphia
National League team and played there
until $50. when he jumued 70 ne AmeTi-
can League Wagner played with T-ater-
son and led the Atlantic League. with
-st9 per cert Behind him were such fu-
ture greats as EIherfe'd. Heidrick. Sey-
bold. heister and Dougherty.
wagner finished the season OF 1897 with
the Louisville club and has been in the
in 1900. with 80 per cent.
HAS BEST AVERAGE.
Beginning with 1886. and including last
season. Lajoie had a total average If .S7O
per cent and Wagner .9a.
In lS9 Lajoie made a record that proved
him 10 be about the hardest hitte- that
ever played the game. on May - OF mat
year. against Pitcher COolcolough. :hen
with the New York club. Lsajoie hit the
ball 50 hard that he broke the rubber and
made IL unit to MAY with. Later IN the
! season he repeated the feat in Cincinnati.