The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-20
SPORTING NEWS.
American League Season Opens
Up on Wednesday.
With the Beginning of the
Season the Race Looks Even.
CLEVELAND FAVORED.
Fans Like Its Collection of Stars
Better Than Others.
Boston and st. Louis Come in
for a Second Choice.
CLEVELAND FAVORED.

Chicago, April 20.-The American
league Will play at Boston today with
game between the champion Athletics
and Jimmy Collins team, and on the
Wednesday following all of the clubs
viii make their start in what promises
to be one of the closest pennant races
ever seen in baseball
On Wednesday Chicago win play at
St. Louis, Boston at Philadelphia, New
York at Washington and Cleveland at
Detroit.
In the early season calculations last
spring Comiskey's White Sox looked
like pennant winners. The misfortunes
of war put Clark Griffith on the hospi-
tai list. however. and killed Comiskey's
chances. In the meantime, after having
his team riddled by the courts, Connie
Mack took q patched-up organization
and beat out the seasoned teams of st.
Louis and Boston for championship
honors.
This seasons race looks even harder
to pick than last Larry La Joie's Cleve-
land club. on account of its wonderful
squirt in the closing days of last sea-
son, is the popular choice of the fans,
but the more conservative critics agree
that any one of six clubs has a good
cHdIAC6 at the hunting ana lIldt no one
Of the entire eight can be counted out
of the competition.
Cleveland has an aggregation of indi-
vidual stars. and as a batting team is
one Of the strongest that has ever been
gathered together. Toward the end of
last season the club made a squirt that
indicated it to be the superior of any
of the other clubs in the American
league. It IS essentially q team of stars
however, and only after this season
test viii it be known just how steady
the team viii be in a long. gruelling
race It is not as wise" a team as the
White Sox OF last season or the New
York club of this year. When it wins it
usually wins way out in 'front.' but
when it comes to close contest with
trick required to gain the one run nee
essary for victory, it hardly ranks with
some OF it's competitors.
Boston and St. Louis are generally
ranked next by the critics. These two
clubs have run neck and neck for the
past two seasons, and either one is
dangerous in any company. Both are
strong in pitchers, both have faSft~STorIx-
ing infields and hard hitti1ig- outfields.
But more than all7tl,is The ARE seasons
ca teams Win teain work figured down
~ a q me Po Jill Ss4fa having worked to-
getRel sss9' rseEs sEtically the same make
~ ,stof the past two summers, the men
have a confidence in each other without
which flushed ball playing is almost
impossible.
Both of these clubs seem certain to
land in the first division and either has
a royal chance for first honors with
baseball luck breaking its way.
In New York Clark Griffith has
team whose elements of strength are
much the same as those possessed by
the White Sox of last year. It's inheld
is not a tiled one such as played on the
south side grounds. here last summer,
but it is essentially wise team. 1t
&c f,, 4To hn4 h,rr
Greater New Yorks look strong.
The champion Athletics, despite their
remarka bic showing last season, are not
strongly favored as repeaters. Last
year when they went to the top they
were favored by the fact that the Chi
cago, Cleveland and Washington teams
were weakened whenever they met the
Athletics on their home grounds through
the ruling of the Philadelphia courts,
and with this handicap it was only the
wonderful pitching of -Rube" Wadden
and the generalship Of Connie Mack
that brought them the championship.
Tom Lotus still has a team Of slug
gers at Washington, and with the in
field strengthened by the addition of
Demontreville, he will always be dan
gerous, no matter with what team he is
playing The Detroit team, too, with
new manager and a team strengthened
both in the outfield and in the pitching
department, is strong. although still
somewhat of an unknown quantity
COmiskey and Callahan admittedly
have dark horse aggregation this
season as compared with that of last
year, but no owner more than the "Old
Roman" is better prepared to get the
winners out of just that sort OF ma
terial
From last years stars, Griffith, Mertes
and perhaps Davis Will be missing, and
their places will be filed with men who
have their regulations before them.
Following is the makeup of the