The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-04-20

Vile remains 10 De seen. put there IS OHc thing certain. in the eleven games Of ball between tomorrow and Sunday week a pretty good line will be had on not only the pitching stan but the perform ances of the entire Pretzel bunch.
 New Orleans and Umpires.
 Collins's Boston Americans evidently had. touch of high life in the umpire line down in New Orleans. and Tim Murnane speaks of 1t like this:
 "The South Is still after the umpire's scalp. and nowhere more so than in New Orleans. When the umpire escapes at- tention for moment then the poor play CT comes in for roast. Take him out is echoed every time pitcher passes a man to first. By this continual roasting the players become first indifferent and then disgusted with playing ball before a Crescent City following. Players should be encouraged when luck breaks poorly. and only in such cities where the play CTS receive encouragement will the best results be obtained. ,.s .s
 The newspapers of New Orleans pay too much attention to the umpire. In the last Boston series in that city one of the lccal pitchers umpired and did his work we'll Boston won the third game by a score of 8 to 3 through fine stick work. and the next day one of the local papers devoted a half column to roasting their man. who had actually umpired a grand, good game of ball Baseball reporters should ignore the umpires unless they show no knowledge of the game. lhs- honest officials are as scarce as hens teeth Take your medicine, boys. and re- member that the umpire is just as anx- ious to make good as the players.
 Three Good Umpires.
 '"The South this season will have three old-time ball players on the umpire staff in Arlie Latham, Lynn, Mass: Antonio Mullane, Chicago. and Jack Woods, East Boston. Mass.-a third baseman, a pitch CT and an outhelder-every man with long experience and all considered play CTS of brain and nerve. I am anxious to learn how they will thrive fin the South Latham, was considered a fine alI-round player and the funniest coacher in the business. Mullane was a great pitcher, while Wood was a grand batsman. All % hSas 0d payers s, aEe n nov ng Sg%prnns no, ca use they enjoy the Sunny South in the summer months. The umpire's lot Is not a pleasant one, and the old player is bound to feel the shouts from the bleach srss fnsn ,,,raT irog the yeupg plsyers and often "olS Plkysrg ppuaHy make poor um- p'fps'3 Y s}- s-E t.%
 w.I. rhf best e ,,,,is Spirs, taS gene hs. seen before thsv took up the indica torLTom Lynch, John Gafflsy, Tim Hurst silk .O'Loughlin, |. Thbnps Connolly. John Sheridan, Robert Emslie and Hank o'Day being examples. Snyder, Brown Irwin and other old players found the pastime. ta:.-8.r'
 Tt matters not who the man is. bu what he does. once he is forced to take up umpsring He. muet make the player. and managers walk the plank every tim, they dispute his B, authority. SIX .O'Loughlin calls himself an arbitrator ? He has the best control of the game of any man I ever saw, with perhaps tffe exception of Tom Lynch. who was ar arbitrator even when receiving weak sup. port from his superior officers. Bal players are praised for good work. while the umpireS are passed up. UmpireS are seldom mentioned except when called down for bad breaks when the favorltt club loses ''
 sS'Frist-clos sball players seldom play tc the gallery or urge the fans to abuse tht | official. The clever umpire of today knows the men he> must look after ant | quietly reminds them that he is on ant that 1t will be Ito the woods at tho first break. I have heard O'Loughlir sing out between decisions remarks like ! this, without looking at a player: 'Mucl l minor league or ITO the stable witt | you" The players however. knew wei | the meaning of the side remarks anC | were sure to let up on some foolish pro
 
 were tried out 5by minor leagues las | season, and every one of them though he was the real thing-until a week later | Say. why don't you get me a job 'em pring% is query that Is heard severa 1 times each season. I believe there shoulC be school for ball players who would like to make umpiring profession Tn, l men would then learn how to properly interpret the rules and by working dunn mics could make all kinds of plays. prac ka1l k,ftr 5 l proper voice pitch for calling out decis l ions. ..t.-t
 The playing has improved. while tn, ! umpiring has not. The public has als, | improved in it's knowledge of delicAt
 points, while the umpire Is still lost fl the shuffle. Bad as the umpire is ,h
 will be still worse if roasted, while en | couragement from the crowd and player
 will soon elevate him to his proper piac6
 While the rules this year are uniform
 the construction put upon them by tn
 different league presidents differs fl many essential points. The minor league are following the example of the bi leagues, each calling It's staff of um plres together and giving original inter pretauons Of the rules-all of which i pointed by the different leagues shout
 meet each spring and work out the code
 as they are the best judges.
 G1dnts on First Bag.
 It was Pat Teheau who first reache
 the conclusion that it was not absolute ly necessary to have a gi Tt on first ba s,
 says an Eastern paper Nbeau. a sma
 man and third baseman, wed that
 lively sawed-off who cot smp hig
 could get most of the higi sots, whI his activity in the pursuit 4 groundel |, would be a great thing for the entil } fielding system of the team Comiske , had introduced deep play along the liz , toward second, and everybody was, mo or less clumsily. trying to pattern aft a Commy. After the shock which Tsbea r gave had worn off the clubs began
 develop first basetnen out of good batte
 and grainy hustlers who fell just sha t shy, of the requirements in other pos
 tiOns, and the result is shown in the II 2 of the first basemen of today Seiee first baseman for the coming season W
 be Frank Chance, developed from I catcher. and a marvel at batting al
 base-running. Comiskey has two-Isbe
 developed from a pitcher, and Donahu
 developed from a catcher. Both ci
 play great ball on the initial bag.
 | (Naffnnafs aao