The Savannah morning news., 1904-09-18
WILL NEW YORK HAVE TWO
CHAMPION BASEBALL TEAMS?

Collins made a few changes in his
| great team, and when they got back
| from their second Western trip they
! climbed back into the lead. They
! have had few of their regular men laid
up and are in prime shape now to
! come down to the wire at top speed.
Highlanders Are strong.
The New York Americans will prob
| ably be the ones to fight it out with
the Bostons to the end Grifith's men
have done wonderfully we'll under the
| most adverse circumstances. No team
| in the country has experienced such
run of hard luck as this great COM
binaton at different times. Keller,
Fultz, Conroy, Elberfeld, Williams,
Camel and Mcclure have been COM
PEELED to remain on the bench because
of lame legs or smashed hands. Yet
| Griffith has gone along with COM
| mendable pluck and with consummate
managerial skill he has pulled the
team out of various trying predica-
ments.
Griffith is a firm believer in harmony.
Following out this policy he got rid
of Jack O'Connor Jesse Tannehill,
Tom Hughes and a few other mall
contents in exchange for other men of
more value. The best trade he made
all the season was that of Hughes and
Wolfe for Orth. The latter. one of
the quickest thinking ball players in
the profession, was practically buried
in Washington, but with the New
Yorks behind him he has come to life
again In earnest and has pitched some
beautiful ball.
Ortiz, Powell and Chesbrol That is
Griffth's winning combination in the
pitchers box. Chesbro is every bit
as good a pitcher as McGinnity or
Matthewson, with Powell practically
n the pnua1l has nifphp6
great ball for Griffith, and has shown
that his heart is in his work at all
times. BY using these three men in
their turn Griffith has shown keen
judgment, even though he has had
Putnam, Clarkson and himself to fall
back upon.
Kleinow, the New York Americans
young catcher, is the best backstop
in either league. This is a pretty
broad assertion. but it will be borne
out in the course of time. Kleinow
has handled all sorts of pitchers this
year, and his throwing has been dead
ly. His steadiness behind the bat has
helped the team wonderfully. The vet
eran Jim Mcclure has also worked bet
ter than ever but he has been out
classed by his young rival.
Camel Williams, Conroy and Elber-
field make up a phenomenally fast in
field, while Dougherty, Fultz and Kee-
Ter are three outfielders beyond APP
proach. If the New Yorks win the
American League pennant it will be
because they are the best ball team
in their organization.
The New York Americans have not
enjoyed the patronage showered on
the Polo Grounds because the subway
has not been running and it has been
a long tiresome jaunt to the ball park
over the surface roads. But in spite
of these obstacles the club will make
probably $4,000 on the season.
The Athletics, of Philadelphia, who
won the championship two years ago,
have been particularly dangerous dur
ing the last six weeks. Composed of
ordinary players, they have been put
in winning form by the fearless Cor
nelius McGillicuddy, more popularity
known as Connie Mack. On their re-
cent Western trip they made the re-
markable record of ten victories and
two defeats, which put them very
much in the running, and they still
have a chance to win out.
Some of the experts believe that the
Chicagos will win the pennant in the
American race for the reason that
during the present trip West Of the
eastern teams they will be next to
invincible on their own grounds,
while they will wind up the struggle
by playing Detroit and st. Louis dur
ing the time the Bostons, Philadelphia
and New Yorks are beating each other
The Chicagos were wonderfully boil
stored up by George Davis at short
field and all the season they have
shown good, evenly balanced team
work
The Clevelands, with the great La
joie, are possible winners, too. If they
had a manager like Griffith or Collins
they would be fighting it out at the
top now. There is no more formidable
team in the country with the stick
but slugging amounts to but little IL
there is no team play at the bat and
on the bases.