Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-18

I cut the best OF the big leagues is what
| they must have in that city.
1 do not agree with Fred Teniley when he
/ says that the two major leagues are the
l cause or light batting this season. as the
great batsmeu are scattered and there Is
not enough OF good players to make up
Two major leagues. The fact Is that men
with regulations as great hatsu,en are well
down the list this season. and It's the young
players who are surprising tho fans with
their good stick work.
The pitchers are using no more curves or
speed than ever this season. with the ex-
ception Of the spit ball, and yet the great
players are not finding the ball. In some
cases It's a case of working on each mans
weakness. and then the pick of the pitchers
are gathered into the big leagues, and each
pitcher has some particular club that he is
effective against. II each club was forced
to start the season and go through with
the same box men they started with the
batting would improve and be an even
thing all round.
leagues to improve the chances of the bats
men. for base ball without hitting is like
eggs without the yolk. Men are not strik-
Ing out as much formerly. simply be-
stroke and try to meet the bali instead of
aiming to knock out home runs.
Even the great hitters like Wagner and
LaJoie have fallen of and now are finding
much difficulty in meeting the ball fair.
Both are free hitters and give a good line
on the department now going to the dogs.
shade larger and the pitcher placed five
feet farther back This would no doub,
increase the batting about 10 per cent but
would make 1t hard the pitchers who
are now fit for the hospital after pitching
three games in week. In the early
days OF the game the hitting was so fierce
that an extra inflelder was tried playing
between second and first called the right
short-stop. This brought too many men
close together. and was soon discarded as
failure. and the ball was deadened to
cut down the large scores. Next came the
live ball to increase the batting.
The death this week in Boston OF Frank
Winslow brings to mind the Union Asso-
citation of 1884 Mr.. Winslow was one OF
the original stockholders and finally the
principal hacker of the Boston club, and
dropping about $4,000 for his trouble The
Union grounds were built on sand pit,
and are now covered by armory. within
two minutes walk from the public library
In the swell Back Bay district.
The members of the Union team were
picked from the open play grounds about
Boston. Lew Brown died several wears
ago; Tom Bond and Dupee Shaw are alive
here In Boston. Bond was famous league
pitcher before he went to the Unions Ed
Crane, the greatest distance thrower in the
world. died few years ago. Tom O'Brien.
the second baseman. Is now managing the
Birmingham team in the Southern League.
with snowy white hair. Walter Hackett,
John Irwin, the third baseman. is now
training college team down In Maine
Tommy Mccarthy is running bowling al
ley and restaurant In Boston. Mike Stat
terry died here last winter and Frank But
Ter is living in Boston.
Washington. Cincinnati and Chicago were
all in the original makeup of the circuit
Chicago turning a cold shoulder to the
proposition from the start, while Washing
ton and Cincinnati finished the season
Henry Lucas won the championship with
his st. Louis club and broke up the assoc
ciation when the National League offered
him a berth. Kansas City. Milwaukee
Philadelphia. Altoona. Wilmington (Del)
Baltimore and a few other cities had a
small piece of this young league that came
In to fight organized ball and received the
solar plexus early in the engagement
Fighting the reserve rule was the
motto pinned the banner of the Lucas
brigands. The failure simply made the re-
serve rule all the stronger, for it was
proven that the game could not live with
out reserving the players from year to
year T. II. MURNANE.