Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-07-04

NAAA& ~I> for the unfor
f~A--A- --LA-\ tun1te knight
of the indicator
Indeed there are some baseball cranks
of the superlatiVc degree. to be found
in every such crowd, who apparently
take fun as much pleasure in roast
ing" the umpire as they do in watch
ing the game. Somehow this always
seemed a bit cOwar,lly to me. 1t is harl
enough 70: man 10 do work of this
kind without being made a target of
tn. crowd, and certainly nothing can
possibly be gained by persistent and
.ucifnrous abuse of him. This is a fail
ing that our Augusta crowds have al
ways been prone to, and most of us
must plead guilty to occasional lapses
in this respect. 1t is 50 easy you know.
Looking back through the years We can
think of more than one good man in
the past who WAS thoroughly diSguSted
at the treatment accorded him i'm this
city when he was fully conscious of
ha wing done honest and efficient work.
Isn't It about time to institute Il reform
and TO eliminate umpire batting from
the games of the Trolley League?
1t would be II fine thing if a few
vociferous gentlemen could take 4
turn at umpiriEg themselves. In my
younger DAYS. before silver hairs We're
mingled with the gold il was a delight
| to my soul to sit near the top of the
@randstan.l and shout "roDbtr" ard
| "r"tt IN" At the pcrspiring umpire; bu:
alas, retribution was in store for me,
| one day | found myself arrayed in the
spar, mask and manipulating the ir IL
| Gator. Then for the first time, like tn
| roar of 4 spring freshet, the true mag
| nitudc of the task dawned upon me.
What indeed is the engineering of
| Panama canal compared with the um
| piring of n bail game! For five weary
innings, amid the derisive shouts Of the
| Sp'ct: tors, 3nd the disp2rdging COM
| mentS of the players l ratified about as
| the court of last appeal BY the close ot
| the first inning my hat had tumbled
| over my eirS-larCe rs certain gentle
| men on the hleacherS hac pronounced
| them to -he-and | have always had a
! lingering suspicion that. had the Shriv-
| Cling process continued until the close
| of the game | might easily have sneak
| "a away through the big knot hole in
| the foul board. But. fortunately, relief
was at hand. At the close of the fifth
inning both mines, unanimously agree
| ing that deserved to be lynchei. vot-
| Ell to dispense with my services and
skunk from the grounds followed by
the anath' mas of the blood-thirst!
| crowd. Since then I have gaz-d upon
the umpire with mingled feelings of
| compassion and admiration.
| Do we desire the perfect umpire?
Certainly; but where shall we find
him? 1t would be vain to look for him
upon this mundane sphere, and angels
wouldn't take the job if it We're offered
| them. Even the st:r bali player-the
king today the jester tomorrow
| makes mistakes Why then should we
be surprised if the umpire makes his?
Why is not the man with the indicator
| quite as liable to be fooled as the man
in uniform? Certainly he has vastly
| more chances of it, There are many
people who regard Tommy Connolly Of
| the American League as the finest UNI
pire i'm the country at the present time.
1t would be difficult indeed to improve
| upon his work, and yet Connolly came
| near being mobbed upon his first APP
ptLIdItp btlOIe an iuSuStd CloNu VI
baseball enthusiasts. The game was
played upon the Farmingdale grounds
with the champion FAN River team of
the New England League. For a time
the Fall Rivers had a good lead, and ii
looked as If the game would surely be
theirs, but in the last inning the Au-
Susta team, fell upon Pitcher Lincoln
with one of it's famous batting rallies.
Finally with only two scores needed to |
lie and with Bean on third. Doherty on |
second and Joe Conner on first, Pickett |
came to the bat. Two men were out. and |
ii was up to the stOcky left fielder. who |
rose grandly to the occasion with a
magnificent three-base drive over the |
| center fielder. Pandemonium was let
loose, and the spectators thinking the |
game was over began leaving the |
srandstand. Unfortunately. however, in
his eagerness to reach the home plate,
Common cut the third base by more than
yard He was promptly declared out,
and the game went to Fall River. 1t
was a heart-breaking contest for the
Augustus to lose. For a moment the
crowd was laZed by the unexpected
turn of events. Then it fiercely vented
its wrath upon Connolly, accusing him
of deliberately throwing" the game r,
to FAN River. With some difficulty IT,"
umpire made his way through the