Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-03-08
NATIONALS MUST
KEEP TO CONTRACT
New Baseball Legislation viii Stop
Jumping of Engagements
by Big League
Mines

Baseball men who have had time to
ponder upon the legislation which was
adopted by the National league at its
recent meeting are unanimous in APP
proving the resolution making it COM
pulsory for every club in the organiza :
ton to play it's full number of sched-
uled games.
Under the new method q tie or a
drawn game or any games which are
prevented by rain or other causes may
be played off on the ground for which
they were originally scheduled, in the
same series or in a subsequent series,
at the option of the home club. When
ever it may happen that all the series. OF
games scheduled on one ground have
been completed, and there still re-
main some games to be played with
another club, these are to take place on
the ground of the opposing team on a
date which is to be determined by that
club.
This renders it impossible for club
to dodge a game toward the close OF
the championship season, if 1t happens
To be hard pressed, with the excuse that
it is unwilling to take up double
header
the race for the championship was very
close between Chicago and Philadel-
phia, The "Phillies" might have two
+ postponed games in Chicago To win
these would possibly give them the
championship, or at least render Chi
Cages chances very precarious in case
another team We're to be played by Chi
CT go. Under the old rules il the Chi
cago series was ended those games
would be dead so far as Philadelphia
was concerned. Under the new method
10th games must be transferred to
Philadelphia and played on that ground,
if the weather is such that they can
be played
In other words, in future champion
ship contests in the National league
each team must play it's full quota of
games with each other team, except
that the season cannot be extended to
provide for any contests which might
he prevented on the last day of the
playing year because of a downpour OF
rain, railroad accident or some other
cause equally unavoidable.
While the enforcement of this rule
might not amount to much in a one
sided championship race, it might mean
everything where the ownership of the
remnant rested between two or three
teams which were only game or two
apart.
In speaking of the subject, August
Hermann, the chairman of the Ma
t;onal commission, remarked: 1.-THE
surprising thing to me is that nobody
has seemed to have noticed heretofore
that there existed a loophole to avoid
meeting another nine in a close pace.
There should always have been rule
making it compulsory to play twenty
two games, either on the diamond of
one team or the other whenever post
poned games had resulted
Another feature of the new resolution
is that it will end all fault finding on
the part of visiting club as to when
postponed games shall be played The
Pittsburg club was greatly nettled last
year because McGraw would not play
postponed games when his team was
out of condition. The new resolution
says the home club has the right to
name the dates of the postponed games.
Ii it desires to do So, it can play d
double header on succeeding day i'll
the first series and not wait until Sep
TENDER to get rid of the extra contest.