The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-12
EVERY B|G CLUB
 WILL FINISH HIGH. Great Prospects Judging from
 Spring Dope MANY STARS MISSING Donlin, Bresnahan, McGinnity and Seymour Absent from Giant
 String-KIng and Jones
 Two Others Gone.
MANY STARS MISSING
By MANHATTAN.

| New York, April 11.-There are to be
 no tail-end clubs in either of the big | baseball leagues this season. The mar velous spectacle of 16 championship
 teams dividing the two championships
 will amaze and delight the fans" of the
 country. The dope" from the training
 trips leaves no doubt on this point. The enthusiastic writers who have ac- companed their respective teams have
 unanimously abolished the second divi-
 sion.
 The old problem as to what will hap
 pen when an irresistible force meets
 an immovable body pales into insig- nifcance in the face of what will hap
 pen when 16 unbeaten ball teams meet l in the fierce battle of the diamond.
 One thing must be borne in mind,
 however. We have heard these pre-sea-
 son stories before, and when the real
 work of baseball was finished it was ! found that the clubs finished from one i to eight in due order after all. May be | it will be the same in this year of our Lord, 1909.
 Unhittable pitchers may after all be 1 found, and consistent .750 hitters in | training may lose at least some DOT
 tion of tn cir batting eyes and the coun- | try may be saved from the universal heart failure which would follow an 1 unbroken succession of tie scores. At any event we will soon know about it, for on Wednesday next, the season will be fnaugurated with a | passed the percentage tables will have solved the problem.
 There will be 77 games played in each , city of the two big leagues, total of 6l6 games being scheduled by both the National and American leagues.
 It has been a long time since so many great players have been absent from the game at the beginning of the season as will be the case this year. New York will be shy Mike Donlin, Roger Bresnahan, Joe McGinnity, Cy Selmour. Fielder Jones will not be with the White Sox In fact, hardly team but what will be minus some star play CTS
 Whether the men who succeed them can keep up the pace set by these great warriors of the diamond remains to be seen.
 do not propose for time at least to risk my reputation as an expert in the national game by attempting to size up the chances of the various con testants until the men have had a chance to settle down into their stride
 The training camp dope Is too unre- liable to warrant the forming of an opinion For the past two weeks we have seen youngsters touted as world beaters sent back to the bush leagues.
 The wedding out process will con- tinue for some time to come.
 Few can realize as well as aspiring baseball players the truth of the old
 biblical proposition that many are called but few are chosen"
 The passage of the capable but un- willing worker Robert Ho1mes has re- duced Manager McGraw's pitching staff to six right handlers and three left handlers.
 From present indications there will be only one more reduction, for Mo Graw wants to be prepared for all sorts of emergencies, and he will not be the only manager to boss eight fingers this season.
 It Is easy to see that if there is a further shrinking In the hurling corps that the waiver thing will be sprung on either John Waller or Louis Durham. It Is not likely that both will be re- tained, and although Durham has done we'll in the south it is probable that Waller will get the preference. The Jersey City boy is about foxy a i twirler as there Is in the business for a man who has never been in the major leagues. Holmes has gone for good. There Is a rule that no player can be sent back to the minors more than once
 by any one big league club. As he gets <, older and wiser Holmes will realize i that he had an opportunity this spring and never awoke to that fact. He has a grand arm, but he also pos sesses an inherent Craving for ease. When the loyal followers of the Giants journey to the Polo grounds on April IA to see tn cir favorftes open the season with the Brooklynites they will | be treated to series of surprises that
 will make them realize that Greater l New York at last has a baseball park ] worthy of the name.
 l The playing field Is now entirely sur | rounded by stands. The seating ca pacity is estimated at from 32,0n0 to | 34000, and the club officials are con- l hdent they can handle 10000 spectators | if that many come.
 l The grand stand has the largest seat l ing capacity of any ball park in the | country, including that of the new ! Shibe park. the American league ground l in Philadelphia, and that of West Side | park Chicago, the home of the Cubs l On the upper tier there are 165 pri- vate boxes, each accommodating six persons.
 l Pitchers Schlitzer. Plank and Coombs
 of the Athletics have been developing