The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-09-04
ALL READY FOR
THE LAST LEAP
Farrell Leads Hitters Down
the Stretch
Slim Digger Does Gfeat Hit
ting in the Week
Parson Leads the League Pitchers and
Shold Hold the Position-- Marion
Nand Mansfield After Second Place
---The Averages.

Eighteen weeks OF Ohio state
league history in the season of 1909
have passed into history and the clubs
are now chasing madly down the
stretch and preparing for the final
jump In under the wire on Labor
Day when double headers will be
played and the journey will be over
The past week has witnessed some
mighty good baseball here. Diggers
and Lima engaged in seven contests
in four days and with one exception
each game was a thriller. The
Portsmouth contests were all that
could have been desired. It is pc
culiar that games between Marion
and Portsmouth are seldom one-sid-
ed affairs. On the local lot almost
without exception Marion and Ports
mouth have had to battle to the end
to determine the winner and many
times the games have gone far into
extra innings To the observer here
It seems strange that Portsmouth
should have fallen down so badly
during the latter half of the present
season. Diggers have taken the ma
jority of the games here, OF course.
but it must be said that many times
It has been due to their securing n
better break of baseballeluck. Even
now with many of the stars gone the
club Is q mighty hard one to beat,
and there remains enough good ones
for O'Day to build upon to secure a
strong aggregation for next season.
This O'Day knows how 10 build. He
showed that with Marion. The Ma
rion club today, regarded as being the
best I'm the league by impartial crit.
les. Is of his making to large ex-
tent. Only Farrell and Wolfe re-
main of last years squad. so heavy
were the drafts made by higher clubs
at the close of the season.
The climb of Joe Lewis and his
Diggers during the last half of the
season Is still the talk of the circuit.
In last place late in June Lewis took
the club and got the athletes to pull
ing together and playing in their true
form. The hoodoo which seemed to
hover about in the early weeks. dis
appeared and the club got its share OF
baseball luck--that indefinable some
thing which is so necessary to win
ming club. Had the good work been
started earlier there might have
been chance to overhaul Lima. As
II is the leaders, by defeating Ma
rion in the early part of the week.
made the pennant safe beyond any
freak of fortune and the Lima CLUB
goes under the wire comparatively
easy winner But had the other
clubs been as successful against
Lima as was Marion. there would
have been O different story to relate
today.
Mansfield and Marion are busy in
the fight for second place, with ad-
vantage all in favor of the Diggers
II Is likely however, that second
place win not be cinched, until the
games on Labor Day at Mansfield,
when hundreds Of Digger rooters VIII
tourney to the Richland county town
10 cheer their favorites to victory.
The good work OF Lee Fohl nj
Lima this season probably means
that he will be returned there Tor
prcthe- year II the Columbus club
does not decide to desert Lima Tor
Newark. Money has been lost In
large chunks because Lima has been
cbld to the game, and 1t Is believed
that Newark, with a winner, VIII De
n live proposition. Joe Lewis VIII
again lead the Diggers in 1910. his
great work this year has made thht
practically certain. O'Day seems the
probable Portsmouth selection. Al
Mansfield there must be chosen a
successor TO Tim Flood, VINO mas
been drafted by Cleveland. Mans
field has yet to produce winning
club and 1t is hinted strongly that
the Tigers are hopeful of getting
new blood and being up among the
leaders next season. OF the old or
Ranization four live ones are lett.
The picking of our more substantial
ones will be the winters task ana
with eight strong cities in the circuit.
the Ohio State should have a sue
cessful year in 1910. All eyes are
turning in that direction just now.
Red" Farrell the Digger phenom,
still leads the league with an average
of 1916 with the bludgeon. Farrell,
however, is not alone this week as
Dick Staley. the Digger first sack
guardian, has been doing valient
work with the lumber and has worked
his way above the dead line in the
face of mighty swell pitching. Staley
has been drafted by Connie Mack's
Athletics. Fink tops the runmakers
with sS to his credit and also leads
in stolen bases with So. Lefty
Snyder. Of Lima, leads in sacrifice
hits with 3S.
'Bucknell Bill" Parson is the pitch
Ing leader, the Digger having been
victorious in the last FIVE games I'm
which he has worked and has failed
to bring home the bacon in but six
games this season. Schanze, the
Mansfield southpaw, is close Sec