The Washington herald., 1911-01-17
EASILY EXPLAINED WHY
LOCALS DRAW ON ROAD
Walter Johnson Is Idol of Fans Around Circuit-Cul
Also Puts Up Good Fight-Other Gossip.

with ball players. unless the latter turn
| a cold shoulder and keep him away, some
| of the more emotional are likely to for
| get all about the obligations which they
owe to their employers for the season OF
1911. That has happened in the past.
No baseball team can succeed without
| harmony in. its ranks. and Manager Jen-
nings. of Detroit, has started in to put
his house in order for the coming season
There was considerable friction among
the Tigers last year, Cobb being reported
as the storm center, with Bush, Davy
Jones. and Mcintyre hostile to the famous
batSman and base runner. No one knows
better than Jennings that a team is Sc
! vefely handicapped by having players or
it who are unfriend1y to each other OF
not on speaking terms.
Both Jones and Bush, who were placed
! ahead of Cobb in the batting order last
season. could not work we'll with the
Georgian, and arguments were, according
to reports, frequent between these men.
In sizing up his men for this year. Jen-
nings doubtless decided that Mcintyre
| could be dispensed with rather than the
others, and SO Matty has been sent to
the Chicago Americans. Hughey is quite
adept at jOllying his players. and the
chances are that the Tigers will be a
fairly harmonious combination when they
enter the coming race.
Many new baseball records are vet to
be established: many things that have
never happened before are almost bound
to happen some time in the future. a few
records that cannot be beaten have been
set up. Records of no-run. no-hit, no.
man-reach-first games; records of hit
every time a player came to bat: rec
ords of games that have gone over the
three-hour limit for seven innings be-
cause of the rows between players and
umpires: records of games played inside
of fifty minutes, and all that sort Of thing
but there are still a few records that
are possible.
Foul home runs have twice been made
in a game-by Ed Delahanty and by
Bob" Lowe. Five, six. or seven. or even
more are possible. Twelve catches have
been made by one outfielder and sixteen
assists by one infielder, but the possiSili-
ties of the game are far greater than are
indicated by these figures.
One day, in a game between Cleveland
and Washington. the Maps" had only
six assists and Bradley made them all.
That was a record, and so it will be re-
corded in the baseball books alongside.
perhaps, the game in Providence years
ago when the catcher took part in every
play with twenty-one putouts. includ-
ing four catches of flies and six assists.
Pitcher Charley Sweeney. of the old
Providence team, once struck out nine
teen Boston batters. Who is there to say
that at some place, at some time. this
record may not be lifted to twenty or.
indeed, that some wizard may not come
along who will strike out every batter
who faces him?
Once again it may be said that the
infinite possibilities of the game have
only been approached and that at any
time ana on almost any day something
is likely to happen that never happened
before-fifteen Or twenty assists by an
infielder. fifteen or twenty putOuts by
an outfielder: all the putouts made by
a first baseman or by a catcher. or any
one Of the hundred and one things liable
to happen on the ball field.
George Moreland's new baseball guide
will show that there have been five league
games played in which the first baseman
Of one of the teams did not have q field
inch chance. .s 1t too much to expect
that q game will he played some day in
which neither Of the first basemen will
once touch the ball.
One department Of the game in which
there is no chan for a record is the
department Of assists. 1t Is on record
strange as 1t may seem-that In the
game between the Cincinnati and Phila-
delph,a National League teams, July Y,
1906, not an assist appeared to the credit
Of the Reds IN the tabulated score