The Washington herald., 1911-01-29
PURE ENGLISH BALL YARN
London Folks Have Merry Time Re.
lating Our National Game.
EnSlishman Sees the Giants Win
ROOter Tells Gal me in a
Sentence.

| Over in England they have a merry
time telling about our great national pas
time. Here is little spiel of how the
| game looks To London folks:
They said: You must certainly see a
| ball game before you leave the States
! Il said: i beg your pardon. A what :?
They said: 4 ball same-baseball YOU
| know. Fastest game in the world. And
you'd better hurry up or the season will
be over. Why not so this afternoon
.All by myself"
| 'Fraid Business. But it's quite
simple. Take the L to l55th street and
get off at the Polo Grounds"-it was in
| New York. You'll love it. You'll go mad
! with excitement. Everybody does. Come
back and tell us about it Wish we could
go. too. Lucky fellow. By,
"One moment Am | right in presum-
ing that the L is the elevated railway"
Sure. You'll he all right all right
You cant go wrong"
AS it happened. / did not go wrong
after a slight difference with a sort of
toy car known as the shuttle Let me-
eNpla in the principle of the shuttle. 1t
will be of interest to engineering read
crs- II you get on the elevated railway
at Fifty eighth street and you want to
TO Fifticth street. But you don't get out
You leave Fiftieth street station and
travel a little farther in the wrong drec-
ton. Then you come back to FIftieth
street and change. Nothing could be
simpler.
Il paid dollar to go into the Polo
Grounds. this sum admitting me to the
privilege of the grand stand. Having
heard good deal before leaving Eng
land of the a UleSSpaSS nf 40 ,t
baseball matches. l was careful to seat
myself beside an elderly, very Sedate-
looking gentleman with gray whiskers.
He had a score sheet on his knee and
was evidently keeping a careful record of
the game.
'How'S it goinc?' I asked carefully.
nay secret hope being that ne would men,
ton the names of the opposing teams.
'How's that? he retorted
II remained silent. thinking that his re-
mark had reference to some point in the
game that l had missed.
What's that he translated
oh, ! beg your pardon. l asked you
to inform me how the game was going
Gee" cried the old gentleman with
an intense ferocity that startled and
shocked me. i guess we got 'em
cinched,'
Il should have liked very much to
began to write busily on his score sheet,
and l dared not disturb him again SO
soon. / killed time. therefore, by exam
irinS the players a little.
Baseball is a deveIopment-a fierce de-
the good old game of round
ers. Whereas we used to strike at the
ball with clenched fist. however. and the
ball was soft one, in baseball you strike
at the ball with n sort of round log. and
the ball is n hard one. The gentleman
who serves the ball to the batsman is
called the pitcher. He does not lob it or
bowl it or toss it. but SHES it with tre-
mendous force at the unoffendinE oppo-
nent. If the batsman can hit it with his
log. we'll and good If he can't. it is quite
likely that the ball will hit him-on the |
arm, on the head or the leg, or in the
ribs. Thereupon he writheS with agony. |
the captain of his side rushes up to him.
helps him into his sweater, and to cheer |
him up the manned wretch is allowed to
move round to the first base