Evening star., 1911-08-11
BY ]. ED GRILLo.

While with few exceptions every team In
the National League can boast OF having d
star first baseman, there is really put
one club in the American League which
has this position well filled Hal Chase
is head and shoulders above any othef
first baseman in this organization, wnfie
il is a question who is the best man III
that position in the National League. ST
Louis has Konetchy, Brooklyn Daupert
Philadelphia Luderus. New York Merkie,
Cincinnati Hoblitsel and so on down the
line. Chicago and Pittsburg are believed
to be weak in these positions, both expert
,ncnting with youngsters, but on the
whole the old league is well fortified III
this respect.
Of course the standard Cf first baseinen
established by Chase makes ii hard Tor
even a good man to attract atte't'oh
i'm the American League. chase mas
never had an equal i'm the position. and II
is but natural that every clup III TINS
league should hold him up as the stand
ard There was 4 time when hail team
did NOT give first base much conSidera-
tiou Any sort of player VINO coutu
catch n ball and hit a little was thousht
the right man for the place, but things
have changed since then. and much more
is expected of a first baseman than IN
former years. Strangely enough, the!
arc no longer developed out of players
who have lost their usefulness IN otner
nositions, as they were i'm years gone by.
PLAYERS who arc covering the position
successfully these days pointed themselves
for the place when they started their
careers.
The more one sees of the Nationals
p,ay the stronger grows the impression
that the team must have much more
speed before II can hope to cut hgure
In a pennant race. Base ball nowadays
requires speed. It's possession by any
team is almost valuable as batting
prowess or alright pitching. and in re-
building an aggregation that is the one
essential requirement that should always
he horne in mind. Not only is speed most
effective, but IL adds so much TO the
exhibitions from spectators standpoint.
There is nothing more pleasing in
ball game than to see lot of fast
players I'm action.
When one looks over all the veteran
players i'm the major leagues, who. though
they have been in the game many years
and are still playing high-cass ball, Fred
Clarke of Pittsburgh really. stands out
in class by himself Clarke has been
playing major league ball for seventeen
years or more, and there has not been
a single season when he has not been
figured among the top-notch players of
the year. Not only is Clarke still a
wonderful ball player. but he has been
a manager for the greater part of his
career. has been in some of the hottest
remnant fights, and has shown no sign
of weakening under the strain. Men of
the Clarke type are rare in base ball,
and Pittsburgh owes much to its efficient
leader.
The injury to Charley DOOM and the
suspension of Sherwood Magee have
played havoc with the Phillies' pennant
chances. Up to the time that this pair
of really great players dropped out OF
the lineup that team stood as good a
chance as any Of its rivals TO land on
top. but the loss OF these players has
proven a great handicap, under which
no team could be expected TO stand up.
Those Phillies have always been hard
luck team. Something is always hap
pening just when their prospects are
brightest, and this, more than lack of
playing strength, has prevented flag
from going to that team.
Were it not for the prospects he has OF
cutting in on the worlds series receipts
Harry Davis would perhaps have taken
charge of the Cleveland team long ago.
He is now nothing more than bench
warmer for Connie Mack, for McInnes
has safely taken his place on first base
away from him, but with everything indi-
eating that the Athletics will win again