The Washington herald., 1911-01-12
By WILLIAM PEET.


cause there was no red-hot baseball
news to hand out
I've read your bowling stuff, tried
to get excited over basketball, take
fair amount Of interest in prize fights
but give me the good old national game.
1t seems as If I couldn't wait for the
boys to go South and the season to open.
he vouchsafed
I've followed the Nationals for the
past fifteen years. he continued, Il
never miss a game, and don't suppose
will until I shuttle off,
The old fan waxed reminiscent, and for
two hours recited incidents during the
early days of the American League in
Washington. Talk about good dope. ii
was the finest ever.
During a lull in the conversation, the
old boy suddenly pulled himself to-
gether and inquired, Say, did you ever
hear of the time Bill Carrick thought he
had discovered Larry Lajoie's Weakness
The writer admitted that he had not
Here's the story:
Back in 1902. when the Nationals
played on the old Fifteenth and H
streets grounds, and were the most con-
we had a pitcher named Carrick, Poker
Bill Carrick he was called, and Car
rick had absolutely nothing but a motion
and prayer. yet he used to win a game
once in a while at that.
''One day when the Cleveland Blues
were here. Carrick strolled up to a
local baseball writer, and in a stage
whisper. said: Say, pal, I've made a
discovery. I've found Larry Lajoie's
weakness. Just wait until it is my turn
to pitch against him-watch me- That's
ALL
Pressed for an explanation. Carrick
reluctantly gave in and said: Lajoie
can't hit ball breast high. You know
that big white c. on his ball shirt
Well. all I've got to do is to shoot a
straight one across there, and the big
Frenchnan will swing like a rusty gate
Two days later Carrick was slated to
pitch against the Clevelands, and before
he walked into the box winked at the
scribe and whispered: Watch me get
Larry to-day
The left field fence on the old grounds
had an addition of latticework built up
some fifteen feet high and it took some
hit to put the ball over this contrivance.
The first time Larry faced Carrick. .Po-
ker Bill shot the ball across the plate on
a level with the big white &C" One good
healthy swing, and Carrick groaned as
the ball sailed over the lattice fence for a
homer.
The next time Larry came up Carrick
tried to put the ball in the same old
groove. but his aim was poor. and a base
on balls followed. The third time another
breast-high speeder was knocked where
the first one had sailed and Lajoie trotted
around the sacks.
The fourth time up Carrick didn't have
the nerve to put the ball within a mile of
the plate and Lajoie ambled 20 first base.
How about getting Larry's alley"
yelled the scribe to Carrick after the
game.
GO jump in the lake. was the reply.
Occasionally a feeble peep or two is
heard from some one working on the
space scheme that the old twelve-club
league is to be revived and that Balti-
more is to be once more admitted to the
select ranks of the major leagues. This
rumor is ridiculous on its face. for it was
the shameful conduct of the fans of Bal
timore in the days of the old National
League that served to drive decent men
and women and children away from the
game by the thousands and made possi-
BILE the advent of the American League
with its clean BALI slogan.
A Baltimore writer in the Sporting
Life" gave this description of incidents
of a game last summer:
There has recently been the most pro-
found revival of rowdy ball since old
major league days. Matters eliminated
Monday in the forfeiture of a game to
Rochester by Umpire Byron. During that
game Outfielder Walsh twice kicked on
called strikes so strenuously that he was
Rnfnra -
he slapped Umpire Byron in the face The
next batter. Slagle. also kicked on calIAd !
strikes so hard that he, too was benched. |
Manager Dunn butted into the contro- |
versy. was ordered off the field. and re-
fused to go. even when threatened with
game forfeiture. The umpire's orders |
and threats to Dunn proved unavailing |
and he had no recourse but to give the |
game to Rochester. The spectators then
attempted to mob Umpire Byron, and he |
required police protection to escape safe !
ly from the grounds On Tuesday. before |
the game, Police Marshal Farnan and |
Deputy Marshal Murray visited Umpires
Byron and Boyle and informed Byron
that IL his decisions are such as to cause 1
public disturbance lie would remove him |
from the grounds ana never let him UNI
pire in Baltimore again. Byron protested |
against this, and stated that he was
only. responsible to President Powers, OF
the Eastern League. but the police Of
hcials laughed at this. In fact, the mar
shal decided not to let Byron work, but |
later he said he did not want to be hard
on the umpire and permitted him to go
on the field. when Byron said he had
only intended judging plays on the bases.
There was no trouble during Tuesdays
game until the ninth inning, when Umpire
Boyle put Vickers out of the game for
vile and abusive language. Immediately
after the game the crowd made a dasn
for the two umpires. and once more they
had to be escorted to their quarters by
police" Il
Ball players and newspaper writer's
who have made the trip to Baltimore
In the old days do not need to be told
that the above picture. drawn by q Balti-
more artist. of conditions actually OBJ
tanning in the Oyster City, is faithfully
painted.
Rowdy cities there have been-Louis-
Vile was one Of the worst-but Louisville
was a paradise in comparison with Balti-
more.
To win q game in Baltimore has al
ways been almost fatal to the visiting ]
club. Hoodlums would chase the visiting
players to their bus and half way to
their hotel. pelting them with bricks
md stones-because they won.
Tho old Cleveland team wound up an
Important series-a tremendously Inn
portant series|n Baltimore, In 1894 or
is. The Spiders won three OF the arst