The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-04-11
"PLAY BALL" IS
BIG CRY TODAY
Especial to the Farmer.)

New York, April 1.-THE raucous cry
Of the umpire "Play Ball" to-day
marked the official opening Of the
1912 baseball season.
1t also marked the beginning Of the
open season for Office boys grand
mothers, a tremendous increase in the
death rate. and the beginning Of a
bull market In knot-holes in the base
ball ground fences. All the victims
of that form of paranoia known as
baseballitis were out In force and the
peculiar cry Of the fan, Take him
out! Take him out!'' was abroad in
the land. For no true fan would miss
the opener" And the Big League
openers were all prepared to open to-
day. This is how they line up for
the first battle:
National League:
New York at Brooklyn.
Philadelphia at Boston,
Pittsburgh at St. Louis.
Chicago at Cincinnati.
American League:
st. Louis at Chicago.
Detroit at Cleveland.
Washington at Philadelphia. 49,
Boston at New York.
But the IA players who lined up
for to-day's game were probably In
poorer playing condition than the big
league players on any opening day OF
recent years. It may be month or
more before the practise of regular
games will tune the players up to the
proper big game pitch. They will
have to get In their regular games
the training they should have had at
the southern training camps through
out the spring. For spring training
by rain. At practically every train
ing camp that lodged a big league
team, rain was the regular order
throughout the trining season. 1t RAIN
ed day and night, and In many cases
regular batting and fielding practise
was next to impossible.
With this condition confronting
them, the managers Of the big league
teams will force as many as possible
of their players into the early games.
to round them into shape. The big
league outfits Of this year lineup al
most exactly as they closed the sea-
son last year. The important shifts
of players that usually mark the OPEN
ing Of the season were missing this
spring, and each team succeeded in
holding it's favorites. But the big
shifts took place among the man
ayers of the various teams.
In the American league Harry VOL
verton has taken charge Of the Yam.
KEGS succeeding Hal Chase. Jack
Stahl Will manage the Boston Ameri-
cans. McAleer who ran the Wash
ington team last year has taken over
the presidency of the Boston outfit.
and Clark Griffith succeeds him as
manager of the Senators. Harry Da-
Wis is another new one, at the head
of the Maps. Hughey Jennings, Bob
by Wallace and Jim Callahan remain
as managers of the Detroit, st. Louis
and Chicago Outfits, respectively. Con-
ME Mack stays at the head Of his
great Philadelphia team.
There are only two new managers In
the National League, Johnny Killing,
the catcher who will run the Boston
Nationals and Hank O'Day the ex-
umpire at the head of the Cincinnati
bunch.
Each team came to bat to-day with
superb confidence in its ability to
! carry away the years flag. Down In
the south Hughey Jennings has been
comeback. Jennings believes that
after last years slump when the Ath-
letics walked away with the flag, his
outfit ought to be able to turn out a
| better brand of baseball than it show
ed slast season. Wolverton, the new
about the flag. He has formulated 8
set of rules for his players that viii
make all of them real athletes before
the season Is over. and he Is going tt
put some. life into their game.
| Clark Griffith declares he will make
a real baseball team out of the Wash.
| ington outfit. While the National:
have for years been a tail ender team
Griffith believes he can lift them a.
| least into the first division, with thu
aid of Walter Johnson's pitching arm
Connie Mack and bis prize bunch
from the City of Sleep are more thar
confident. They are sure they cal
duplicate their performance Of las
year without serious effort.
In the National, the Giants expect t.
be there with the wallop when 4
comes to rounding up the flag again
may it wave spirit. The Pittsburgh
Pirates have rounded into form ant
are expected to give the Giants a rath
err strenuous fight for the flag. Franz
Chance has practically reorganized tn
Cubs and he has a rather wild ant
woody outfit to whip into shape Hanl
O'Day and John Killing are both fgur
ing on some big Improvements in tn
work of the Boston and Cincinnati
teams. Generally the National Lea
que teams are standing pat on tn
organ cations as they were framed las
year, depending on the new men VIII
were broken in last year to develop int
world beaters.
The rank and file of the fans thin
} that Connie Mack and his Athletic
is about the best looking bet in tn
big leagues and they figure them t
head the list at the end Of the sea
son unless all the dope falls down. TIL
fans are expecting some big thing
from Harry Davis and the Maps, fol