New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-07-29
COMMENT ON SPORTS
Giants Not a Second Rate
Team. as Some Contend.
WHAT THE FIGURES SHOW
News and Views on Live Topics
Of the Day, Both Amateur
and Professional.


critic whose opinions as a rule are re-
.occtcd. that the New York Club of the
National League is only a second rate
team. one is moved 10 wonder what con-
stitutes a first class team. The uncertain
ties Of baseball are prOverbial-there are
times when the strongest and most fin
ishcd team will fall from its high estate
and wallow for a few days, or sometimes
longer. in what is called a slump. Base
81 players are only human and cannot
ue expected TO go or forever like Tenny-
sons brook, in their top form. With all
this in mind II is hard TO understand how
Roy Reeves sporting editor Of The Phil
adelphla Public Ledger" could express
himself so strongly anent the Giants
when they struck a losing streak In the
early part Of the Western trip just con-
ciudec Here is what he said few days
ago
The New York baseball writer's are at
the end OF their resources In inVeiuhs
excuses for the teams defeat, declaring
that poor pitching wretched nelulne
and inability to hit when hts Were
defeat of the Giants" Can you imagine
what more would be needed to ordinarily
produce defeat? And to think that less
than O month ago some OF the immature
critics in New York were telling the
metropolitan public that McGraw was
plotting the greatest baseball MACHINE
that had ever been welded together t!Yeh
vet some Of the sensational New ORR
scribes cannot understand why the Giants
are not wiping up the ground with me
Western teams on this trip. one toolish
lad even goes to the extent OF inslnuauIs
that they are slowing UP purposSX IN IN
order TO make the race closer. IheSe
writer's should learn to take their medl-
zine without letting out q whine when the
beloved Giants drop few games. Nc
,Yraw has only q second rate ball team, Il
fact which has often been stated, but he
was lucky in finding the Phlllles crippled
early In the season, and ne Iatteheo az
their expense and that OF Boston anu
RrookIyn Now the deep wisdom OF NC
Crsw ia bearing fruit. With MafquaTd
slipping. his pitching stan has gone od Ita
10 almost nothing, and the serious lauits
of his team are becoming evident 10 an
The Giants are not first class pan 'ea can
in fact. they are very ordinary, with
Naruuard out Of the way, but they nave
attained their tremendous iead lhrousn
the dash and foresight OF McGra", WHO
knows well enough that ne mas hot d
really high class aggregation. out gets
more out of what he has than any o'her
manager probably coulo.
happen TO know most Of the baseball
critics in this city and can say that most
of them are old hands at the game ana
scarceIy immature by the widest stretch
~ the Imagination. 1t is not my purpose,
bowever 10 write a sermon about the
merits Of the baseball writer's but feel
ike taking exception to the hatfooted as
sertion that McGraw has only second
rate ball team. OF course, If the Giants
are a second rate team the Boston Red
Sox are in the same class, while the other
clubs. including the worlds champion
Athletics. must be rated even lower. Mr..
Reeves evidently believes that there Is no
such thing as a first class team this year
and that baseball has deteriorated to
marked degree. The Giants would stand
strengthening in one or two places III
order TO round out a perfect baseball ma
chine, but surely II Is not a second rate
team unless the figures are misleading.
Aside from the fact that McGrav has
1 two OF the greatest pitchers in the coun-
\ try in Marquard and Mathewson and
rwirling staff that Is reasonably strong
aside from the fact that in Merkle, Doyle
Fletcher and Herzog he has an inhelo
which compares favorably es whole
called that the Giants are leading both
leagues in team batting, with percent
age around .290. a full 10 points better
than the Red Sox, who are second and
who are leading the American League
race 1t may be emphasized that -four
members Of the Giants have a batting
average Of better than 1880. three of whom
Doyle, Meyers and Merkle-are regulars,
Crandall. pitcher. being the other; that
three New York men are among the ten
leading sluggers Of the National League;
that six New York men are among the
ten leading base stealers; that the Giants
lead the League in stolen bases, with 1S,
the Cincinnati Reds being second, with
only I4. while Detroit shows the way in
the American League. with l54; that four
Of the six leading pitchers in the Ma
tional League are Giants, BY every
method of comparison that IS possible at
this time Of the season McGraw can
boast of the best and strongest team in
either major league, and yet 1t is called
second rate. Truly some critics are hard
10 please.
Two or three letters have come to my
desk In the last week challenging the as
sertion made last Monday that In my
opinion James Thorpe, Of the Carlisle
Indian School, earned the individual hon
ors at the Olympic games in Sweden. In
each case Hannes Kolehmainen, the Won
derful runner Of Finland, is held UP as
deserving of even greater credit There
is no chance for an argument, as IL is
largely a matter Of opinion as 10 what
athlete stood out above his fellows at the
track and field games, which are gener-
ally considered the greatest ever held in
these latter days. One writer accused me
Of being prejudiced in favor of an Amer
lean, but this I feel sure does not de-
mand a defence. The question has been
pretty well thrashed out, but will recall
the performances of both men In order
% answer at the same time two or three
queries as TO a full Summary OF Thorpe's
performances in the decathlOn.
Kolehmainen, as / said a week ago,
proved himself a second Al Shrubb and
one Of the greatest If not the greatest
distance runner OF all times. He ran six
times within a week at distances varying
from 5000 metres up, and finished in front
each time lie won his trial heat OF the
l0OCO-metre run on the second day OF the
games and captured the final heat on the
following afternoon. He came right back
on the next day and won his trial heat
In the 5,OOO-metre run. and raced to VIC
tory in the final heat twenty-four hours