Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-17
Greeted With Applause.
BY TED SULLIVAN.

ne papers OF Chattanooga were boom.
ing him five or six days before he arrived,
hcralding him as the great western slug
ger. Pat came and all Chattanooga was
out to see the great batsman. The first
time he went to the bat a musical sound
Of applause met his ears. He struck out,
but OF course, this was not noticed. The
second time he struck out again. The
spectators looked at one another in amaze
ment, but the majority were inclined 10
be charitable. as II was his first day and
many excuses were advanced for Pats
failure to connect with the sphere.
l am indebted to nature for endowing
me with the faculty of intuitively know
ing a batter when / see one, even when
he is hitting in hard luck. In Pats case
lanceo 1t was case of slump or. to
use the language OF the bleachcrs, his
lamp needs trimming" I noticed that all
the former aggressiveness OF Pat at the
plate was missing. and that sharp. stroke
or the bat was supplanted by an awkward
| timidity to meet the ball. took In the
whole situation and was ready for any
excuse Pat had to make. After he struck
out the third time, he came to the bench
and remarked:
Them devil of cars have my head
dizzy from riding from Cincinnati"
said. Yes, Pat, il is a regular hurdle
railroad" The fourth and the last time
at the bat that day he hit a consumptive
OO0uuCI " tic pitSucT anu uitu Of
Next day the papers made all the pos
sible excuses for Pat. such his long
ride and carrying q great deal of weight.
helped 1t along by telling my friends
that he got cinder in his eye on his way
to Chattanooga. Pat felt good at this all
around jolly. and the audience was ready
to see him chastise the ball the second
day. Alas 1t was almost a repetition Of
the day before. His chagrin was SO great
that after he struck out the second time
in the game OF that day he exclaimed:
For heavens sake, Ted, where did you
get them bats? They would not use
them in the Western League to bat "fun-
gos." This was excuse No. 2. replied:
"All right, Pat, We will go tomorrow and
pick out the best bats in town. The bats
are bad
Pat further remarked: Those are rot
ten pitchers 1 am batting against.
men,"
Pat picked two great bats to his fancy
the next day and he kept shaving them
all that morning with a piece of glass.
and more than once remarked that he
would drive them bum pitchers to the
| woods" 1t was also circulated around
town that Pat was not used to Southern
| League bats. SO that helped him little
| with the crowd.
The third day the people thought he
would hit the ball sure. My curiosity
was only aroused as to what excuse he
would offer on the third day. His big
average OF the year was mighty thing
| in his favor. but the averages Of the pres
ent season were lost In the rain between
Columbus and Indianapolis. or, perhaps.
Minneapolis.
More Jollies and Excuses.
Well. my gallant hero went up the
third day with his glass-shaven bat, with
| the audience yet little favoring him.
I threw a jolly into him myself as he
| left the bench by saying: Pat, you know
| what you did in st. Paul in 81. when
you won that silver-mounted bat" NY
westerner sauntered to the plate and the
ball passed him three times before he
could salute II. He looked hard at the
umpire for calling the last strike and
said, as he came to the bench:
II don't want to kick on umpires. but
that fellow would not last one inning in
the Western League. Ted, I'll tell you
what Is hurting my batting. it is those
coachers that are talking when / am at
the bat. / also think that devil OF a
skinned diamond has Also something to
do with my batting. l also have an idea
that the water here does not agree with
me-"
1 answered mildly: Pat. will try to
remedy all those things for you" But
he nearly convulsed me after the last
time he went to the bat by stating that
he had discovered the whole cause OF his
weak batting. 1t was a sign on the GEN.
ter nelQ renee, Wnlcn reao In DIE yellow
letters: "Schiitz Brewing Co." He said
the sign met his eyes when he looked at
the pitcher. told him that would have
that covered next day to see II 1t was
the cause. This was just to jolly him.
Well, the next was the fourth, and the
climax in the farce-comedy OF How to
Offer for Inability to Bat"
Even Pat Had to Laugh.
The most amusing part Of all was he
was oblivious of the fact that I knew
what was the real cause. The papers
could not boom him longer, but still all
were sorry, and 1 felt it would break my
heart to let Pat go. I owned the club. so
there was no one to dictate about re-