The Washington herald., 1912-12-06


the Browns in St. Louis, Baumgar
ished the game.
There is no denying the fact
mighty promising, and that he poss
ball expression, but he is far from
being in the same class with Wal
ter Johnson.
When any ball player speaks of a
pitcher as having more" than another
boxman, the expression covers every
point in pitching, including a swifter
ball. superior curves, more deceptive
change of pace. better control, and
everything else.
Baumgartner did unusually well his
first season out, considering that he
had cast in his lot with a tail-end ball
club. and with any kind of luck will be
much better next year, but when it
comes to putting him in the same class
with Walter Johnson, well-St. Louis
can have him. Capital fans are willing
TO take another chance with Walter
Johnson.
Roller Polo.
At the Arcade last night rival roller
polo clubs played an interesting game
before a good sized crowd.
Efforts are being made to popularize
This indoor game. and the promoters
hope soon to gain a following here SO
that an intercity league can be formed.
Roller polo has thrived up North for
years. 1t is one of the fastest. and when
played by experts, one of the most eX-
citing games ever invented. There is
almost twice as much action in the same
space as basketball. and it is safe to
Say that once the game finds favor in
Washington and first class teams are
brought here the Arcade rink will lack
space in which to pack the crowds
Over in Baltimore roller polo is popu
lar. but Baltimoreans have never seen
real team in action. The old New Eng
land League, which operated several years
ago with professional players, made a
mint of money for its club owners.
II roller polo becomes popular in the
Capital a league comprising the cities of
Baltimore. Philadelphia, Wilmington,
Richmond, Atlantic City. and others will
lie formed, but the people must indorse
it first.
Tip 0'Neill in Trouble.
There is going to be a merry row in
the Western League. Tip O'NeiT. the
Old-time player who has been president
of the organization for several years.
has been asked TO resign and he declines
to do so. At a recent meeting in Mil
waukee the league voted by TO 3 to
ask Tip for his resignation.
The trouble has grown out of the re-
fusal of O'Neill to remove his office
from Chicago to some city in the league
circuit. 1t appears that for years
O'Nein had his Office in the same build
ing and on the same floor with Charlie
COmiskey. of the Chicago White Sox.
When Comiskey built his new ball park
and moved his offices there, O'Neill also
moved the leagues headquarters to the
park. 1t looks very much as II the West
ern League magnates thought that there
was too much Comiskey about the rum
ming of the leagues affairs.
Takes Shot at McGraw.
John B. Foster, editor of Spaldings
Baseball Guide, is considerably peeved
over a shot aimed at McGraw by Jack
Ryder. the sporting editor of the Gin
Cinnati Inquirer. Mr.. Foster prints the
following in the New York Telegram:
Says the Cincinnati Inquirer: NC
Graw's great success has been the abil-
ity to get excellent results out of poor
ball players"
ISL llldl ldlLltI SNttplIlSs a l6SNidL
street cleaning "swipe'' as it might be
termed? It's remarkable how the In
quirer will adhere to the notion that
poor ball players can win a champion
ship. II they do, then what shall be
said for the remainder of the league
clubs that they defeat?
The success of John ]. McGraw is not
that he gets results from poor ball play
ers, for in his time he has had some ad-
mirable ball players, and he has some
now. It is that he inculcates in all of
his ball players the right manner in
which to play ball, and keeps the whip
applied to them throughout the season to
play ball for the game and for nothing
else.
John ]. McGraw may be truly said to
be a manager who plays to the score all
of the time. He isn't pulling of prac-
tice stunts when he wants results. If
his players were poor they would be I'M
able to execute. They do execute, and
win, and therefore they cannot be poor.
The Baltimores won the championship
three years in succession. and there were
baseball critics in those days, exactly as
the Inquirer OF to-day, who sat by and
said the BaltimoTes were an ordinary lot
of players. Cleveland fought Baltimore
hard for the championship, and Cincin-
natl critics in those days said Cleveland
was an ordinary club.
Yet results were produced in Baltimore
and Cleveland while Cincinnati was tell
ing everybody how bad Baltimore and
Cleveland were. Perhaps much depends
upon the definition of a good ball player
If one who stands around, looks pretty,
and keeps an eye on the batting aver
ages and the fielding averages all the
time is a good ball player, then New
York prefers those who are poor but
plumb full of spizzerrinkum.
LehIEh Elects Flick Captain.