New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-01-19
PIRATE CREW LOOMS
ON GIANTS HORIZON
Coming Season Sure to Bring
Duel Between MCGraW
and Fred Clarke.
BOTH HAVE WON d FLAGS
Teams on Par in Offensive, but
Pittsburgh Was Better on
the Defensive Last
Year.

There IS a constantly growing suspicion
thai The rcdoub;able Fred Clarke, the
well known captain of the Pirate crew
from Pittsburgh. is secretly spending the
winter in a carpenter shop planning down
long. smooth plank, over which he in
tends to send John McGraw and his
merry band OF Giants this summer. While
,hc leader Of the present National League
champions has been tellinc Chicago
fans" tina, he still has considerable re-
spect for the cubs, even without Frank
Chance. yet he has his spyglass fixed on
the big black ship looming up on the
horizon. There is a bitter battle coming.
and il looks like nip and tuck affair
The managerial honors of modern times
are al stake. MoGraw. Clarke and
Chance have mouopolized the pennant
races in the National League for the last
twelve wears. each having won four
championships. With Chance eliminated,
Il is now duel between Clarke and Nc
Graw for a fifth flag. Early in the his
tory of the game Harry Wright won SIX
remnants for Boston within a period OF
seven wears Pop" Arson won five for
Chicago within similar period. ana
F.4nk Selee won five with Boston IN
Sht years. These are the only managers
70 ever have remained i'm the game Ions
enough to capture FIVE flags.
Ir McGraw wins the honors II will be
his third pcnnant in a row-something
that he has mover done before. although
both Clarke and Chance have done that
This honor fell to Wright, Arson. Selee
and Hanlon i'm the old days Wright IS
the only manager who ever won four in
a row. beginning the run a year after
the league was organized and winning the
flag in 1872. 70, "a and 70.
The Pirates are on a par with the
Giants in offensive strength and tribe
more consistent with the stick and they
finished the last campaign with team
batting average of PSI, as compared TO
New York's 2S5. Aside from the pitch
ing department. their defensive strength
is 80 far superior that the Giants are lost
in the dust Fred Clarke's men led the
league In team fielding last year with
the high average of .972. nine points ahead
Of the Phillies. their nearest opponents,
and sixteen points ahead OF the Giants
who were next to last. If the race IS
close, this is more than enough to decide
the championship, as witness the last
worlds series
Combining their batting strength with
wonderful base running. the Giants have
the edge on the Pirates in the way of
vigorous attack. Slow work on the paths
has kept Pittsburgh down for two years,
and Clarke must speed up the old ma
chine TO compete with McGraw's feet
footed minions. II is in this department
Of the game alone that the New York
team Cxcels The Giants led the league
in base stealing last season. with 3l9 pill
fered bags, while the Pirates were fifth
with Ia.
In making their safe hits count for all
they are worth the New York players are
past masters. scoring S23 runs last sea-
son on 1.451 hits. while the Pirates tailed
only ISL on 1893 hits. Clarke's clan hit
Tor a total Of 1000 bases. while the
;ants' total reached onfy 2.O02. This
,ase running ability makes up for numer-
GUS defensive sins.
on the performances Of last year Nc
Graw. with his trio Of Mathewson, Mar
guard and Tesreau. supported by Ames
and Crandsll. has little edge in pitch
.rs. but if Babe" Adams can ever get
started again and Marty O'1oole performs
up 10 his price the Pirates will have
formidable twirlng staff. as old Howard
Camnitz and Claude Hendrix can he de-
pended upon to win two-thirds Of the
games they start. Clarke also has a
brilliant youngster named Robinson, who
is likely to MAKE his mark.
With Miller. Butler. Wagner and Byrne
the Pirates have an infeld every bit as
good as that made up by Merkle, Doyle,
Fletcher and Herzog. Honus himself Civ
ing the quartet a lustre which 1t would
not have without him. The New York
infeld is more sef-sufficient. as any one
Of the four can be spared without seri-
ously affecting the work OF the other three.
while il Hans dropped out for spell
Pittsburgh would not be the same team.
such is the star system.
Now that ne has finally cut loose from
the three veterans Hoffman. Leach and
E.AAn-wth whom he worried along last
season, Clarke has got to find new out
fielder He has two first class men in
Carey and Wilson. Murray being the only
member OF the New York trio that can
compare with them. With the outfield
hole stopped up. Clarke will have team
which will give the Giants a pretty fight
provided the pitchers swing into form.
simon. Gibson and Kelley do not look as
good as Meyers. Wilson and Hartley be-
hind the bat. but the catching staff is
strong one, Kelley being due for brill
liant year The youngster showed rare
proves a. a hitter last season. besides
demonstrating exceptional receiving abil-