The Alaska daily empire., 1914-09-08
.DIFFlCULT LTES0F
 PENNANT RACES

--e-
 What ia, s,the matter with the Giants? Every day the. question ls asked by any number of "iansH If any one could answer 1t 1t would be John J. McGraw and If he knew the answer he would proceed to remedy the trouble.
 Back across the stretch of time other clubs have suffered Just as the Giants appear to be suffering. The complaints seem to be identical and nothing but the. roller of time has been able to ,straighten out the kinks and set the maehinerytln tln motion once more.
 For something Ike forty years no major league club has ever success fully assailed the exclusive precincts of a fourth successive league cham pionship. Several of them have won thrice, notably Chicago on two occasions. the Boston Nationals, Bal tlmore, Pittsburgh and Detroit, but the barrier which has been built proved lnsurmountable and these var lous champions of champions have crumpled and withered' before 1t and toppled to the side while some other aggregation has slipped to the fore and basketed the laurels.y
 Frank Chance, who led his famous Club machine to three. consecutive penants, remarked: Tt Is compara- lively easy to win the first penant when the amount of effort expended with that consumed in taking third are weighed. Each successive cham pionship grows harder.
 Tt is hard to explain why this Is true but 1t nevertheless is the case. When a team first starts toward a pennant 1t Is inspired by the novelty. It's zest is unquenchable and. untiring. The second successive trip Is bit harder, but the glory of the initial triumph sort of carries the players along. By the time third pennant is being sought the glory and the nov city have become somewhat tarnished by the regularity of the thing and consequently the zest of the players suffers. It is necessary to apply the whip.
 q am speaking of clubs which are not handicapped by the breaking up of the machinery through the going back of star players-players whose ability is a. dominating influence ever felt. It may be that, without meaning to, the players become lmbued with the idea that they are unbeatable and pennant winning as a matter of courFe, They are not what can be called ego, tistical. but the feeling of ultra-con' fidence is bound to creep in no mat, ter how hard 1t Is fought against"
 The first attempt to win four sue, cessive pennants in the National League was made by the Chicago Club of 1880, 1881 and 1882. It was successful during those three cam. paigns, but in 1883 1t cracked and Boston stepped in, followed by Pro. vidence. In 1885 and 1886 the Chi cagos came back and "copped."
 Boston in 1S91-92-93 tried 1t and then the famous Boston Orioles took up the burden. Through to 1S9C the Orioles, one of the greatest of all baseball machines, triumphed, but 1t was not equal to the task of climbing to the pinnacle a fourth time. Pitts. burgh in 1sO1-O2-0S won, but failed in 1904.
 Then came the Cubs, Frank Chances delegation, in 1906-O7-OS. In 1909 Pitts burgh cut in and interrupted the win, ming streak of the Cubs, but the Cubs being team of comparative young players-young In years, but old in experlence-came back in 1910 and won out.
 At practically the same time "Hughey" Jennings was lending his Detroit Tigers to three successive triumphs in the American League. In I9O7-0s-O9 the Tigers were invincible It seemed as if their winning streak would continue indefinitely, but the Athletics moved to the front in 1910 and repeated in 1911.
 Here again came an interruption while the Boston Red sox grabbed the flag. Then the Athletics came back and are now'on. their way toward a second successive title.
 In every instance where the pen. nant winner proclivitles of a team have been interrupted only to be re- sumed year later it Is found that the team was composed of young players and that 1t was necessary for the man. ager to entirely break up his old combination and replace 1t with a new organization before again win ming.
 And so 1t is with the Giants. If the Giants fail to come through this sea son the years lay off may do them some good. and 1t may be that they will repeat in 1915.
 But if the Giants should lose there is no reason to believe they would be unable to come back For the most part they arc young players with seY- eral seasons of baseball left in them.
 Where the conditions this year and previous years differ is that the Braves, too, are youngsters for the most part.