The Washington herald., 1915-08-01
Series This Week with Fred
erick Will Decide the Blue
Ridge League Title.
GOSSIP OF THE CIRCUIT
By HARVEY A. BUSH.

Martinsburg team of the Blue Ridge
League is furnishing the sensation
among the minor league clubs of thi:
section of the country. and big league
managers and scouts and fans all ovel
the East are following the progress OF
the club from day to day with a degree
OF interest rarely accorded a team in
the bushes. The wonderful rush of the
team pennantward during the month OF
July. and the brilliant individual and
collective work of the team members
have served to focus attention upon
Martinsburg from New York south to
Richmond. and as far west as the Ohio
River.
At least four big league scouts are
known to have followed the work OF
the Martins burg club closely for sew
eral weeks. and already three or four
players have been recommended by
these scouts to their managers. News
papers in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh. Phila-
delphia. Baltimore. and Washington are
devoting much space to the "doinEs''
of the Blue Ridge League in general,
and the work of the Martinsburg team
in particular. and the "Baby Circuit
of organized bali. is being boosted in a
manner unique in baseball history
among the minors.
Betting in all the towns of the cir
cult, except Frederick. is strongly
favorable to Martins burg winning the
pennant. odds of ) to , and to 4 be-
ing freely offered. with comparatively
few takers. In Frederick no PROPOSE
tion of less than , to l on Martinsbur
VIII be considered Frederick is be-
coming desperate as she sees the steady
"nrush of Martinsburg toward first
place. and is frantically signing new
players from other leagues in the hope
that she will he able to head off the
firing West Virginians.
At the end of June. Martinsbu-r an
pared to be out of the running. stand
fnS third in the race. and playiny an
m-and-out game that did not seem to
warrant the prediction of a better stand
ing than third at the end of the sea-
son late in August. At that time Fred
erick was out in front. with a percen-
tase Of rs. while the best Martins
burg could do was to reach the .4s1
mark. 2q1 points behind the leaders But
from July to the time this was writ
ton. Martasburg has shown a wonder
ful Improvement in FORM with the re-
suit that she has gained with a rush
upon Frederick. and is now only a few
games behind her for the league leader
ship. During the month of July up to
the time this was written. each club
had PLAYED twenty-eight games Of these
NdrtinsburS won twenty-one lost six
and tied one. Frederick won seventeen
and lost eleven Martinsburg made
net gain in percentage of 2Sj, and a net
gain in percentage of 49, and net
gain of IL games. and is now within
easv striking distance of the leaders,
with every expectation of displacins
Frederick in the race within the next
ten days.
League record after record has fallen
he
during July. She now holds the record
for straight victories with eleven wins;
she holds the league record for team
hitting. with average of 21 Mar
tinshurg and Gettysburg hold the rec
ord for the fastest game played in the /,
league. and one of the fastest in or |
Eanized baseball this season. THURSDAYS
game going only one hour and ten min |
utes Pitcher Clarke. secured in June |
from the Washington Nationals. holds |
the record for the lowest number of |
pitched balls in nine innings-seventy-six !
against Gettysburg in Wednesdays !
game. Bill Donnelly. Washington boy. !
holds the record for put-outs in a single ,
game, with twenty-one to his credit |
Martinsburg holds the record for hits in !
one game. with sixteen bingles. Mar !
tnsburg had more put-outs on flies in
one game than any other league team.
fifteen Gettysburg batters being re-
'-4'4 an liidI illdTllleT IN 1nurSOaN s |
game. Hoefecker holds the league /
pitching record, having held his oppon-
ents to one scratch safety in one game
and Reggie Rawlings another Washing
ton boy. holds the individual league bat
ting record. with an average of $40 |
for nifty games. During the month of
July thus far, six Martinsburg men hit |
for an average of 800 or better-Raw-
linEs, Morris. Johnson. Donnelly. Hayes. /
and Durborrow-whle Shipley. a Mary
land Agricultural College lad hit a 293
clip during the month thus far. The COM
parative figures for the games thus
far played in July are as follows:
n.r.tn-,,rrs ................ " L rs rs 3 e =
Opponents @ ia Is
The hits. runs. and eros include one
tie game. giving Martinsburg an approx
innate average of 1-2 runs. nine hits,
and two errors per game. The hitting
OF Martinsburg was approximately 40
per cent stronger than that of their
opponents in the above games, the other
teams making an average of I-3 hits
per game. The work of Johnny Num-
ford. Lefty" Clarke, II. l. Douglas.
and Frank Hoffecker. the hurting staff.
has been uniformly better than that of
any other staff of pitchers in the league
during this period. and this fact. to- I
gether with the timely punch" of the
hitters. has been responsible {
FOR the sensational squirt of the club
This month. The figures for the pitch ,
ers during the games thus far this
month are follous