The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-04-09
FINAL OUTCOME OF NATIONAL
 LEAGUE RACE PUZZLES WAGNER
Probable Outcome Is Jig Saw Puzzle, Says Veteran Shortstop of Pirates for Eighteen Years
By HANS WAGNER

I will be turning my face northward
 for the 18th time in about five days and
 if I ever faced a jig-saw puzzle with re-
 gard to the outcome of the National league race, it is this year. It has been
 hard enough to figure things in normal
 years, and Fred Clarke and never ven-
 tured prediction excepting among our
 selves. -.-s-
 Too many complex situations have come
 up this year even to guess to yourself,
 let alone offer an opinion of any worth.
 have seen years where I confidently
 expected club to repeat because of its
 latent strength and the confidence born
 by an easy victory the year before The
 stampede of the Braves in 1914 and the
 Phillies last year proved surprising and with the upsets and rearrangements of clubs through Federal league amalgama- tions almost anything may happen this year.
 l once heard it expressed that Grover
 Alexander. and not Pat Moran, should
 be awarded the major portion of credit
 for the Phillies 1915 triumph. Granting Alex every possible bit of credit, it is
 hard to see the argument against Moran. Alexander was great fixture on the Phil
 lies for four years prior to the elevation
 of Moran to the leadership Pats eleva-
 tion was the potent change-no other.
 He accomplished many things-one no- table and a profitable move in undoins
 the act that sent Chalmers to the Giants
 Moran's connivance in getting ''Dut' back
 was one of the many Moran pivots on
 which swung Philadelphias first pen nant in 31 years
 There isn't any sound reason to ex- pect the Phillies to repeat this year, and
 yet they may do that very thing. Their spurt last season was attended by many
 hazards and was not the steady march of the Braves in the year before, when the Stallings forces cut loose in June, forged their way from last place, cut through the first division, overlook the Giants and held the lead to the end. That was a spirit born of amazing team work. Prophecies favored the Braves to repeat in 1915. The Phillies came through with the unexpected-they are not picked
 to repeat and yet they might do that very thing.
 LOST RAG IN ONE DAY Our loss of the pennant in one after
 noon on October 4, 1908. so jared the fans ! and critics in Pittsburg that little hope
 was expressed for the forces of 1909 The crushing blow administered by the Cubs that afternoon, it was thought, would leave us wilted all winter and unfit in the spring. One writer wired a long yarn from the training camp that the top of l the second division would indeed be a | 1909 solace But such things are not | worth the paper on which they are writ ] ten. The Pirates were of better stuff. l They made poor start in 1909 at a gait l tEat was none too reassuring, but they rallied after two weeks, forged ahead, 1 took the lead early in May and were never headed. though the Cubs came
 within half game by taking two from J us on Labor day. But we cinched the
 flag in St. Louis on our last western | trip with games to spare and saw De-
 troit play at Brown park that same
 day. The rest of the baseball programme of that fall is history and Babe Adams
 shone as the bright star.
 Had the Pirates taken such gloomy view of the situation when the Cubs crept within a half game of us as some fans did. we would have gone to pieces. Following the afternoon game
 heard loud voices under the sta
 dium.
 If the players were quitters like you" yelled big chap, we never
 would win 8 game"
 l "Oh, guess I've got right to my opinion" whined. the other
 1 No, you haven't; you're in here on I councilman's pass" thundered the loyal.
 An entirely new complexion has been added to almost all of the 16 major | league clubs and any attempt at guessing is foolish. That the clubs in
 the aggregate will be strengthened goes without saying. There was just | good enough scattering of talent from the Federal league wreck. par ticularly pitchers. to give better edge to many clubs that were weak in 1 the hurling departments. The Giants had their one poor year in 10 in 1915,
 but believe that McGraw. with Rar- iden behind the bat and Kauff in the outfield. has succeeded in bolstering
 his three-time pennant forces back to
 threatening position in the race l Not once in his whole career did
 Fred Clarke hint at who would win l the pennant nor where the Pirates 1 would finish. But he violated the rule
 following his retirement one day while joshing Jim Callahan. his successor Fred came over from Kansas on some
 oil business and met Cal in the office
 of Dreyfuss. The reporters piled tho