New Britain herald., 1916-09-16
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l Among other hectic features con- 1 nected with the national frenzy, it might be just as well not to overlook the batting battle of the N. l.. crest. At 1 this writing there are no less than l seven sons of swat who have chance ! to pick up where Larry Doyle left off 1 Q year ago when the Giant slugger slipped by Luderus at the finish. After all. it is not so much the fact 1 that seven are in the scramble as is the general mixture of the surviving 1 lot
 Concerning Some Tradition. First, there is Jake Daubert whaling 1 away at the ball to recover the honors ! he held in 1913 and 1914. Even more important than Jacobs l rresence bac kat the top the threat l ened rush of two of the games most l noted entries a MT. H. Wagner of l Pittsburgh and a MT. H. Chase of Cincinnati.
 Wagner was counted out of the 300 i class two years ago when he finally began to careen a bit. Chase was counted out of the big league year ago when the Feds exploded with the ! usual accent. To have Wagner and l Chase back in batting to the top adds 1 what any one might call lustre to the occasion, for if ether should arrive 1t would be one of the years sensations. ] Only sensations have come so thick 1 this season that it takes a husky one to get more than two agate lines. The Rest of the Scramble. These are not the sole entries. In { the general mixture there is young MT. Hornsby of St. Louis, struggling 1 with his elders as if tradition m cant nothing at all.
 l Hornsby is a debutante. If he leads 1 the league it will be the first time in history that a first year regular ever l led a major league circuit. Joe Jack son would have done it about five years ago if Ty Cobb hadn't batted 400 But as MT. Cobb did bat APO, Joseph failed to upset precedent. Perhaps Hornsby will.
 To these names the monicker of one Zachariah Wheat should be added Zach has never had any thought about l leading the league since he broke into baseball He has never been even fairly close to the N L. top before, although l always a good, consistent scholar in the school of swat
 The Difference.
 In the ATnoT1Cdu ledS uS, uuS lo IiS prevalence of Ty Cobb, Iris Speaker and Joe Jackson, it generally requires about 375 or .3SO to lead the big pa rade Outside of these three the others are about on a National league
 basis.
 In the National any able son of slug who can bat over 1925 is pretty sure to
 be number one. Larry Doyle led the
 circuit last year with 1920. Dauber1 led the year before around .330. The last National leaguer to achieve any thing approaching classic heights was Heinie Zimmerman, when he moved only a shade below .370 about foul years ago.
 The Winning Average. In the National league this season 2 mark between 1925 and .330 is sure tC top the field. Seven regulars now have 1 a good shot at these figures, with ar outside chance that Dare Devil Dave Robertson may come with the rush he used the first two months and make additional trouble.
 1 As for picking the winner, when at l least men are practically even after pounding away for over five months, who can say which of the cluster will
 make the most of two weeks?
 Chase vs. Wagner.
 As much as we esteem the ability of Jake Daubert and others, our first sen- timental choice in this grapple is Honus Wagner.
 To lead the league at forty-tWo O l would be something so far beyond the average that it should be hung up as a classic of the game. For Honus be- gan to dribble away his once fine per centage two years ago, and no one ever figured he would know the 300 coun- 1 try again. A Wagnerian triumph 1 would be the most popular achleVe- ment of the year.
 If Wagner fails we wouldn't mlllo seeing Hal Chase arrive. Hal has had his share of what is often known as spotty career But he has come pacK l this season to his best ways. ana ne l has been great enough as player to ] deserve some mark that will last 1 Censored Again. Dodgast the Luck! The duffer came to the final hole
 With a chance to beat his best, ] And he nerved himself for the vital
 To lift him over the test;
 And as he topped into a trap His burning language spread, 1 But I am much afraid that I Can't tell you what he said.
 "Where would the Braves be today , with Evers, Maranville, Hughes, Nehf | itfNe.