New Britain herald., 1918-05-22
Baseball A La Franchise.

] Some years ago the Yale Alum nj
| weekly, published a literal transla-
| uon or an account of Yale Harvard
football game written by a French
| Journalist which was a classic in its
| presentation of the viewpoint of a
| stranger to our American game. With
! the invasion of France by the Amer
| lcan, taking with him his baseball
bat and glove, there are now appear
| ing stories of the baseball games
! which give the same fresh viewpoint.
! One Of the most interesting (and in
| structive) accounts of one of these
j contests was published in lie Maui
vais Parisienne" by 'Adolphe Max"
| who is described as war corre-
| sLondent.' The story in itself shows
| that. 1t is just as enlightening as
would be the story of a battle writ
| ten by the sporting editor. The read
| er remembering that the story is
written for those who have nothing
like baseball in their category of
sports, will easily understand the fol-
lowing explanation:
This game. Of which our beloved
comrades in arms speak in terms
grand, it is of a puzzle to the un-
Initiated and it is Of this reason that
| |, who have come at once from one
of the combats. should make all
clear. Briefly, this game is per
formed without the houses and a
long instrument-she is of wood and
is joculary denominated 'bat'-with
which the players, of which there
are eighteen, divided in half, make
collision with the ball thereby es-
Gaping injuries serious. Stationed
where they cannot interfere with the
viewpoint of the specta tors are the
Layers.
There, in a nutshell, is our Ameri.
car game of baseball, played with
out the houses" M. Max continues:
Now, my dear friends, that you a
clear comprehensive of this game
have gained, l shall proceed as the
sportsman writer's American do and
apportion the battle into nine phases.
Then comes the account written as
the sportsman writer's American"
DC, starting with Timing No. l."
Inning No. 1--Alert! Nine of these
players have the field traversed. Each
OF them have with caution protected
their hands right and one has had
the wisdom superb to safeguard his
anatomique with a cushion pneuma-
tloUe. Again, alert gentleman In
uniform blue speaks with feeling Of
the artillery Gin the technique Of the
game it is announcing the batteries).
player takes a posture facing him
and waves the bat.
1T is possible he conspires to kill
Opponent No. 9-he of the cushion
pneumatique who stands directly to
the rear. All, yes! that it is--for see
Opponent No. /. with thought OF
magnificent quickness, hurls the ball
madly at this would-be Apache.
Sacre! He has missed! But fast does
he of the cushion pneumatique re-
turn the ball grenade to his savior.
And the player with the great club?
''Palerme. he is hardening and
plays with his victim, saying, III get
him on the next
"Once more: my friend-alert! See
the ball grenade is again the air in.
What rapidity! What certainty of
ainl--ah, quake thou Apache rascal
Oh the club But no: How this is?
The villain degraded has cunningly
hi' the grenade with his club, the
spectators by half are wildly indig-
nant shouting 'toubaggere, toubag-
gere, (meaning, one Of them in
formed me, reveDge)."
But M. Max finds too much to in
terest him, for he doesn't tell how a
single man went out. He ends i'm
M ediately Inning No. l" with: THE
players reversed their positions and
sign significant of zero is hung up
to an accompaniment of cheers
AS a good journalist, and showing
that he was good one, NJ. Max gives
as much attention to the crowd which
watched the game as he does to the
players-a failing of all European
newspaper men, who find in the spec
ators as much human interest in
a game which must resemble to
them a species Of symptoms Of in
sanity Set an Am erican sporting
writer to describing a cricket game
and see how much he devotes to the
game itself and how much to the
crowd.
But there is some suspicion that
the account was written by an Ameri-
can and the literal translation"
made purposely. 1t Smells of the
lamp in places; 1t reads too much
like the French count of the must
cal comedy. There is too evident a,
climax in an incident about the
gentleman In blue which all will
recognize as the Jump; who be-
came an object of remarks and the
target for missiles IN. Max in
ouired the cause for the animosity.
Some American told him the umpire
vas suspected Of being a Boche, That
was enough. The machinery creaks. |
X hat American wrote the account
New Haven Register.