The Washington times., 1922-12-25

paper, a copy of which has been
New York Sun representative tra>
displayed by the japanese players
to learn the finer points Of Inside
baseball" Many of them, MI.
O'Neill states. called at >the hotel
where the Americans were staying
In the evenings after games had
been played, and questioned the ma
jor league stars regarding points
which had come up in the course OF
games played. and the strategy OF
the game generally.
Bullet Joe Bush is given credit
for many helpful talks to the young
Japanese baseball enthusiasts on
the twirling art. while Amos Strunk
delighted in explaining how to play
the outfield scientifically. Mr..
.O'Neill predicts that in ten years
some of the Japanese college teams
will be able to compete on even
terms with Yale, Harvard. Prince
ton and others of the leading Ameri-
can university teams.
Omitting to include the box
score in his story in the japanese
paper perhaps out Of courtesy to
the losing team Mr.. O'Neill de-
scribes the game against the Meiji
nine rs follows:
Sharing a common fate with
Keio and Waseda, the nine OF MeiJi
went down before the American pro-
fessionals in Yokohama yesterday
by a one-sided score. While playing
themselves in the category Of de-
feated mines. the Japanese team also
proved 1t could play ball. and play
good ball. One must look beyond
the scores in appraising the Nippon
ese mines in these contests.
THE Americans are hitting the
ball as they should, and, in fact. as
they are expected to hit, and, there
fore, the pitching Of the home teams
has suffered.
However, the favorable impress
sion created by the showing Of keio
and Waseda was strengthened by
the work Of Meiji. Technically. the
Meiji boys played intelligent base.
ball all the way through. They
know what to do with the ball once
they get 1t, and while all clubs make
errors, the statement will stand that
the japanese teams are rushing to
the front.
Looking ahead ten years with
the experience gained in many
contests and traditions Of heroic
deeds in the past to inspire and
guide the younger generation, 1t is
easy to conceive of any of these
Oriental teams holding their own
with Yale and Harvard or Prince
ton. That after all is the basis OF
reckoning. Our American colleges
can't beat the American profes'
sional teams, and baseball is far
older in America than it is in
Japan. Baseball here should be
encouraged to the ultimate.
Moreover, as the game in
such strong hands as Prof. IscO
Abe and Mr.. Naoki, OF Keio,
supported by the authorities Of
the other universities, baseball Is
bound to flourish and progress.
THE Americans thought they had
seen the flower of Japan's pitchers
in Tanaguchi and Nitta. They met
another good boy in Watanabe, OF
Meiji. These boys have a lot OF
stuff that will deceive college
teams, and they mix 1t up pretty
well. Watanabe was wild, but he
was trying all the time, and using
his head as well as his arm. The
teams all showed they had a good
grip on the inside stuff by yelling
Let's get two whenever there was
a runner on first. They called
Throw to third" when there were
| runners on first and second, and
they tried to make the plays. Fine
work.
Baseball, Americas grand old
national game" says an editorial
writer Of the paper in which Mr.
O'Neill's article appeared. 'also has
become the popular game Of Japan
The interchanging of baseball teams
from the United States and Japan
served as an excellent medium OF
promoting a more cordial relation
ship between the United States and
Japan, and to a far greater de
gree than the stereotyped dinner
speeches of diplomats"