Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1924-11-28
English Reporters
Mix Cricket
And Baseball

London, Nov. II, CA. Z. by MaiD-
When the Giants and White SoX
playcd their first exhibition baseball
game in London this month, some
of the newspapers sent their golf re-
porters out TO do the story of the
proceedings. Most of the journals,
however, conferred the assignment
upon their cricket writer's. 1t was in
the nomenclature of cricket that all
of them reported to the Dopulace up
On what they had seen.
Each and every one of them pltled
the poor batter because his bat was
SO small and the fieldcrs' gloves SO
large. One writer compared the bat
To a hroomstick, and the gloves TO
slet pudding able to absorb every
ball that came within reach.
But what most struck the British
reporters in this 'untairness of the
ALLEGATION OF the armor' was the
catchcr's coat of mail' and the UNI
rire'S triple waddinS around the
chest only the batsman was sub
iect to complete disarmament"
The Manchester Guardian reporter
found baseball "mOnotonous" and the
veteran golf chronicler of the Morn
ing Post adjudged it a slow game,
bravely setting down that opinion in
full expressed knowledge that there
is no more certain way to make an
American really angry The game
that one of them found monotonous
was Won with ninth inning rally.
and among it's fielding performances
had been a triple play.
Nearly all of the British reporters
expressed admiration for the fielding
end of the BASEBALL business. the speed
and accuracy of the running. catch
ing and throwing appealed to them
greatly. But the batting, and espec-
tally the laws governing fouls balls.
failed to impress them as very inter
cStIng. one man seemed grieVed to
learn that the batter not only misses
as many as he hits. but that when
he connects he is hampered by rule
which makes all strokes to the right
of mid off or the left of mid-on tech
nically foul" Mid-o and mid on
are cricket field markings Compar-
able to the third and first-baSe lines
The writer seemed to be further dis
tresSed by the fact that "the area
within which the batter can make a
counting shot is inconveniently plas-
tered with fieldsmen, who are so fast
and efficient, that they rarely missed
anything reaChahle, and as rarely
N.
This business of foul and fair balls
tempted more than one reporter tt
steep his pen in a flood of words
"All of the hitting has to be done
we'll in front of the wicket" wrote
one. Anything that goes, in crick.
eters' language. towards point OIL
Square-leg or behind the wicket doe:
not count. The result is that the
achievement of scoring is excessive.
~ difficult because the fielders. arm
cd with suet-pudding gloves, can be
relied on to stop or catch every.
thing that comes to them, and the
round which the batting side must
cover is a very large one. The only
hope is to slog the ball out of the
grounds"
Perhaps the most strikingly move
thing about baseball to the British
mind is the amount of talking and
shouting and bowling that go with
the game. How pitcher car
pitch with Hughey Jennings razzing
him from the third base line and
the crowd yelling remarks of a not
particularly complimentary nature
is little more, seemingly, than the
quiet. peaceful Briton can under.
stand. Nor does he find it easy tc
comprehend how batsman can be
so insensitive as to be able to do his
job with the catcher chattering away
on a line of Intentionally irritating
remarks.
That the Giants and White So1
will succeed in their aim of implant-
ing baseball in Great Britain, nc
native believes. To the majority OF
the English it seems to be a slow
monotonous game! 1t does not last
three days like a cricket match, with
several hundred runs and time out
for tea and lunch But nevertheless
and Notwithstanding. they do find it
slow.