Evening star., 1925-08-09

ball literature"
Mr.. Cain flushed under his Panama
to the roots of his silvery hair.
Lady. he said. you speak with
authority. Player and writer, l never
| knew an umpire who wouldn't black
jack an infant and steal its candy.
But Catfish Burkett is the worst of
| them all"
| WHEN Betty had departed Mr.. Cain
w observed, Now there is a lady
who knows something about base ball.
| There is only one other who can boast
as much, she being Mrs. Wilbert Rob-
| inson."
| The Mastodons hit the road for the
invasion Of the West, an invasion that
was somewhat disastrous. The Masto-
dons lost the lead before they left
Pittsburgh. They were battered about
by the Reds in Cincinnati they left
st. Louis with big hospital list, and
| the chances for cinching q pennant
looking fairly slim.
| 'Mastodons," the Master Mind ad-
| dressed his players. You're flock
of pink-eyed white rabbits" And that
was his mildest comment
The team rallied for a desperate
stand at the Polo Grounds, but things
were in bad shape. Beauty Bannon
sprung a charleyhorse and the inf1eld
| had to be juggled. Even the Master
Mind did not seem to be adequate to
| his task. The Dodgers came over
from the other side Of the East River
and took three out of four.
| Base Ball Betty came into the pest
box and addressed Hamilton Cain.
| why didn't you tell the Master Mind
to try Fitz at short and leave the rest
of the infield the way it was? Heinie
Iox1 ic "a
man in the league, but he can't play
| short, and you know It.
But Fitz is only rookie just out
| of the seminary" objected Mr.. Cain
But he is a natural shortstop, and
you know it," persisted Base Ball
| Betty. "The Mastodons have got to
do something desperate to break the
| bad luck"
Maybe you're right" admitted Mr..
Cain.
IT know I'm right" she said, firmly.
"You can talk to the Master Mind.
Talk to him now"
Mr.. Cain bearded the Master Mind
in the dugout with his suggestion:
Ham," said the Master Mind, /
think you're silly, but ii looks as
though these rabbits have blown the
pennant, anyhow, and III take a
chance. Oh, if I only had few OF
the old Orioles instead of these semi
nary girls that call themselves Mas
todons and ball players"
The Master Mind sent Fritz 10 sec
ond, and the boy started two double
plays and wound up with two hits,
the last being a double that brought
in two runs. He was just nicked try
ing to make 1t triple, but the Master
Mind loved him all the more for try
ing to stretch it. This was accordlng
to his own personal policies. He liked
his players to take chanceS-When
they made good on them.
The infield held up all right for the
time being, but then the pitching staff
seemed to collapse all at once like the
One-Hoss Shay. Rube Watkins bun
ions annoyed him and he got wild.
Two right handlers developed sore
arms. Jess Timmins, the veteran, be-
gan to show his age all at once. The
young ones were erratic and terrible.
The Master Mind assumed all the re-
sponsibility and directed the pitching
of every ball from the dugout. Not
infrequently the Mastodons used five
pitchers to a game. The only thing
that saved them from fighting it out
with the Phillies for the cellar was
their hitting.
They still could hit. The Master
Mind finally Gained down. Boys"
ne SdlO, luc lllileIu rs III pun SdtOiy
and the pitching staff is in hades.
But you've still got the pennant in
your bats. We've got to bat our way
through from here to the Mississippi
WITH this dubious cheering resume
W and prediction the Mastodons
started West on their final drive for
the pennant That trip was just one
toll a. yat-
ting more crucial with every game.
The pitching was insane. but the bats
held out and battered through, mostly
in the ninth or tenth inning.
They broke even in Pittsburgh.
They made it two to one in Chicago
after two near-riots. They beat the
Reds and increased the number of in
digestion patients in Cincinnati.
The Mastodons had become imbued
with the same spirit that drove Stall
ings' Braves through to a pennant and
a world championship when they had
nothing visible to the naked eye of the
experts. The team just went along
with the momentum Of it's attack.
Base ball teams and troops get that
way. When they do, barbed wire can
not stop the troops and air-tight pitch
ing cannot stop the ball players.
That was the status of the Mastodons
when the train spewed the expedition
into the depot at the city of the big
battle. The populace were there to
meet it, and they signified their joy
with raspberries, as the saying is.
Normally this city Is a kindly and
pleasant place. 1t is hospitable. The
residents are fairly repressed except
ing at a ball game. / make allowance
now for the state of mind of the hard
losers at the time. The city had not
seen a pennant since Pop Arson was
a rookie. The chamber of commerce
had impressed upon the citizens that
the winning of a pennant by the Scar
letinaS that year meant prosperity,
taller buildings and a million popula-