Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1889 — SPALDING AND ANSON. [ARTICLE]

SPALDING AND ANSON.

THEY PROPOSE TO HATE A TEMPERANCE BALL. CLUB. Prospects of an Exciting Season on the Diamond Field—A Glance at the Playing Strength of the League Clubs—Notes and News of the Came. [CHICAGO CORRESPONDENCE.] The base-ball season is fully opened. Tho American Association commenced nearly two weeks ago. and the League began work on Wednesday last. From the present outlook the season of 1889 promises to be the most success.ul and interesting in the history of the national game. The Cnioago Club is in good trim to contest the League race with the New York and Boston teams. They have been playing all through the winter, and they enter the field in probably better condition than any of their rivals. The strugile between these three teams will be the event of the season.

The National League is composed of teams from the following cities: Boston. Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis. New York, Philadelphia. Pittsburgh, and Washington. Tho New York Club captured the pennant last year, and will make a strong pull for it this season. In the personnel of the team there is little or no. change. The Boston Club ha 3 been strengthened by the addition of Brouthers, liiohardson. and Bennett, the famous first and second' basemen and catcher of the old Detroit nine, which has drooped out of the League. Pittsburgh has been slightly strengthened by the addition to her ranks of Hanlon, the brilliant center fielder of last year’s Detroits. Barring this change, the club enters’ the field precisely as it was constituted at the close of last season. While there is not much danger that the championship flag will go to the Smoky City, her representatives on the green diamond are sufficiently strong to make it interesting for uny rival with which they may cross bats. Philadelphia also enters the contest without any material alteration in the personnel of the playing nine, the substitution of big Sam Thompson, formerly of the Detrolts, for Coleman in right field beiDg tho only change. It is doubtful if this adds any strength to the team. Thompson was onoe a mighty batter and a fine fielder, but since his right arm went Tame, more than a year ago, he has failed miserablyin both points of play. As a base-runner he always was a dead failure. On the contrary, Coleman, whom he supplants, is young, active, lithe, speedy as a base runner, a herd left-handed hitter, and a brilliant fielder. Harry Wright, it is generally conceded, has not acted wisely in making the change. But time proves all things. Let us wait and see. Old Harry has a mighty long head, and he may be right in this case, as he nearly always is. The playing strength of the Washingtons has been materially increased by the accession of Morrill and Wise, the old first-base-man and short-stop of the Boston Club, and, with proper management, the Senators will make it lively for all comers. The only change in the roster of tho Indianapolis team is the addition of Gotzein, the famous old Detroit pitcher. The club will probably occupy about the same position It did last season, unless there should be a better display of managerial work than has heretofore been shown. Cleveland, which has taken the place o,_ Detroit, is the "pony” team of tho Leagues and will in all likelihood bring up the rear of the procession at the close of the season. The players are largely young men. and light-weights at that They are, besides, weak in the box.

I hero have been some marked changes in the make-up ol the Chicago team. Baldwin and Daly. Anson’s lavorite pitcher and catcher the last two seasons; Sullivan, who has the last two years occupied left Held, and Pottit, a lino outfielder and great baserunner, have all been released. A Pittsburgh dispatoh reports Capt, Anson as saying, when asked for the reason for dispensing with the services of theso players: “They were dropped because we did not want them. In the future it will require something more than to be a ball-player to get to play on the Chicago team. A man must be a gentleman as well as a ballplayer. There isn’t a man left ondhe team that I anticipate any trouble from. Old Silver has been cautioned. He heeded the caution, and now looks like a useful man. I know I won’t have any trouble from him. The men we played today are all sober and steady. The battery is composed of two men who never drank a drop of liquor in their lives. The other men either don’t drink anything or scarcely anything. When you gat sober men on a team they are generally in good spirits and will do better work than better ball-players who drink, have headaches, and feel mean all around as the result of drinking. Besides, when players get so that they want to run the club it is time to drop them. Thoie lias got to be some head even to a ball club.” "How are you off for players?” "We are all right. We 1 have signed Hutchinson, Krodk and Gumbert, and will have Tener. They ought to be able to do our pitching. As catchers we will have Flint, Farrell, Sommers and Darling. “We would not sign Daly if ho was the only catcher in the world. He and Spalding couldn’t get along, and I wasn’t stuck on him. It’s his habits and manners and monkeying that we both object to. He is a demoralizing element; all the time in some mischief or trouble, and won’t pay attention to anybody. “Baldwin has fallen into some of Daly’s ways, and that’s one reason why he has gone. He is a great pitcher when he can get the ball over the plate; when he can’t, he’s no good. “Sullivan and Pettit were not released. They were not reserved and were not signed. Both men are good ball-players*, and will have no trouble in getting engagements. AVe didn’t like their ways and let them go. Hereafter wo don’t propose to be bothered by the habits of our players. There is no use of it. and we won’t have it. That’s just how the Chicago Club stands." There is a prevalent opinion that there was bad blood engendered between these four men and Anson through some row on the trip around the world. President Spalding, being interviewed on the subject, emphatically denied this, and said it was simply to strengthen the club that they were not kept. As Sullivan and Pettit were not reserved last fall Chicago has no claim on them. Baldwin and Daly were reserved, and while they have not been released they have been told by Mr. Spalding to look around and see what they could do for the season.

With Gumbert. Dwyer, Krock, and Hutchinson as regular pitchers, and Van Haltren and Ryan in the field, Chicago is well supplied with pitchers. With the exception of Krock, however, the rest are more or less of an experiment. There are certainly no Kee’es or Clarksons among them. When President Spalding, of the Chicago Club, was in Boston last week, so says a dispatch from that city, he spoke his mind pretty freely about the conduct of the Boston management in letting Morrill go and retaining Kelly. He regarded it as the height of folly. In the evening at a banquet he made a speech in which he said that he didn’t believe in allowing base-ball players to be owners of or interested in saloons or drinking'-places for reasons that must be obvious to everybody, and he intended at the next meeting of the League to offer an order or resolution preventing any player from being interested in a drinking-place. In fact he has already served notice on the Boston management that he intended to do so and they could readily understand what he meant by that.