Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 202, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1910 — Naps and Reds Agree to Play. [ARTICLE]

Naps and Reds Agree to Play.

The Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Naps will play a series of seven games for the championship of Ohio after the season ends. This arrangement was made between Business Manager Bancroft of the Reds and Vice President Bernaro of the Naps. It will be the first season that the teams have met in such an nffytr since the Naps trimmed the Reds, in 100 a,

THE classification legislation in the National association national agreement will be revised at the annual meeting of that organization in -Chicago next fall. The system may not undergo radical change, but there will be modifications that will do away with abuses and injustices that have arisen in the course of the development of the game, to individual minor leagues in all sections of the country. The major leagues are interested in the matter, because the draft prlco of the player is determined by the rank of the minor league of which the club to which he belongs is a member at the time of his selection, but the parties of the first part in the agreement will have no part in the new grouping of the minor leagues. This power is delegated to the minors by section 5 of Article 6 of the national agreement, which reads as follows: The National association shall have the classification of its leagues and the adoption of a salary for its clubs according to such classification and it agrees to withdraw protection from any league which allows any of its clubs to exceed the salary limit prescribed for leagues of Its classification. The succeeding section fixes the price for selecting a Class A player by a major chib at $1,000; if a class B player at $760; 'tit a Class C player at SSOO, and of a player “from a club of lower closs,” at S3OO. The quoted words were manifestly employed in expectation of the creation of classes below D and are assuredly sufficiently elastic to Include the rest of the letters of the alphabet However, it is apparent that although the National association has sole control of the grading of its leagues in rank, three classes—A, B and C —must be retained in order that the drafting rights of the major leagues under Section 6, Article 6, may be exercised at the price fixed for each of these ranks. “Are the Tigers out of the pennant running this year? Decidedly not,” said Manager Hughey Jennings the other day. “We’ve got to work harder than ever before, that’s all. Who do I think will win if we fail to get in at the finish. Well, frankly, I like the looks of the Red Sox. The Red Sox team has even chances with the Athletics of landing first in the race, despite the big handicap the Connie Macks now have on Taylor’s men. As long as this Red Sox smash-bang hitting continues nothing in the world will stop the team. Great pitching by a remarkable pitching staff such as the Athletics have will win a pennant, sometimes, but when you have to choose between a team that is playing great ball in the field and hitting fairly well behind wonderful pitchers, and a team that is bubbling over with confidence which has resulted from a long stretch of victories is able to start a batting rally which means everywhere from three to four singles to six or eight bits with doubles and triples scattered among them, and has a couple of great left-handers, who seldom pitch three, four or five hit games, but who never get hammered out of the box either, why, give me the chaps who are hitting and who have the confidence. It would be a great thing for Boston to wii the pennant, and if we cannot climb in there, why, my best wishes to Pat Donovan’s team.” 1 President Lynch has been closely observing the work of his umpires. He Is fairly well satisfied with the way they are performing, but is anxious to Improve the staff as much as he can. Next year he expects to have two or three new men of intelligence and

good Judgment. “In order to get highclass men for the position,’ said the league chief, "it is necessary to maker the work attractive. Intelligent mem will not stand for constant daily abuse on the field, and I am doing my best to eliminate the use of bad laguage by players. If we can hush up the rough! fellows it will be easy to get a fine class of men to do the umpiring, for it is interesting work. I think we are making progress along that line. Every case of profane or obscene language used to an umpire calls for a fine or suspension, and this rule is being rigorously enforced.” Mr. Lynch Is very earnest In his desire to make the game clean and attractive to the best people, and he is succeeding la his Intention. More than $6,000,000 will be paid out this year in salaries to baseball players. This does not inclue the mous expense of keeping parks In order. buying supplies and paying travel ing expenses. The total expenditure for the baseball of the two big leagues during the season this year will run 1 close to $10,000,000. n Baseball is a paying institution. August Herrmann, chairman of the National Baseball commission, predicts that this season will pay eight per cent, on the money Invested in baseball. “Baseball is the greatest business In the land,” he says, "it 1b a progressive business and is continually growing." Paul Smith, left fielder of the Canton team of the Illinois-Mlssouri league, was purchased the other day by President Murphy of the Cubs for SSOO. James Murphy, a brother of the president, located the nineteen-year-old player on a scouting trip. Smith Is six feet one Inch tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has been batting close to the .320 mark. It is his first year in professional baseball and he will remain with Canton until the Missouri league season closes.