Evening Republican, Volume 59, Number 72, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1917 — Baseball Season But Two More Weeks Away. [ARTICLE]

Baseball Season But Two More Weeks Away.

The tap of the gong, signallizing get-away days for the big league baseball players, will be heard in a very Short time now and the fans throughout the country, tired of the long winter, are eagerly looking forward to it. April 12 is the day for the opening and the tarns in their training camps are now leaving them for a junket through the bushes for ex-» hibition games with minor league teams as a final conditioner for themselves before the season officially opens. .—-™- Although it is a bit early for predictions, a glance at the various teams would indicate that there is a strong possibility that a world’s series may be staged next fall with the New York Giants as opponents of Comiskey’s White Sox. There seems to be little doubt but what when the season ends that McGraw's violet clad athletes will be in the van. Although the Giants did not annex the pennant in their organization in 1916, at the

riized as being the classiest team in the older circuit. When the season closed the McGraw's were traveling a faster pace than the champion Dodgers and the only reason that they were riot in the world’s series was the fact that they had too great a handicap tomakeup’ori accountofpbor working during the early months of the campaign. The addition of Chick Gandil, Cleveland first baseman, by the White Sox has given the latter organization a championship appearance. The only thing that kept the pale hose from finishing at the top last season was the lack of an experienced first base guardian to steady the infield. Fournier and John Collins were tried with indifferent success and their in the pinches sent many a contest to the opposing club. The Red Sox nosed the Hose out by two games and it is figured with the deterioration of some of the old timers on the Boston club and the added strength to the Sox should give the latter enough power to finish over Boston.

The teams throughout the American league circuit are probably the mort evenly matched that ever left the barriers in that organization. Seven teams were in the scrap last season and but a few games separated the seventh place club from Boston, who finished first. ' Some of the teams which finished dpwn in the race have added strength and the scramble for the ra®- this season should be even hotter than that of 1916. Yea bo, it looks like a merry scrap.