Part 10 (1/2)
”I think he figures on about fourteen men,” replied Hughson. ”That will give him three pitchers, two catchers, an extra infielder and outfielder, besides the seven other men in their regular positions. That'll allow for accident or sickness and ought to be enough.”
”Just as I doped it out,” remarked Joe.
”On a pinch, McRae could play himself,” laughed Jim. ”No better player ever held down the third bag than Mac when he was on the old Orioles. The old boy could give the youngsters points even now on winging them down to first.”
”For that matter, Robbie himself might go in behind the bat,” grinned Joe.
”No ball could get by him without hitting him somewhere.”
”It would be worth the price of admission to see Robbie running down to first,” admitted Hughson, with a smile.
”What kind of a team has Brennan got together for the All-American?” asked Joe.
”Believe me; it's a good one,” replied Hughson. ”He's got a bunch of the sweetest hitters that he could get from either league. They're a bunch of fence breakers, all right. When those birds once get going, they're apt to send any pitcher to the shower. You'll have all you want to do, Joe, to keep them from straightening out your curves.”
”I don't ask anything better,” replied Joe, with a laugh. ”I'd get soft if they were too easy. But who are these ball killers? Let me know the worst.”
”Well,” said Hughson, ”there's Wallie Schalk behind the bat--you know how he can line them out. Then there's Miller at first, Ebers at second, McBride at short and Chapman at third. The outfielders will probably be Cooper and Murray and Lange. For pitchers Brennan will have Hamilton, Fraser and Ellis,--although Ellis was troubled with the charley-horse toward the end of the season, and Banks may take his place.”
”It's a strong team,” commented Jim, ”and they can certainly make the ball scream when they hit it. They're a nifty lot of fielders, too. I guess we'll have our work cut out for us, all right.”
”Both Mac and Brennan have got the right idea,” said Hughson. ”Too many of these barnstorming trips have been made up of second string men, and when people came to see the teams play and didn't find the real stars in the line-up they naturally felt sore. But they're going to get the simon-pure article this time and the games are to be for blood. Anyone that lays down on his job is going to get fired. It'll be easy enough to pick up a good man to take his place.”
”What's the scheme?” asked Joe. ”Are we two teams to play against each other all the time, or are we to take on some of the local nines?”
”I don't think that's been fully worked out yet,” replied Hughson. ”I know we're going to play the Denver nine and some of the crack California teams.”
”Easy meat,” commented Jim with a grin.
”Don't you believe it,” rejoined Hughson. ”Don't you remember how the Waco team trimmed us last spring? Those fellows will play their heads off to beat us--and they'll own the town if they succeed. They figure that they'll catch us off our guard and get the Indian sign on us before we wake up.”
”Yes. But do you think they can get the Indian sign so easily?”
”No, I don't.”
”Of course, those minor teams will play their very best, because it would be a feather in their cap if they could take a game away from us. They'll probably look around and pick up the very best players they can, even if they have to put up some money for the purpose. Just the same, we ought to be able to polish them off with these.”
”Well, of course, we've got to expect to lose some games. It would be a remarkable thing to go around the world and win every game.”
”Yet it might be done,” broke in Jim.
”I suppose there'll be quite a party going along with the teams, just for the sake of the trip,” observed Joe.
”You've said it,” replied Hughson. ”At least half of the men will have their wives along, and then there's a whole bunch of fans who have been meaning to go round the world anyway who will think this a good chance to mix baseball and globe trotting. Altogether I shouldn't wonder if there would be about a hundred in the party. Some of the fellows will have their sisters with them, and you boys had better look out or you'll lose your hearts to them. But perhaps,” he added, as he saw a look of quick intelligence pa.s.s between the chums, ”you're already past praying for.”
Neither one of them denied the soft impeachment.
”By the way,” said Hughson, changing the subject, ”while I think of it, Joe, I want to give you a tip to be on your guard against 'Bugs'