Baseball Joe in the Big League or, A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles   By: Lester Chadwick

Baseball Joe in the Big League OR A Young Pitcher's Hardest Struggles

By LESTER CHADWICK

AUTHOR OF "BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS," "BASEBALL JOE AT YALE," "BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE," "THE RIVAL PITCHERS," "THE EIGHT OARED VICTORS," ETC.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

Copyright, 1915, by CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY

Baseball Joe in the Big League Printed in U. S. A.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

I TWO LETTERS 1

II TO THE RESCUE 11

III AN UPSET 19

IV AN APPEAL 30

V THE THREAT 38

VI A WARNING 46

VII BASEBALL TALK 54

VIII THE QUARREL 61

IX JOE IS DRAFTED 70

X OFF TO ST. LOUIS 77

XI GOING DOWN SOUTH 87

XII THE QUARRELING MAN 97

XIII UNDER SUNNY SKIES 103

XIV HARD WORK 112

XV ANOTHER THREAT 122

XVI JOE'S TRIUMPH 129

XVII "PLAY BALL!" 140

XVIII HOT WORDS 148

XIX JOE GOES IN 153

XX STAGE FRIGHT 162

XXI A QUEER MESSAGE 175

XXII IN DANGER 182

XXIII A LAME ARM 191

XXIV A TIGHT GAME 201

XXV IN NEW YORK 208

XXVI ADRIFT 217

XXVII THE RESCUE 223

XXVIII MOVING PICTURES 229

XXIX SHALLEG'S DOWNFALL 234

XXX THE HARDEST BATTLE 240

BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE

CHAPTER I

TWO LETTERS

"Whew!" whistled Joe Matson, the astonishment on his bronzed face being indicated by his surprised exclamation of:

"Well, what do you know about that, Sis?"

"What is it, Joe?" asked his sister Clara, as she looked up from a letter she was reading to see her brother staring at a sheet of paper he had just withdrawn from an envelope, for the morning mail had been delivered a few minutes before. "What is it?" the girl went on, laying aside her own correspondence. "Is it anything serious anything about father's business? Don't tell me there is more trouble, Joe!"

"I'm not going to, Clara. It isn't trouble, but, if what he says is true, it's going to make a big difference to me," and Joe looked out of the window, across a snowy expanse of yard, and gazed at, without consciously seeing, a myriad of white flakes swirling down through the wintry air.

"No, it isn't exactly trouble," went on Joe, "and I suppose I ought to be corkingly glad of it; but I hadn't counted on leaving the Central Baseball League quite so soon."

"Oh, Joe! Have you lost your place?" exclaimed Clara. "And just after you have done so well, too; and helped them win the pennant! I call that a shame! I thought baseball men were better 'sports' than that."

"Listen to her my little sister using slang!" laughed Joe.

"'Sports' isn't slang," defended Clara. "I've heard lots of girls use it. I mean it in the right sense. But have you really lost your place on the team, Joe?"

"Well, not exactly, Sis, but I'm about to, I'm afraid. However, I guess I may as well make the best of it, and be glad. I sure can use the extra money!"