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Show ATHLETICS BACK HOME IN TOP FORM After the athletics returned to Philadelphia Phil-adelphia from their Cuban trip the scattered to all quarters of the globe, and while each and even, member of the t;am enjoyed ihe trip, they were glad to set foot on Uncle Sam's domains. Eddie Collins, the peerless second baseman, at hlb homo In Lanshlre. related his experience of tho Cuban invasion. "The Ath'etics looked better In Cuba than thc have bince they played play-ed tho Chicago Cubs," he said "I never saw the fellows in such form Everv man on the team had some sort "of an ailment, and still they plaved hall that made the eyes of the natives bulge with astonishment Frank Baker hit one on the nose in a game against Havana, it flow from the bat like a streak of loose whitewash The last I saw of it. it was turning Into a star in the sk. "The climate was not bo bad, in fact, I liked it, but, of course, it must be frightful ihere in the summer , time Their ball teams are good, for the short time thev have been playing, play-ing, but they could not hold their own in cither th" American or Na-1 tlonal leagues. The best team Is the, Almendares, they won iwo games, tho onlv games we lost on tho island. is-land. They havc two of tho Cincinnati Cincin-nati team," both Cubans. MareoonB, i an outfielder, and Almeida, a short-1 ston "The AthlotlcB played 12 games nnd , won 10 qf them; that spotiks well fori the team. Tho diamonds arc not up to the American btandard. They aro sandy and uneven. A hard hit ground-) ier may come bobb.ng to -ou and just as you reach to clutch it. it will I fly over our head or hit ou in the face. Both B?rry and I got some uglv whacks Irom these gToundera "The Cubans thought they had the bc3l ball clubs In the world until wo went down there, and then they began to realizo that Undo faa: had a few terns that overmatched them 'I want to say a uord about our threo pitchers, Eddie Plank, Jack CoombB and 'Chef Bender. Thev had more than thev have ever shown, and they used it when It was needed. Tack Coombs pitched n no-hit, no-run gsrae against Havana, and but one man got to first base He got there through an error. The Cubans did not know what to make of the way Jack shot that pill over the plato. His old Injury has healed and it will never bother "him again, 1 think." |