“Not as well as I should like,” responded Hughson, while a touch of gloom came into his face. “There are days when it feels all right, and other days when I can’t lift it without pain. I’ve been down to see Reese again about it, and he can’t see anything radically wrong with it. Says I’ll have to be patient and give it time. But it’s mighty hard to have to sit on the bench when I’m fairly aching to get in the box again.”
“I know just how you must feel,” returned Joe sympathetically. “The boys are all rooting for you to get back into harness again. It doesn’t seem the same old team with you out of the running.”
“I’ll be back with bells on before long,” answered Hughson with a smile, as he moved on to have a chat with Robbie.
“Isn’t he a prince?” Joe remarked admiringly to Jim, as they watched the back of the tall figure.
“He sure is an honor to the game,” returned Jim. “Here’s hoping that he’ll soon be on deck again.”
The next day the New York papers were full of the story of the game. There was a general feeling of jubilation over the auspicious start by the Giants, a feeling that was the more pronounced, because of the feeling that had previously prevailed that Hughson’s continued disability would be a serious handicap to the chances of again winning the pennant.
One great subject dwelt upon in all the accounts was the marvelous pitching that Joe had shown. The sporting reporters “spread themselves” on the way he had held the Bostons in the hollow of his hand. To allow only two hits in the opening game, and one of them a scratch, was a feat that they dwelt upon at length.
But scarcely less space was devoted to his batting. Although it was recalled that in the previous year he had had a creditable average at the bat, considering that he was a pitcher, his power as a twirler had kept his other qualities in the shade. Comment was made on the perfect way he had timed the ball and of the fact that his homer had gone nearly to the end of the grounds almost on a straight line, a fact that attested the tremendous power behind the hit. One of the papers headed its article: “Is There to Be a New Batting King?” and went on to say among other things:
“It is an extraordinary thing to pitch a two-hit game at the beginning of the season. But it is still more extraordinary that, despite the strain on the muscles and nerves of the pitcher who achieves that distinction, he should also have a perfect batting average for the day. That is what occurred yesterday. In four times at the bat he was passed twice and the other times poled out a triple and a home run. And this was done against heady and effective pitching, for Albaugh has seldom showed better form than in yesterday’s game.
“One might have thought that with this record Matson would have called it a day and let it go at that. But he was still not satisfied. In the ninth, with two men out and two strikes called on Mylert, he put the game on ice by stealing home from third—as unexpected and dazzling a play as we shall probably be fortunate enough to see this year. It was the climax of a wonderful game.