Advance "dope" is of little value in a short baseball series where the teams are anywhere near evenly matched. This is especially true where the rivalry is as keen and the tension as high as in a Harvard-Yale contest. In the present season both nines have been handicapped somewhat in their development; Harvard, by the loss of Captain Ayres through sickness, Yale, by the ineligibility of Hanes. Moreover, the University was forced to swap horses in the middle of the stream, so to speak, through Dr. Sexton's resignation as coach.

But whatever the teams look like on paper, the winner is going to be the one which can "come through" in the pinches. Every world's series, every big contest, brings to light a new hero, the man who "came through" when needed. Sometimes it is the recognized star of the team who justifies his reputation. More often, it is the mediocre man who rises to the occasion. It is easy to find men who can field and bat well in practice, but the real player is the man who keeps up his high standard under the most trying conditions. Who will be the heroes of the Harvard-yale games today and tomorrow?