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HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL 
 

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HOW TO PLAY 
 BASEBALL 
 
 BY THE GREATEST 
 BASEBALL PLAYERS 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 NEW YORK 
 THOMAS Y. CROWELL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS 
 

 Copyright, 1912, by 
 Sprague Publishing Company. 
 
 Copyright, 1913, by 
 Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 
 
 Published April, 1918. 
 
 (DCI.A343436 
 
 14 . 
 

 CONTENTS 
 
 
 I. 
 
 THE CATCHER 
 
 By Oscar Stanage 
 
 PAGB 
 . 1 
 
 II. 
 
 THE PITCHER 
 
 By John Wesley Coombs 
 
 . 27 
 
 III. 
 
 THE BATTER . f^ . . . 
 By Frank M. Schulte 
 
 . 47 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE FIRST BASEMAN . . 
 By Frank L. Chance 
 
 . 67 
 
 V. 
 
 THE SECOND BASEMAN . 
 By Edward Collins 
 
 . 79 
 
 VI. 
 
 THE THIRD BASEMAN . . 
 By Harry Lord 
 
 . 95 
 
 VII. 
 
 THE SHORTSTOP .... 
 By Owen Bush 
 
 . 115 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE OUTFIELD 
 
 By Tris Speaker 
 
 . 133 
 
 IX. 
 
 THE BASE-RUNNER .' . . 
 By Tyrus Cobb 
 
 . 151 
 
 X. 
 
 THE UMPIRE 
 
 By " Billy" Evans 
 
 . 171 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Oscar Stanage Throwing to Second 
 
 Base Cover cut ^ 
 
 The National Game Frontispiece ■'^ 
 
 OPPOSITE PAGE 
 
 **WiLD Bill'' Donovan Pitching . . . 20- 
 
 Pitching with the Whole Body .... 36 '^ 
 
 Using Full Length of Bat 52 ' 
 
 After a High One 70 
 
 Sliding into First after a Bunt .... 76 
 
 Second Base, *^the Pivot of the Infield " . 82 ^ 
 
 **Ty'' Cobb Running Bases 100 
 
 *'Safe on Third!" 112 
 
 A Quick Throw to First by Shortstop . 126 ' 
 
 One Way of Catching Line Hits . . . 142 "^^ 
 
 Sliding Away from the Baseman. . . .160^'^ 
 
 A Fast Slide Stopped by a Plucky Catcher . 168 "^ 
 
 Sweeping Up the Home Plate 174 :- 
 
 Calling a Player Out on Second . . . 190 - 
 
 vii 
 
THE CATCHER 
 
 By OSCAR STANAGE 
 
I 
 
 THE CATCHER 
 
 CATCHING a ball and throwing it is 
 part of the catcher's job, but not all by 
 any means, and after you have read several 
 paragraphs of this chapter you will discover 
 that it is only a small part of it. 
 
 Catching demands one-third ability and 
 two-thirds mental work. It is the part of you 
 that does the thinking that counts behind the 
 bat. Many catchers have succeeded in hold- 
 ing positions in the major leagues, while 
 others, who could throw better and hit better, 
 remained in the minor leagues. It is all in 
 the amount and kind of thinking that you do. 
 
 To catch a ball, let it hit the glove first and 
 close your hand over it. Do that and you will 
 know how to catch. And when you know that, 
 
 3 
 
How to Play Baseball 
 
 start thinking and keep on thinking. The 
 more you think the better you will catch. 
 
 One thing the catcher must learn to do, and 
 that is to know his pitchers. The first thing 
 you want to find out when you are to catch is 
 what curves the pitcher can throw. Some 
 have a good fast ball that breaks, others have 
 a slow ball, while still others can use a good 
 curve. You can find out what the pitchers 
 have by warming them up. Get them to pitch 
 to you as if they were pitching to a man at the 
 plate. Let them pitch for fifteen minutes or 
 more, and let them pitch everything they can. 
 You will soon discover that there is one ball in 
 which each pitcher excels. 
 
 Again, a pitcher may be able to pitch sev- 
 eral kinds of balls. You know that he has two 
 or three good deliveries. On some days his 
 curve will be working better than his fast ball, 
 and on other days you will find out that his 
 fast ball works better than his curve. Always 
 
The Catcher 
 
 manage to find out what a pitcher has that is 
 working unusually well on the day he pitches, 
 and get him to rely chiefly on that kind of ball 
 during the game. 
 
 To give you an illustration of this point, I 
 want to recall to you an incident that hap- 
 pened to Detroit late in the season of 191 1. 
 The Detroit club secured from the Texas 
 League a young pitcher named Wiley Taylor. 
 We had him with us on a short road trip, and 
 I warmed him up one afternoon. He pitched 
 a dandy curve to me, but did not seem to have 
 a good fast ball or slow ball. Several days 
 later when we played in Detroit, Manager 
 Jennings sent Taylor in to pitch. I did not 
 warm him up before that game, but since I 
 had warmed him up in Chicago I thought I 
 could easily guess what he should pitch to 
 fool the batters. So when the first inning 
 started I asked for a curve ball. But what he 
 pitched was nothing like the curve ball he 
 
6 How to Play Baseball 
 
 pitched to me in Chicago a few days before. 
 It did not have the curve. He tried his best 
 to throw me a curve ball. The first St. Louis 
 batter that faced Taylor walked. There were 
 three balls and two strikes on the next batter 
 when the man on first base started for second. 
 I signaled for a fast ball and got it. I threw 
 to second in time to get the runner stealing, 
 while the umpire called the batter out on 
 strikes. A fielder's error allowed the next 
 batter to reach first base. Taylor could not 
 get the ball over the plate for the fourth man 
 who came to bat, and he also got a base on 
 balls. The fifth batter hit at a bad ball and 
 filed out. 
 
 It was the same kind of a story in the sec- 
 ond inning. I continually asked for a curve, 
 hoping that it would start to break right; but 
 it became weaker if anything, and I thought 
 that Taylor would soon be hit hard. 
 
 When we took the field for the third inning, 
 
The Catcher 
 
 I decided to switch. I asked for a fast ball. 
 I got it. The fast ball that this young pitcher 
 threw had a break to it almost as big as the 
 curve he had been throwing. It was a beauty. 
 For the rest of the game I continued signal- 
 ing for fast balls, and four hits is all St. Louis 
 got off Taylor's fast ones. 
 
 Of course every boy who catches on a team 
 knows about signals. You know how to signal 
 your pitcher for certain kinds of balls. It is 
 always best not to be content with one set of 
 signals. Get several. During the season of 
 191 1 I had seven distinct and different sets of 
 signals for the pitchers I worked with. It 
 often happens that some team will catch on 
 to your signals and then the extra sets come 
 in very handy. 
 
 Now you know what your pitcher has, and 
 you know how to signal him, so the next thing 
 is to know when to signal for certain pitched 
 balls. That is where some of that two-thirds 
 
8 How to Play Baseball 
 
 mental ability that I mentioned in the begin- 
 ning of my story comes in. 
 
 To know when to ask for certain pitched 
 balls a catcher has to know the batter, and 
 you can get acquainted with his batting habits 
 by studying him. Judge him when he steps 
 to the plate. 
 
 Baseball players are divided into two 
 classes — low ball hitters and high ball hit- 
 ters. Sometimes you find an entire team that 
 can hit a low ball better than a high ball, or 
 the opposite. The champion Philadelphia 
 Athletics are recognized as a team of high 
 ball hitters. Nearly all of their effective hit- 
 ting is on balls pitched waist high or higher; 
 and to be effective against them a pitcher 
 must keep his delivery low. 
 
 In working a pitcher do not ask for too 
 many curve balls. There are some pitchers 
 who are most effective with a curve, but mix 
 the signals so that he will vary the curve with 
 
The Catcher 
 
 another kind of delivery. The general rule 
 to be followed is, ^^Do not ask a pitcher for a 
 curve ball unless absolutely necessary/' Some 
 catchers ask for curves on an average of three 
 out of five times. This simply means they 
 believe that curve balls alone can fool a bat- 
 ter, which is a sad mistake. These catchers 
 often ^^curve a pitcher out of the big leagues" 
 as we call it, meaning that they make him 
 pitch curved balls until his arm becomes use- 
 less. 
 
 Always try to have the pitcher work with 
 you. Have an object in asking for every ball 
 you signal for. 
 
 Do not hold your glove where you ex- 
 pect to receive the ball. If you have asked 
 the pitcher to deliver a ball waist high to 
 the batter, do not reach out your glove at the 
 height of the batter's waist and yell to the 
 pitcher, ^Tut her there, old fellow, put her 
 there 1" If you have asked for such a ball, 
 
10 How to Play Baseball 
 
 hold your glove high or low. If you hold it 
 in the position where you expect to receive 
 the ball, it tips the coachers off and they are 
 liable to tell the batter what you are expect- 
 ing. If the coachers are looking for a high 
 ball because you are holding your hands 
 high, and signal the batter that a high ball is 
 coming, when you have signaled for a low 
 ball, do you see how the batter will be de- 
 ceived? He is set to meet a high ball and 
 finds a low pitched ball coming at him. He 
 can't change his position quick enough to 
 meet the ball, and nine times out of ten he 
 will be forced to swing at it, because his mind 
 was fully made up to meet it before he dis- 
 covered that the coacher had made a mistake. 
 Try never to hold your glove where you ex- 
 pect the pitched ball to reach you. 
 
 When men are on second and third and two 
 men are out: Supposing the batter is a good 
 hitter; also suppose that there are two balls 
 
The Catcher 11 
 
 and no strikes on him. Now what do you 
 think the batter expects the next pitched ball 
 to be? A fast one, of course, because it is 
 easier to get a fast ball over the plate than 
 a curve ball. Here is where you want to sig- 
 nal your pitcher for a curve; you will be fool- 
 ing the batter. If he strikes at it he will 
 swing on the ball as though it was a fast one, 
 and he will miss it nine times out of ten. If 
 your pitcher does not happen to have a good 
 breaking curve, make the batter strike at bad 
 balls. He is a good batsman and he knows 
 it; he also realizes that there are two men 
 out; he sees a runner prancing up and down 
 at third, and another anxious to break away 
 from second and score on a hit. A short 
 single will score both men. It may win the 
 game. The batter is eager to hit; it is ex- 
 pected of him, and he will strike at bad balls 
 because of these reasons. 
 
 It is always good policy to let a star batter 
 
12 How to Play Baseball 
 
 walk in a pinch, but never let him walk with 
 two men out unless the score is close, — three 
 to two or two to one, something like that. 
 There are exceptions to this rule, of course, 
 and batters like Lajoie, Cobb, and Jackson in 
 the American League are fair examples. You 
 can let a man like that walk with two men out 
 if he has a mediocre batter following him. 
 
 Now a few moments' attention to base run- 
 ners. With a base occupied you should be 
 the man to give the signals to catch the run- 
 ner off base. Do all the signaling on men 
 leading off first, second, or third base. Have 
 separate signals, and see that the first base- 
 man, second baseman, shortstop, and third 
 baseman work with you. 
 
 Supposing there is one man out and a run- 
 ner on second base. The shortstop should 
 hold him close to the bag. If the batter bunts 
 at the first ball pitched and misses it, you can 
 see in a flash that the batter is trying to sac- 
 
The Catcher 18 
 
 rifice that runner to third. He had his in- 
 structions to bunt. Since he bunted at the 
 first pitched ball and missed it, it is certain 
 that he will bunt at the next one. Watch the 
 runner on second. If he is watching the bat- 
 ter keenly, or if he is making a nervous start 
 toward third, you have double evidence that 
 the batter is expected to bunt, so your play 
 is to ask the pitcher to waste a ball. By 
 ^'wasting" a ball we mean throwing it wide 
 of the plate, — not trying to pitch to the bat- 
 ter. Before you signal your pitcher to waste 
 the ball, signal your shortstop that he is to 
 receive a throw. Get his answer that he is 
 ready to make the play, and then tell your 
 pitcher to waste the ball. You will get the 
 waste ball and be in a position to throw. Let 
 go of the ball quickly and you will throw out 
 the runner at second two out of every three 
 times you try the play. 
 
 Here is another play you can work. Im- 
 
14 How to Play Baseball 
 
 agine first base occupied and nobody out. 
 Your team is behind or the score is tied. If 
 the other team is ahead, the batter is not liable 
 to bunt. The sacrifice hit is not generally 
 resorted to in that case. Give your first base- 
 man a signal that the first ball pitched will be 
 a waste ball. This signal means that the first 
 baseman is to stay close to the bag. When 
 the first baseman answers you that he has re- 
 ceived your signal, then signal the pitcher to 
 waste the next ball. As soon as you get the 
 ball, throw it to the first baseman, and chances 
 are that you will catch the runner fiat-footed 
 off first base. 
 
 But do not try this play too often. The 
 other team will become acquainted with your 
 intentions and fool you. The runner will 
 stay close to first base, and you will find the 
 first ball wasted for nothing. The batter will 
 have one ball and no strikes, and your pitcher 
 will be under a handicap. When you have 
 
The Catcher 15 
 
 tried this play a few times by wasting the 
 first ball, fool the other team and tell the 
 pitcher to put the first ball over the plate. 
 You see the runner will stand near the bag, 
 and the batter, thinking that you intend to 
 waste the ball, will make no effort to strike 
 at it. The pitcher will throw the ball over 
 the plate for a strike, and he will have an ad- 
 vantage over the batter. You have fooled 
 them so that the runner on first will think 
 you have forgotten him and intend to pay all 
 your attention to the batter. When you are 
 convinced that he thinks so, if the runner on 
 first takes a big lead, give your throwing sig- 
 nal to the first baseman, have the pitcher 
 waste the next ball, and you will get the run- 
 ner at first. Trying a play repeatedly is al- 
 ways dangerous; mixing your plays is the 
 way to win games. Always keep that in 
 mind. 
 
 The catcher is responsible for the entire 
 
16 How to Play Baseball 
 
 work of the infield. The second baseman and 
 the shortstop get all their signals from the 
 catcher on pitched balls, and they shift 
 around for different batters accordingly. 
 They also get their signals from the catcher 
 on throws, and they play accordingly. 
 
 Always give signals plainly so that the 
 second baseman and the shortstop can get 
 them, but hide them sufficiently so that no 
 man on the coaching line can see them. 
 
 The Philadelphia Athletics always try to 
 get the signals of another team. By saying 
 that I am not trying to accuse them of being 
 unsportsmanlike; it is all in the game. 
 
 In one series with Philadelphia during the 
 season of 191 1, I was sure they had my sig- 
 nals. I always noticed that when they got a 
 runner on second base, he would hold his 
 hands behind him when I signaled for a 
 curve ball; whenever I asked for a fast ball 
 he would let his hands drop to his side. In 
 
The Catcher 17 
 
 this way the batter always knew what kind 
 of a ball the pitcher intended to deliver. I 
 changed my signals, and it so happened that 
 the signal I used for a fast ball before meant 
 a curve now and the former curve signal was 
 being used as the signal for a fast ball. The 
 result was that several batsmen came near 
 being hit in the head. The runner on second 
 would inform them that a curve ball was 
 about to be pitched, and instead a fast one 
 came whizzing across the plate; or the man 
 on second would tell the batter that the 
 pitcher intended to deliver a fast ball, and as 
 he stepped close to the plate to meet it, he 
 had to duck to escape being hit by a curve 
 ball. 
 
 It is as easy to pick runners off third base 
 as it is to get them off first, and it is done in 
 the same way. 
 
 Now there are several plays which a team 
 works when at bat and it is up to the catcher 
 
18 How to Play Baseball 
 
 to break these plays up. One of them, and a 
 dangerous one, is the hit-and-run play; an- 
 other, just as dangerous, is what we call the 
 ^^squeeze" play. This last-named play is 
 worked with a man on third and one or no- 
 body out. The runner on third has signaled 
 the batter, and the runner starts with the 
 pitch. He is almost on the plate as the batter 
 meets the ball. The batter does not hit hard. 
 He just rolls it toward third base or toward 
 first base, and before an infielder can get the 
 ball the runner is over the home plate. 
 
 I do not think that I shall ever forget one 
 play made against the New York Highland- 
 ers in Detroit last summer. To break up the 
 ^^squeeze" play it is necessary to outguess the 
 batsman. You cannot depend on catching 
 the signal. If you try that you will never 
 break it up, for there are probably 1500 
 movements that a man will make, any one of 
 which might mean a signal. So you must try 
 
The Catcher 19 
 
 to outguess the batter by interpreting his in- 
 tentions by the movements he makes. 
 
 New York worked the ^^squeeze" play 
 often. It is a favorite play of the New York 
 team. The score was tied and it was an extra 
 inning in this instance. "Wild Bill" Dono- 
 van was pitching. New York had a man on 
 third, — Blair, their catcher, a slow runner. 
 Daniels was the next man at bat. I looked 
 at Daniels out of the corner of my eye and 
 saw Chase walk alongside of him to the plate 
 and whisper to him. I signaled Donovan to 
 waste the first ball. He did. I grabbed the 
 ball and turned around. Blair was about ten 
 feet from the plate. I was able to wait for 
 him and tag him out. The New York team 
 does not know to this day how I happened to 
 outguess them. 
 
 If you want to break up this play, never 
 watch the batter for your signal. You must 
 watch the runner on first base for the sign. 
 
20 How to Play Baseball 
 
 If the runner and batter intend to make the 
 play, the runner will be watching the batter. 
 He is looking for the sign. You can tell as 
 soon as he has it, for when he gets it he will 
 turn away and pay no attention to the batter. 
 You cannot guess hit-and-run signals in a 
 thousand years. There have been many of 
 them, and some unusually funny ones. Steve 
 Brodie used to have one where he would pull 
 out his shirt to tell the base runner that he 
 intended to try the play. The New York 
 Highlanders had a simple but unusually suc- 
 cessful one for years. They had the initials 
 "N. Y.'' in large letters on their shirt fronts. 
 With a man on first base looking for the sig- 
 nal, the batter would rub one hand across the 
 *^Y" if he intended to make the play and 
 would rub his hand over the ^^N" if he de- 
 cided not to try it. You see the ^^Y" stood 
 for ^TES" and the ^^N" meant ^^NO." Two 
 of the best batters and fleetest base runners in 
 
'WILD BILL" DONOVAN PITCHING. 
 From "Baseball Magazine." 
 
I 
 
The Catcher 21 
 
 the league had a very simple one. If the bat- 
 ter intended to try the play he would pretend 
 to be chewing gum, and if he did not care to 
 try it his jaws would not move. Many lift 
 the right or left foot. A member of the old 
 Baltimore Orioles would signal by gripping 
 his hat with two or three fingers. Another 
 used to lay his bat across his shoulder; still 
 another would strike his spikes with his bat, 
 knocking the clay ofif them. Many batters 
 tighten their belts as a signal, and others pull 
 down their caps or set them back on their 
 heads. Some strike the plate with the bat, sa 
 you see how a batter could give three or four 
 motions at the plate each of which might be 
 interpreted as a signal, but none of which 
 would mean anything; so follow my advice 
 and watch the base runner instead of the 
 batter. His sign is always the same and every 
 base runner has the same sign, so you cannot 
 fail if you look in that direction. 
 
22 How to Play Baseball 
 
 I told you at the start of this article that 
 the way to catch is to let the ball strike the 
 glove and close the hand over it. A good 
 catcher never ^^fights" the ball. Let the ball 
 come to you and ^^give" with it — that is, pull 
 both hands back with the ball; that will 
 break the speed. The only time a catcher 
 should go out after a ball is when the base 
 runner is advancing; then get the ball as soon 
 as possible. 
 
 On a throw, get the ball away from you 
 as quickly as possible. Try to be as nearly 
 accurate as you can be. By learning to throw 
 accurately you will give the infielders confi- 
 dence in you, and it will better their work. 
 If the infielders have no confidence in you 
 they will not show to the best of their ability. 
 
 There are some batters who have no weak 
 spots; some batters who will hit any kind of 
 ball you pitch to them. Do you know the 
 kind of ball Jackson and Lajoie, two of the 
 
The Catcher 23 
 
 best hitters in baseball, are weak on? It will 
 surprise you to learn that the balls they hit 
 least of all are balls pitched fast over the 
 center of the plate. Lajoie hits more bad 
 pitched balls than good pitched balls. He 
 hits high balls and wide balls, close balls and 
 low balls, much better than any other kind. 
 Good balls are his weakness. 
 
 The leading batters of the game are natur- 
 ally the dread of every pitcher, and every 
 pitcher believes that the way to fool them is 
 to give them bad balls. These batters have 
 been accustomed to receiving so many bad 
 balls and hitting them that when they do get 
 perfect strikes pitched to them they are so 
 surprised they fail to hit them. They never 
 expect that kind. 
 
 To illustrate to you, I will recall an in- 
 stance that occurred in a game between De- 
 troit and Cleveland during the season of 
 191 1. We were playing in Cleveland. Jack- 
 
24 How to Play Baseball 
 
 son, the Cleveland outfielder who had be- 
 come the talk of the baseball world' by his 
 wonderful hitting, came to bat in the first 
 inning. I signaled for a low curve on the 
 outside of the plate. Jackson hit that into 
 the right field for an extra base. 
 
 The next time Jackson came to the plate I 
 asked for a high and fast ball pitched close. 
 Jackson hit that for an extra base. The third 
 time he faced our pitcher I signaled for a 
 low slow ball and Jackson made his third 
 successive hit off that. 
 
 When Jackson came to bat the fourth time 
 I remarked to him: ^Well, you're just like 
 Lajoie. I have signaled for three different 
 kinds of balls, all of them bad, and you hit 
 every one of them. I guess you have no 
 weakness." 
 
 Jackson faced the pitcher and I asked for 
 a fast ball over the center of the plate. Jack- 
 son saw it shoot over and heard the umpire 
 
The Catcher 25 
 
 call "Strike One." I signaled for the same 
 thing, and again Jackson saw the ball shoot 
 over the plate and heard "Strike Two." And 
 for the third time I asked for a fast ball over 
 the plate. Jackson poked his bat feebly at 
 the ball and popped up an easy foul. 
 
 I don't think there are many more things 
 that I could tell you. If you will master all 
 of these, you will be doing well for a boy. 
 
THE PITCHER 
 
 By JOHN WESLEY COOMBS 
 
II 
 
 THE PITCHER 
 
 < ( 
 
 L 
 
 ET me pitch!" This request is gen- 
 erally tossed up from the throats of 
 twelve or more boys just before the start of a 
 game on their favorite lot. It comes right 
 after the teams are selected from the group 
 that is wont to congregate on that particular 
 spot. 
 
 Organize a team of boys and the first re- 
 quest is the same. All boys who play ball 
 want to pitch. There is something fascinat- 
 ing about pitching. This part of the game 
 holds in itself a certain irresistible attractive- 
 ness. It is the art of defying the law of 
 gravity. It is the art of securing complete 
 control of a ball and the course it takes from 
 
 29 
 
30 How to Play Baseball 
 
 your position in the pitcher's box to the 
 catcher in back of the home plate. There is 
 something fascinating in making a ball take 
 funny twists in the air, and the fascination 
 grows all the stronger when you curve that 
 ball so wide or so peculiarly that it fools the 
 batter. 
 
 When I was a boy I wanted to pitch. I 
 guess I wanted to pitch as soon as I learned 
 what baseball was, and I have been pitching 
 ever since. The first game of ball I ever 
 pitched for a team of nine men was played 
 in a cow pasture in Durham, Maine. We 
 had teams around our home just as you find 
 them in other country towns, and I pitched 
 for our Durham team. 
 
 When I went to high school the school had 
 a league, and I pitched for Freeport High 
 School in the school league. I was not a 
 winning pitcher. After my high school ca- 
 reer I went to Colby College. I pitched for 
 
The Pitcher 31 
 
 Colby, winning two Maine State college 
 championships, and when I left there I had 
 ^^barrels of speed" but little control. 
 
 When I entered the major leagues as a 
 member of the Philadelphia team, I was not 
 a finished pitcher, — far from it; I was just 
 starting in. It took me three years to learn 
 how to pitch. 
 
 My arm was injured when I started work- 
 ing for Philadelphia. I concluded that a 
 man must need more than speed to become a 
 successful pitcher. It took some time to real- 
 ize how to acquire the other things needed. 
 While my arm was getting back to shape I 
 thought I never would regain the speed I 
 formerly had, so I kept on working out plans 
 to make myself still valuable. 
 
 Studying other pitchers is what enabled me 
 to work out my problem. I studied the late 
 Addie Joss' style. I studied ^Wild Bill" 
 Donovan, of the Detroit Tigers; G. Harris 
 
32 How to Play Baseball 
 
 (^^Doc") White, of the Chicago White Sox; 
 Denton T. (^^Old Cy") Young, formerly of 
 the Boston Red Sox, later with the Cleveland 
 Naps and then with the Boston Rustlers; 
 George Mullin, of the Detroit Tigers; ^^Big 
 Bill" Dineen, of the St. Louis Browns, and 
 several others. I studied them closely, 
 watched their style and got something from 
 each of them. If you study the pitchers of 
 the major leagues, the successful ones, you 
 will discover that each one has some particu- 
 lar thing which he does like no other pitcher. 
 There is something in his work which is 
 original with him and of distinct advantage. 
 I tried to figure out what that one thing was 
 in each of the successful pitchers, and I tried 
 to cultivate it to my own use. After three 
 years of watching, waiting, and practicing, I 
 began to pitch. 
 
 Should you desire to become a pitcher I 
 would advise you to show constant effort. 
 
The Pitcher 33 
 
 Try hard and keep on trying. If you stay 
 with your task you will undoubtedly succeed. 
 There are other features of pitching, — those 
 that concern the throwing of a ball and the 
 curving of it, and the study of the batsman. 
 These things I will describe to you as I have 
 found them, but first of all let me impress on 
 you that to succeed you must try constantly 
 and keep on trying. 
 
 The first thing you must secure is control. 
 One of our great pitchers was once asked to 
 what he attributed his success, and he re- 
 plied: 
 
 ^Well, I donate 51 per cent, to control, and 
 the remaining 49 haven't any vote; so we 
 won't discuss them." 
 
 CONTROL is necessary to success in 
 pitching. You must have it. The history of 
 the game shows that many pitchers with con- 
 trol and plenty of brains were successful 
 pitchers, although other men with more 
 
34 How to Play Baseball 
 
 speed and curves than they had, were fail- 
 ures. They were successful because they 
 could put the ball where they wanted to put 
 it eleven times out of twelve. 
 
 Next to control I would say head work. 
 The use of the brain in pitching comes second 
 in importance in my opinion. 
 
 After that, a change of pace. By that I 
 mean changing from a fast ball to a slow ball 
 without giving the batter any way of knowing 
 that change. How you can do this will be 
 told later on in this article. 
 
 Fourth, and last in the list of essential fea- 
 tures of pitching, I put speed and curves. 
 
 Now as to the kinds of ball you should 
 pitch. You have probably read of pitchers 
 having from ten to fourteen different ways 
 to pitch a ball. I would advise young pitch- 
 ers to use a fast ball and a fast curve and a 
 slow ball and a slow curve. That will be 
 about all you need. The spit ball and all the 
 
The Pitcher 35 
 
 other freak deliveries are only different kinds 
 of curves. 
 
 When you are learning to pitch do not try 
 to master too much at one time. Go along 
 slowly and patiently. Pick up little by little 
 and be sure that you do everything right be- 
 fore you try to pick up anything else. Many 
 boys who would have made good pitchers 
 have spoiled their chances by trying to pitch 
 too much, or rather to perfect too many kinds 
 of deliveries at the same time. It does not 
 pay in the long run. 
 
 Most boys think that a good arm is all that 
 is necessary in pitching. They believe that 
 they must pitch solely with their arm. Do 
 not do this. Learn to pitch with your body. 
 Bring the muscles of your shoulders and the 
 upper part of your body into play. Get them 
 into action when you deliver the ball. If you 
 do this, you will get more speed. Better than 
 that, this system will give you a bigger and 
 
36 How to Play Baseball 
 
 better curve. Also, if you use your body 
 more than your arm it will not tire you out. 
 There are many pitchers losing games be- 
 cause they do not use their body enough. 
 They simply use their arm, and the result is 
 that the arm gets tired because it has to do 
 all the work, and soon the pitcher finds his 
 speed leaving and his curve not breaking 
 right. The other team hits him hard and he 
 loses the game unless he is taken out. Then 
 sometimes he is not taken out soon enough to 
 save the game. 
 
 When you are pitching, find out the bat- 
 ter's weakness. You can do this by pitching 
 different kinds of balls to him. Practice will 
 teach you to find out what he likes to hit and 
 what he does not like to strike at by the way 
 he goes after the ball. Always study the bat- 
 ter carefully. 
 
 After you discover where the batter's weak- 
 ness lies, do not pitch him constantly the kind 
 
PITCHING WITH THE WHOL^ BODY. 
 Photograph of Marquard, from "Baseball Magazine." 
 
The Pitcher 37 
 
 of balls he is weak on. Change your tactics. 
 Let him think that you will pitch to his 
 weakness, but cross him with the sort of ball 
 that he does not believe you will dare to 
 pitch him. 
 
 Much of a pitcher's success lies in outguess- 
 ing the batter. That is, pitching the kind of 
 balls to him that he is not looking for. If a 
 batter knows that you know his weak point, 
 he may get an idea that every ball you pitch 
 to him will be at his weak spot. He will be 
 prepared for it. And just when he thinks you 
 are about to give him the kind of ball he is 
 weak on, give him something else. Always 
 try to pitch the kind of ball the batter least 
 expects. 
 
 Supposing you have two strikes and no 
 balls on the batter. Nine out of ten batters 
 will figure that you will not put the third ball 
 right over the plate. Do not do this always. 
 Pitch the next ball close or to the outside of 
 
38 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the plate, high or low, using your own judg- 
 ment But at times with two strikes on the 
 batter put the next one over, for it is always 
 a bad system to use the same plan several 
 times in succession. The more the changes 
 the more valuable is the pitcher. 
 
 Most amateur teams play the straight 
 game. That is, when they are at bat and 
 have a man on first base, with none or one 
 out, the batter will be instructed to lay down 
 a bunt for a sacrifice hit. If you are pitching 
 against a team that is in the habit of doing 
 this, when you face a situation where the team 
 you pitch against has a man on first with none 
 or one out, do not put the ball over the plate 
 for the batter. In a case like this pitch the 
 ball high. Batters have trouble in bunting 
 high balls. 
 
 Another thing that many teams will do 
 with a man on first base is to play the hit-and- 
 run game. The batter and base runner have 
 
The Pitcher 39 
 
 signals arranged between themselves. If they 
 think the second baseman will cover second 
 if the runner attempts to steal, the batter will 
 try to hit the ball down to second. Since the 
 second baseman has gone over to second to 
 take the throw from the catcher, the ball will 
 roll into the outfield, a safe hit. The same 
 applies when the shortstop covers. In this 
 case the batter hits the ball to short instead 
 of second. 
 
 Now when you face a team that does this, 
 and that team gets a man on first, pitch the 
 ball wide to the batter if you observe a signal 
 which you think means a hit-and-run play. 
 This is commonly known as a ^Vaste ball." 
 Signal your catcher that you intend to waste 
 the ball, let him step to the outside of the 
 plate and take your pitch. Not alone will 
 this give the catcher a better chance to throw 
 out the man going to second but it will also 
 prevent the batter from hitting the ball. 
 
40 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Many teams have been beaten because the 
 pitcher and catcher guessed when the hit-and- 
 run play was being planned. 
 
 With two balls and no strikes on the batter, 
 put the next ball over. 
 
 With two balls and one strike on the bat- 
 ter, pitch the next ball inside or outside, but 
 try to get it over the plate. 
 
 With three balls and two strikes on the bat- 
 ter, put the next ball over. Curve it at times, 
 if possible. The batter knows the situation 
 and realizes that you will have to put the next 
 one over. He is looking for a fast ball, since 
 fast balls for most pitchers are the easiest to 
 put over the plate. He will be set to hit a 
 fast ball and by curving the ball you will out- 
 guess the batter and often cause him to strike 
 out or be retired on an easy grounder or fly. 
 
 Now as to holding runners on bases. Every 
 pitcher has to guard against the base runner. 
 More bases are stolen in the major leagues 
 
The Pitcher 41 
 
 each season as the fault of the pitcher than 
 of the catcher. Every pitcher that enters the 
 major leagues is taught to guard against a 
 tell-tale windup. The base runner watches 
 the pitcher. If he finds that the pitcher has a 
 long and slow windup, he will take a big lead 
 and find it easy to steal bases; but if the 
 pitcher has a fast windup and can hide his in- 
 tentions when he intends to pitch, the base 
 runner has to stay close to the bag or be 
 thrown out. 
 
 So when the pitchers develop, they find that 
 they must be able to ^^make the runner hug 
 the bag." They do this by developing a 
 quick throw to first. Any good base runner 
 can tell by the motion of the average pitcher's 
 shoulder when he intends to make the throw 
 to first, and every pitcher tries to hide this. 
 His success in keeping the runner close to the 
 bag lies in his ability to keep the runner from 
 knowing just when he intends to throw the 
 
42 How to Play Baseball 
 
 ball to the infielder. In this the catcher and 
 shortstop must help the pitcher. Every 
 pitcher should depend on his catcher to sig- 
 nal him when a man is leading far off first. 
 This will enable the pitcher to throw the ball 
 to the first baseman without letting the run- 
 ner know that the pitcher knows he is taking 
 a big lead. With a runner on second base 
 the shortstop, who is in plain view of the 
 pitcher while the runner is not, can give the 
 pitcher the signal to throw when the runner 
 is leading far off the sack. After the short- 
 stop has given the signal he can run over and 
 cover the bag. As soon as the pitcher has 
 seen the signal given he can by practice tell 
 when to whirl around and throw the ball un- 
 known to the base runner. 
 
 As to backing up. The pitcher should back 
 up the infielders on every ball thrown from 
 the outfield to the infield. He should be in a 
 position ten or fifteen feet in back of the in- 
 
The Pitcher 48 
 
 fielder where he can stop any ball thrown that 
 may get past the infielder. 
 
 The pitcher should back up every base on 
 balls hit to the outfield, where a throw is to 
 be made. The pitcher should cover first on 
 balls hit to the first baseman. Start for first 
 on every ball hit toward right field. If the 
 first baseman should go after it, the pitcher 
 would be in a position to get the runner at 
 first. Do not back up first on balls hit to in- 
 field. Too much unnecessary running is bad 
 for a pitcher, but in double plays the catcher 
 should back up the first baseman and the 
 pitcher should go to the plate. If the in- 
 fielders failed to get the runner at second and 
 some one made an overthrow to first base, the 
 catcher would be in a position to recover the 
 ball and relay it to the pitcher at the plate. 
 This would be much quicker work than let- 
 ting the first baseman recover the ball him- 
 self. This is the only play in which the 
 catcher should leave his position. 
 
44 How to Play Baseball 
 
 The first baseman should always leave his 
 position on balls hit into right field. He will 
 then be able to take the throw from the out- 
 fielder. In a case like this the pitcher should 
 cover first. There is always a chance of get- 
 ting a runner between bases, and in any event 
 the infielders will know they are protected at 
 first. 
 
 You have here the essential features of 
 pitching. As to the way of holding the ball 
 for different kinds of deliveries, I would sug- 
 gest that you hold the ball the same way for 
 every kind of delivery — between the thumb 
 and the first tv^o fingers and against the ring 
 finger of your pitching hand. If you hold 
 them all the same way, you will perhaps de- 
 ceive the batter. Many batters are able to 
 guess what a pitcher intends to pitch to them 
 by the way he holds the ball. The curve that 
 you give the ball is done with the wrist. You 
 will learn how to curve the ball by constantly 
 
The Pitcher 45 
 
 practicing it. It will come to you at once 
 and will no doubt bring a smile when you dis- 
 cover the ease with which you curve a ball. 
 On leaving your hand the ball follows the in- 
 dex finger of your hand. The twist you give 
 it with your wrist produces the curve. No 
 one ever taught me how to pitch any kind of 
 curve; I picked it up by constant practice. 
 Nearly every pitcher, I guess, has done like- 
 wise. The best advice I could give you 
 would be to hold every ball in the same way, 
 let the wrist do the work, and practice con- 
 stantly. 
 
 Success in pitching is the same as success 
 in anything else. All successes are achieved 
 alike and with these two factors— PERSIST- 
 ENCY and CONFIDENCE. Keep on try- 
 ing constantly and keep your nerve. Realize 
 that you will be able to accomplish a certain 
 thing, set your goal, and keep on trying till 
 you accomplish it. 
 
I 
 
THE BATTER 
 
 By frank M. SCHULTE 
 
Ill 
 
 THE BATTER 
 
 PICK out the right kind of bat and study 
 the pitcher. Those are the two most 
 important things in batting; the things that 
 will help most. 
 
 There are only a few rules or directions 
 that will be of use to everybody, for batting 
 is largely a matter of individuality. Almost 
 everybody who succeeds gets into habits 
 which make a style of his own and, except in 
 cases of glaring faults, it is more likely to 
 hurt a man's batting than to improve it if he 
 makes any decided changes in his style. 
 
 What every young player ought to learn at 
 the start can be told in a few words. A good 
 position at bat will help much. See that your 
 feet are planted firmly on the ground to 
 
 49 
 
50 How to Play Baseball 
 
 guard against a possible slip that might 
 wrench you. Stand as near to or far from 
 the plate as comes natural, depending on the 
 length of your bat. Stand so as to look along 
 the path the ball must travel so that you can 
 gauge its direction. Have your arms and 
 shoulders free so that you can move them 
 any way easily. 
 
 Do not swing on the ball with all your 
 might. A sharp, quick poke will send the 
 ball as far as if you tried to tear the cover 
 off it every time. You must learn to hit the 
 ball squarely instead of with a terrific blow. 
 The trick of a long hit is not in the force of 
 the swing, but in meeting the ball just right. 
 Swing naturally and without any thought of 
 slugging the ball, but with the idea of hitting 
 it with the middle of the end of your bat in- 
 stead of hitting under it, which will mean 
 only a high fly, or over it which will result 
 in a bounding grounder. 
 
The Batter 51 
 
 If you are facing a speedy pitcher stand 
 near the catcher, and if a slower pitcher, or 
 one who depends on curves, stand near the 
 diamond. The tendency is to hit a speedy 
 ball toward right field, if you are a right- 
 handed hitter, and to pull a slow ball toward 
 left field. By standing near the catcher you 
 will gain an instant's time in which to get 
 your bat around so as to avoid hitting fast 
 balls to foul ground. In the same way, by 
 standing near the diamond, the tendency to 
 hit slow balls foul by swinging too quickly on 
 them will be avoided somewhat. 
 
 Don't move your feet backward or forward 
 from the plate unless you have to, to avoid 
 being hit. Changing your position in the 
 box while the ball is coming at you is like 
 moving a camera when exposed. It blurs 
 the plate. The image of the ball will not be 
 as clear in your eyes if you change your posi- 
 tion or the angle of vision while looking at it. 
 
52 How to Play Baseball 
 
 As the ball comes up step the foot nearest 
 the pitcher forward in a direction parallel to 
 the side lines of the batsman's box, and that 
 will keep your eyes right in line with the ball 
 at the same time enabling you to use all the 
 strength necessary to drive the ball hard if 
 you meet it right. 
 
 Hold the bat any way you want to; that is, 
 the most natural way, the one that seems 
 easiest to you. You will have to change the 
 way of holding it slightly for different 
 pitchers and at different stages of the game. 
 I do not ^^choke" a bat, but many others do 
 with good results. By that I mean grasping 
 the bat several inches from the handle, to 
 get a short quick stroke at the ball. I learned 
 to use the full length of the bat and it always 
 is best to stick to the natural way, but I do 
 shorten up my swing when the pitcher has 
 me in the hole, so as to be able to change the 
 direction of my bat as quickly as possible. 
 
USING FULL LENGTH OF BAT. 
 PhotojTraph of Schulte, by permission of Sprague Publishing Co. 
 
i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
The Batter 53 
 
 The right kind of a bat to use is the one 
 best suited to you. Every good batsman has 
 his preferences and there are a great many 
 models from which to choose, each of them 
 different from the others. Some of the 
 variations are noticeable to only the experi- 
 enced man, while others are so great as to be 
 seen by any one. The size, weight, length 
 and shape must be determined by the individ- 
 ual. A big, muscular man probably will do 
 better with a large, heavy bat, while the 
 smaller, wiry person may need less weight for 
 the best results. The object always is to find 
 the bat that seems ^^handiest." I don't know 
 any better way of expressing it. If it feels 
 clumsy, take a smaller or lighter one; if it 
 feels like a toothpick to you, pick out a 
 heavier one. Whatever the weight or size 
 it should be so well balanced that you can 
 change the direction of your swing instantly, 
 even while in the act of swinging, so as to 
 
54 How to Play Baseball 
 
 enable you to hit a ball that has fooled you. 
 My preference is for a bat with a slender 
 handle, fairly long, and of good size at the 
 end where it is to meet the ball. 
 
 Good wood in a bat is of more importance 
 than its size or shape sometimes. There is 
 a great difference in bats in this respect. The 
 one with good wood in it will have the right 
 kind of drive. The ball will leave it fast and 
 will seem to gain speed after leaving it. A 
 salesman once told me that was due to differ- 
 ence in the resiliency of the wood, and, with- 
 out looking up the word in the dictionary, I 
 am willing to let it go at that. You can tell 
 good wood by the feel of it when the bat 
 meets the ball. If the bat stings your hands 
 when you meet the ball squarely and have 
 firm hold of the handle, it has poor wood in 
 it. Try another. 
 
 To show what this resiliency will do, I re- 
 member a home run on the Boston grounds. 
 
The Batter 55 
 
 Purdue was pitching and gave me a knee- 
 high ball. It started out on a line with Pur- 
 due's shoulder and kept on rising, finally 
 hitting within a few feet of an advertising 
 sign back of the right-field bleachers. It was 
 not the force of the blow but the good wood 
 in the bat that made the ball travel that far 
 and keep on going up. 
 
 Every major league player tries bat after 
 bat, and when he finds the right one he is as 
 jealous of it as of his sweetheart. A player's 
 bat is like the delicate tool of an engraver, 
 or like the pen to which you have become 
 accustomed. Try changing from a fine point 
 to a stub pen or from a steel to a gold tip, 
 and you will know how the batter feels when 
 he has to change bats for any reason. 
 
 I had two ^^home run" bats last year. One 
 of them Tinker and I both used until it wore 
 out. It lost its resiliency, I guess, as even 
 the best bats will. After constant use they 
 
56 How to Play Baseball 
 
 start to split along the lines of the grain and 
 have to be discarded. Then I found a bet- 
 ter one, and was going fine. It made three 
 home runs for me in Boston and everybody 
 was saying I was going to beat Buck Free- 
 man's record of twenty-five home runs in a 
 season. They seemed so sure of it that I 
 began to believe it myself. We went home 
 to Chicago, and the Giants were coming for 
 an important series. We were fighting for 
 the pennant then. 
 
 Going out to the grounds for the first game 
 I missed my bat and, on inquiry, found it in 
 a disused locker at the clubhouse — broken. 
 It just made me sick and mad all the way 
 through. It had been broken in morning 
 practice, but it was a long time before any of 
 the players dared tell me who did it. I tried a 
 dozen bats in two weeks. None of them felt 
 right. It's funny what a difference it makes. 
 You keep on thinking of that old bat every 
 
The Batter 57 
 
 time you hit a ball. If you make a long 
 line fly or perhaps a three-bagger, you feel 
 sure that ball would have gone out of the 
 lot if you had only had the old stick in your 
 hands again. Finally, near the end of the 
 season, I found a bat that was a pretty good 
 one. You bet, I took it home with me and 
 kept it there all winter. But it was too late. 
 Seems to me that broken bat cost me a possi- 
 ble record, for I felt sure every time I went 
 to the plate with it that I was going to get 
 hold of a fast one and hit it against the wall 
 or out of sight, and there is a wonderful lot 
 in that feeling of confidence. 
 
 For the most part batting in the big leagues 
 is a duel of cunning and wits between the 
 man with the stick and the man on the slab. 
 If a man knows what kind of ball is being 
 pitched, and where it is coming, he can hit it 
 somewhere and usually can hit it safe. The 
 pitcher knows that and knows that the batter 
 
58 How to Play Baseball 
 
 knows it. Consequently each tries to out- 
 guess the other, and the pitcher who out- 
 guesses or crosses you oftenest is the one that 
 puts the biggest crimp in your batting aver- 
 age. 
 
 In the matter of studying pitchers no rule 
 is good for all cases. You must use your 
 judgment as to what to do in batting against 
 different men. When facing pitchers like 
 Mordecai Brown or Christy Mathewson, the 
 batter must always be on the alert. With 
 them, or with others who have equally good 
 control, it usually is pretty safe to try to hit 
 the first good one you see coming up. It is 
 not much use to try for a base on balls against 
 that kind of pitcher. Even with three balls 
 and no strikes, or even three and nothing, a 
 pitcher with good control will make you hit 
 the ball, and you are more likely to hit safely 
 if you cross them by hitting unexpectedly. 
 If you wait they are almost certain to have 
 
The Batter 59 
 
 the count three balls and two strikes and 
 then they have the advantage, although it 
 may not seem so at first thought With 
 their control they can pitch a fast one, a slow 
 one, or a curve and fool you badly, if you 
 guess wrong. 
 
 Some pitchers, when it is three and two, 
 will use the one thing of which they have 
 best control and in which they have most 
 confidence. If by watching you have seen 
 that a man's curve ball is bothering him 
 by not breaking well, then look for a fast one 
 when he has to put the ball over or pass you, 
 and you usually will be right. Sometimes a 
 man has poor control of his fast ball; then 
 look for him to bend a curve over and wait 
 for that. It is the pitchers with good control 
 of all their styles of delivery that keep the 
 batsman always at sea. The pitcher with 
 control usually will keep you in the hole, that 
 is, he will have more strikes than balls called, 
 
60 How to Play Baseball 
 
 or at least as many, unless he has to pitch out 
 to help the catcher stop base-runners. So, as 
 I said before, the best way is to try to hit the 
 first good one in such cases. 
 
 When a pitcher has poor control and you 
 get the advantage of him it is better to try for 
 a base on balls, particularly as you usually 
 can guess what he is likely to pitch when it 
 is three and two. When there are men on 
 bases, of course, the batsman is not so free in 
 his choice of when to hit and when not to. 
 He must work with the base-runner, particu- 
 larly when the runner is on first base. He 
 has more things to think of and cannot choose 
 his time for hitting quite as freely. 
 
 If you watch the pitcher closely and con- 
 stantly, you will often get an idea of what he 
 is pitching from his motions. Watch for the 
 little things all the time and remember that 
 every one of them may mean something that 
 will be of great help. One pitcher I have 
 
The Batter 61 
 
 in mind uses a broad sweeping wind-up when 
 he delivers a fast ball or a floater, but short- 
 ens up his swing noticeably when he pitches 
 a curve ball. Of course, when there are men 
 on first or second bases this pitcher has to cut 
 out most of the wind-up, so knowledge is of 
 no use then. 
 
 While on the bench always watch the 
 pitcher when at work. If you notice a pecul- 
 iar motion, you may not be able to tell from 
 the bench what is being pitched with that 
 particular motion. But while he is pitching 
 to the man ahead of you in the batting order, 
 it is your privilege to wait near the plate for 
 your turn to bat. From there you can tell 
 what is pitched every time and can see if that 
 motion you noticed is a habit in throwing any 
 particular kind of ball or was only an acci- 
 dent. Sometimes the pitcher will not use 
 that motion again at all, but if he does it 
 
62 How to Play Baseball 
 
 regularly for a curve, or a fast, or a slow ball, 
 then you have something on him. 
 
 To illustrate, the Cubs used to have a lot 
 of trouble stealing bases on a certain pitcher. 
 He kept us close to our bases and we could 
 get only a short lead. One day somebody 
 noticed that when he was going to throw to 
 first he kept the elbow of his right arm 
 slightly raised from his body, but when he 
 was going to pitch the ball his elbow would 
 be tight against his side before he started 
 winding up. We watched him and found 
 it was a regular habit, and from that day 
 until he quit the league the Cubs stole bases 
 on that pitcher freely. To digress a little 
 from batting, I know it is the general impres- 
 sion that the catcher is responsible for base- 
 running, or lack of it. That is not often 
 true. The best catcher in the world can-: 
 not stop runners unless he has the right kind 
 of help in holding the runners close to their 
 
 I 
 
The Batter 63 
 
 base. On the other hand, a foxy pitcher or 
 heady infielders will make a fair catcher 
 look good because few runners will get the 
 opening to steal on him. 
 
 Going back to the bat: learn how to hit at 
 all kinds of balls in the same way. That is 
 to say, learn to get ready to hit at them in 
 the same way, so as not to tip off to the 
 pitcher what you think he is going to pitch. 
 That pitcher is studying you just as closely as 
 you are watching him, and if you hold your 
 bat one way when you expect a fast ball and 
 another way when looking for a curve, be 
 sure he will notice it. 
 
 In this duel of wits between pitcher and 
 batsman, teams are always trying to figure 
 out the catcher's signals so as to tip off what 
 kind of ball the batter may expect. This is 
 likely to do more harm than good. It is con- 
 fusing and frequently dangerous to the batter. 
 Some players want to be tipped off, but as a 
 
64 How to Play Baseball 
 
 rule they are the kind who are looking for 
 friends in the crowd while on the bench, in- 
 stead of watching their opponents. In the 
 world's series between the Cubs and Athletics 
 we thought we had figured out Ira Thomas' 
 signs. In his ^^ginger talk" to jolly Bender 
 along, Thomas kept changing from ^^Chief" 
 to ''Albert" and back to ''Chief"; and after a 
 while it looked as if "Chief" was Ira's signal 
 for a curve and "Albert" meant a fast ball. 
 
 When I came to bat I heard Thomas call 
 out something ending with "Albert," so I set 
 myself to whale a fast ball into the crowd. 
 It looked like it, too, as it came up, but it 
 started curving and I saw that barely in time 
 to save myself a fierce blow on the head by 
 dropping to the ground. That was all the 
 "Albert" I wanted. 
 
 In the same series Manager Chance 
 thought the Athletics must have figured out 
 our signs, the way they were hitting the ball, 
 
The Batter 65 
 
 so he told Kling to change them. Kling did 
 immediately, but the other fellows went right 
 on hitting just the same. 
 
 Once we did get a catcher's signs in a 
 legitimate way from the bench and tried to 
 tip off the batsman, but too many tried to do 
 it at one time and the result was confusion. 
 Sheckard, I think it was, had a narrow escape 
 from being hit on the head. At best there 
 can be only a temporary advantage gained by 
 this method, for your opponents are sure to 
 get wise and change their signs so as to cross 
 you with possibly serious results. 
 
 It is better to get all your signs about what 
 is to be pitched from the pitcher himself — 
 signs which he does not know he is giving. 
 Then you are sure of them. There is no tun- 
 nel route to a .300 batting average nor any 
 soft, easy way to acquire one. But if you 
 have the natural ability and put your heart 
 and mind into the study, you can learn to bat. 
 
THE FIRST BASEMAN 
 
 By frank L. chance 
 
IV 
 
 THE FIRST BASEMAN 
 
 llLMOST a requisite in the make-up 
 /■""\ of a successful first baseman is a large 
 stature. Very few first basemen can be 
 found in the major or minor leagues who 
 are not above the average height. The rea- 
 son for this is plain. A first baseman is a 
 mark for the other infielders and the battery 
 to ^^shoot at," and the bigger the mark the 
 easier it is to hit. Furthermore, a tall man, 
 of course, has a better chance of stopping 
 high throws and the infielders do not have to 
 wait so long before aiming at him. A short- 
 stop or a third baseman always throws with 
 more confidence when a big fellow is wait- 
 ing to take the throw, and, as every one 
 
 69 
 
70 How to Play Baseball 
 
 knows, confidence is half the battle in base- 
 ball. 
 
 The present-day requirements for a first 
 baseman are treble those of a few years ago. 
 In those days, the player stayed close to the 
 bag and not a great deal was expected of him 
 except sureness on balls thrown to him. Now, 
 a first baseman must be fast on his feet and 
 ready to do as much work as any of the other 
 infielders. 
 
 Of the great first basemen in the game to- 
 day, about half are right-handed and the 
 other half are left-handed. It is absolutely 
 necessary for a player in this position to 
 be able to use his gloved hand alone for 
 catching almost as ably as his two hands to- 
 gether, whether he is right- or left-handed. 
 Practice, and plenty of it, alone will enable 
 a player to acquire this one-handed skill. 
 Of course it is unwise to use only the glove 
 when both hands could be employed just as 
 
^ 
 
 \ 
 
 cp 
 
 AFTER A HIGH ONE. 
 From " The American Boy," by permission of Sprague Publishing Co. 
 
The First Baseman 71 
 
 well. But it frequently happens that it is 
 impossible to keep one foot on the bag and 
 still keep your balance for a two-handed 
 catch, and in these cases you will find that 
 your practice with one hand has not been 
 wasted. 
 
 One of the hardest things to learn about 
 playing first base is the art of locating the 
 bag without looking for it. For this more 
 hard practice is required. And when one 
 has practiced at it long enough, one finds that 
 he almost invariably can run and touch the 
 bag with his foot with hardly a glance in its 
 direction. When there is a runner on first 
 base and the batter hits a ground ball to the 
 first baseman, giving him a chance to throw 
 out the runner going to second, he must look 
 toward second to make the throw and then 
 dash backwards or sidewise to his own sack, 
 ready at all times to take the return throw 
 which may complete a double play. It will 
 
72 How to Play Baseball 
 
 be seen that he may lose his throw or get to 
 the base too late if he takes the time to look 
 for the bag. He must know where the sack 
 is by instinct. 
 
 One of the hardest of the first baseman's 
 duties is the fielding of bunts. When a 
 sacrifice hit is expected from the batsman, 
 and there is a runner on first, he must play in, 
 ready to field the bunt himself if necessary, 
 and still be ready to get back to his own base 
 without delay if the pitcher or catcher can 
 field the bunt, or if the runner strays too far 
 from first and there is a chance to catch him 
 napping. A left-handed thrower, more fre- 
 quently than one who throws with his right 
 hand, can get in, pick up the bunt and throw 
 it to second base for a force-out; and this 
 is a great play if it can be carried through 
 successfully, for it means an additional man 
 out without allowing the side at bat an ad- 
 vancement on the bases. 
 
The First Baseman 73 
 
 A first baseman must learn never to allow 
 his mind to wander an instant from his task. 
 Usually he need watch no one but the 
 catcher — who signals to all the players on the 
 team what kind of ball is to be pitched — and 
 the batter. When there is a man on first 
 base, the first baseman usually is required 
 to stand on the bag, for the purpose of keep- 
 ing the runner from acquiring too big a lead, 
 or to take quick throws from the catcher or 
 pitcher. If the catcher is giving all the 
 signs, he need watch him only, for he will 
 be told by signals when a throw is going to 
 be made. But he always must be prepared 
 for a throw from the pitcher, as there is little 
 chance to make ready to receive one while the 
 ball is speeding from the pitcher's hands. 
 
 Physical strength and the ability to stand 
 many bruises are desirable qualifications in 
 a first baseman. When a man is unaccus- 
 tomed to playing the position, he is likely to 
 
74 How to Play Baseball 
 
 be given many an unnecessary bump. With 
 lots of practice and experience he may learn 
 to avoid most of these. One should never 
 stand on the bag a moment longer than is 
 absolutely necessary. When a throw has 
 been received before the arrival of the run- 
 ner, the first baseman alv^ays should make 
 it a point to get out of the way, to leave the 
 bag and give the runner, who is unable to 
 check his speed quickly, the right of way. 
 Sometimes it is impossible to get away from 
 the sack before the runner crosses it or slides 
 into it. Then the first baseman should occu- 
 py as little of the bag as possible, keeping his 
 left foot in contact with a small corner of the 
 sack. Sprained ankles and spiked feet and 
 limbs often result from collisions at first 
 base. 
 
 The art of playing first base comes natur- 
 ally to most of the players who have been ex- 
 perts in the position. However, a few have 
 
The First Baseman 75 
 
 learned the ^^job" by arduous practice and 
 study. To the young man wishing to become 
 an adept on the sack, I would give the fol- 
 lowing advice : 
 
 First, practice taking good throws, both 
 fast and slow ones, until you are sure of 
 yourself. Then have some one throw them 
 high, low, and on both sides of you, learn- 
 ing to keep your foot in touch with the bag 
 while stretching in all directions. Then 
 learn, by hard practice, to field hard-hit 
 ground balls and bunts. The fielding of 
 grounders is one of the most difficult things 
 to master. As for receiving throws that hit 
 the ground before they come to you, the stop- 
 ping or scooping of them usually is a matter 
 of luck, for a ball seldom bounds twice alike, 
 and the first baseman has no way of telling 
 what it is going to do. Learn to watch your 
 catcher for signals and snap throws, and your 
 pitcher for quick throws to catch runners 
 
76 How to Play Baseball 
 
 napping. Practice throwing to all the other 
 bases, first taking careful aim until you have 
 located them from all angles, and then mak- 
 ing your throws quickly, scarcely looking at 
 the target. Always remember to get out of 
 the runner's way when possible, but always 
 insist on having enough place for yourself. 
 Practice swinging around quickly after tak- 
 ing a throw, or while taking one, so that you 
 may get the ball on the runner, running or 
 sliding back into the sack almost as soon as 
 the ball has reached your hands. Remember 
 that it is not necessary to touch the runner 
 with the ball, but with the hand in which 
 the ball is. Never leave your position un- 
 guarded to back up a play at another base 
 unless a play at your own is unlikely or im- 
 possible. Work with your second baseman 
 and pitcher until you understand them thor- 
 oughly. When a ground ball is hit to you, 
 and it is best for the pitcher to cover the bag. 
 
z 
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 CD 
 
 2 
 
The First Baseman 77 
 
 use judgment in making the throw to him or 
 to the base. It usually is more preferable to 
 throw directly at the base, and the throw 
 usually should be underhand and not too 
 fast. Finally, work with that glove until you 
 can make it do your bidding, until you are 
 almost as sure with it as with both hands, but 
 never make a one-handed catch unless it is 
 absolutely necessary. 
 
THE SECOND BASEMAN 
 
 By EDWARD COLLINS 
 
V 
 THE SECOND BASEMAN 
 
 SECOND base, as compared with the 
 other positions on the team, is mechan- 
 ically easier. By that I mean that the field- 
 ing chances of the second baseman are easier 
 than those of the first or third baseman. The 
 second baseman has to work harder, but 
 grounders do not come as hard at him as 
 they do at the man playing first or the man 
 at third. 
 
 But when it comes to the other part of the 
 game, the thinking part, second base becomes 
 a difficult position. The man who plays 
 second can be the keystone of the infield. He 
 must be quick and accurate, but with the de- 
 velopment of speed and the right way to use 
 it he must also learn to think quickly. 
 
 81 
 
82 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Baseball games are won in many instances 
 because players think quickly. The most 
 valuable players are those who think faster 
 than the average. If you can think quicker 
 than the other fellow, you have a big advan- 
 tage. When you start out, learn to think 
 ahead. Always realize the situation and de- 
 cide on what you will do if a certain play 
 comes up. Plan your actions before the ball 
 is hit. All of the plans will be discussed 
 later in this article. 
 
 Second base is called ^^the pivot of the in- 
 field." The majority of plays center around 
 second base. The second baseman controls 
 more plays than any other player on the in- 
 field, and a great part of his success de- 
 pends on harmonious working with the short- 
 stop. 
 
 The first thing you want to do is to learn 
 to work with your shortstop. Have a com- 
 plete understanding with him on all plays. 
 
SECOND BASE, "THE PIVOT OF THE INFIELD." 
 From "The American Boy," by permission of Sprague Publishing Co. 
 
The Second Baseman 88 
 
 Decide between yourselves who is to cover 
 second base on certain plays. 
 
 Some boy teams seem to think that the 
 second baseman should always cover second. 
 That is wrong. You will find out later why 
 it is wrong. You will also discover why you 
 should agree with the shortstop and why it 
 will be of value to you if you divide the work 
 up properly. 
 
 You have all read of team-work. Many 
 baseball writers say that much of the success 
 Connie Mack has achieved with the Athletics 
 is because of our team-work. The meaning 
 of team-work is working in harmony; to pro- 
 duce team-work players must understand 
 each other's style of play perfectly and know 
 what the other man will do on certain occa- 
 sions. After you reach an understanding 
 with the men with whom you work, you will 
 get the habit of doing the right thing at the 
 right time. You will know what to do be- 
 
84 How to Play Baseball 
 
 cause you know what the other man is doing, 
 or will do, and when this happens on your 
 team you can boast of having team-work. 
 
 Much of the success of team-work de- 
 pends on the second baseman and the short- 
 stop. Play after play centers around them. 
 If they can work together evenly, the other 
 members of the team will be in a better posi- 
 tion to act. 
 
 Now to the actual work of the second base- 
 man. One of the first things you want to 
 learn is how to ^^play the batter" as we call 
 it in the major leagues. By that we mean 
 what position you must take on the infield 
 to get the grounders, line drives or short flies 
 from the man at bat. 
 
 To "play the batter" properly you must 
 know the batter's batting habits. To get this 
 knowledge you must study him. The aver- 
 age boy at bat will be what we call a "dead 
 left-field hitter" or a "dead right-field hitter." 
 
The Second Baseman 85 
 
 Some players nearly always hit into right 
 field; others hit into left field nine times out 
 of ten. 
 
 Watch the man at bat and find out in what 
 direction he is most likely to hit; then shift 
 yourself accordingly. I will give you an in- 
 stance to illustrate my point: 
 
 Two of the best hitters on the Detroit team 
 are Sam Crawford and Jim Delahanty. Now 
 Crawford has a reputation of being a right- 
 field hitter and Delahanty is inclined to hit 
 the ball into left field. There you have two 
 batsmen who hit in opposite directions. 
 
 When Crawford comes to bat I move over 
 near first base, and when Delahanty comes to 
 bat I shift my position near second base. 
 When Crawford is batting, Jack Barry, our 
 shortstop, moves over near second base, and 
 when Delahanty is at bat he goes toward 
 third base. The outfielders switch the same 
 way, but when a batter like Ty Cobb or Larry 
 
86 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Lajoie is up we all play our regular positions. 
 These two players are liable to hit into any 
 direction. 
 
 The second baseman should learn to work 
 in harmony with the catcher. He should 
 know all the signals that his catcher gives 
 the pitcher and he should play accordingly. 
 When the boy playing second becomes more 
 experienced he will learn the habits of the 
 batter and he will learn how the batsmen 
 strike at curves, slow balls, and fast balls. He 
 will learn that curves pitched to the average 
 batter will not produce the same kind of 
 results that a fast ball will, and he will find 
 out how the catcher and pitcher intend to 
 fool the batsman and the base-runner. 
 
 As a general rule the second baseman 
 should play nearer second base than first 
 base. When I started playing second base 
 for the Athletics, Connie Mack advised me 
 to do this. He explained to me that more 
 
The Second Baseman 87 
 
 balls are hit near second base than near first 
 base, and since the biggest average of hits 
 go near second it is better to play closer to 
 that bag than to first. In baseball, like every- 
 thing else, it pays to do things in the ways 
 which are most successful. 
 
 There is nothing prettier in infield field- 
 ing than a fast double play. These plays de- 
 mand fast physical work and fast thinking, 
 and here again you will find that playing 
 near second brings the best results. 
 
 The hardest play a second baseman has to 
 make is on balls hit over second base. The 
 second baseman has to travel fast to get them 
 and in most instances they are hit hard. 
 When he does get them his work is not com- 
 pleted, for the difficulty comes in making a 
 quick recovery to enable him to throw the 
 ball to second or first base. 
 
 It is easier to go to your left than it is to 
 go to your right. Therefore when you are 
 
88 How to Play Baseball 
 
 playing nearer second than first you have a 
 better chance to reach balls hit to second and 
 over the bag. You have less ground to cover 
 and therefore more time to get the ball. And 
 when you go to your left you are always in a 
 better position to make the throw to first. 
 
 In these double plays your understanding 
 with the shortstop will give you an advan- 
 tage. Always agree with him that either 
 he or you will cover the bag. He will know 
 after experience what grounders you field 
 and those he is expected to field, and one of 
 you should always be on the bag to take a 
 throw. 
 
 But in trying to make a double play always 
 be sure to get at least one man. Be sure of 
 one. Remember that. Many ambitious 
 young second basemen, in the excitement of 
 the moment and the desire to complete a 
 fast play, fail to touch the bag, or follow 
 this with a bad throw. Failing to get at 
 
The Second Baseman 89 
 
 least one man, came near losing a game for 
 the Athletics at Cleveland during the season 
 of 191 1, when the pennant race was close and 
 exciting. 
 
 We were playing the Naps in Cleveland. 
 The last half of the ninth opened with the 
 score 7 to 5 in our favor. Jack Coombs was 
 pitching. Olson, the first batter to face 
 Coombs, made a single. Jackson, the next 
 batter, hit a fast grounder to first. The 
 proper play here would have been to touch 
 first base and let Olson take second. We 
 could have afforded to give Cleveland a run 
 and still come out ahead, but ^^Stuffy" Mcln- 
 nis, a young player who played his first regu- 
 lar games in the major leagues last season, 
 was our first baseman. His first thought was 
 to get the runner going* to second base. He 
 picked up the ball, whirled and lifted his 
 arm to throw. The runner going to second 
 was running on a line between Mclnnis and 
 
90 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Jack Barry, who had run over to cover sec- 
 ond. Mclnnis realized his position too late. 
 He let go the ball but threw wide in order to 
 avoid hitting Olson in the back with the ball. 
 The result was that both Olson and Jackson 
 were safe on the bags with no one retired. 
 Coombs was taken out of the box and Eddie 
 Plank replaced him. He retired the next 
 three batters in order and we won the game 
 by the score of 7 to 5; but I recall this inci- 
 dent to show you that it is always best to be 
 sure of retiring one runner. That one play 
 might have cost us the game. 
 
 See that second base is covered by either 
 yourself or the shortstop on all plays. Keep 
 this constantly in mind. It cannot be re- 
 peated often enough. Suppose that a base- 
 runner is on second. He is taking a big lead 
 off the bag. Let the shortstop run over to 
 the bag and take a throw from the catcher to, 
 get the player napping. You will say that 
 
The Second Baseman 91 
 
 few players are caught that way. But that 
 is not the secret of the play. If you and the 
 shortstop continue running over to second 
 you are bound to tire out the base-runner. 
 He has to make a quick start and probably 
 a slide to get back to the bag and his lead will 
 be cut down. If he barely escapes once or 
 twice he will not lead off as far as he did be- 
 fore. Then if a ball is hit to short or second 
 the base-runner will be late in starting for 
 third and there is always the chance to throw 
 him out there. If the ball is hit to the out- 
 field, a safe hit or a fly, the runner will not 
 be in as good a position to start as he would 
 be if you had allowed him to take his lead 
 as he liked. You have worried him and 
 tired him. He is late in starting and many 
 men have been thrown out at the plate on 
 hits on which they would have scored had it 
 not been for the constant running to the bag 
 of the second baseman and shortstop. 
 
92 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Boys are becoming better educated in base- 
 ball every year. You will often see smart 
 boys work the hit-and-run play. This play 
 consists of a runner working in harmony with 
 the batter, signaling him when he intends to 
 start or taking a signal from the batter when 
 he intends to hit. 
 
 Suppose you have a man on first base. The 
 batter signals him that he will hit the next 
 ball pitched. As soon as the pitcher winds 
 up to deliver the ball, the base-runner starts 
 for second base and it is the intention of the 
 batter to hit the ball through the opening 
 left by the second baseman or the shortstop, 
 whoever is to cover second base to get the 
 runner coming from first to second. 
 
 The hit-and-run play is pretty much a bit 
 of guesswork. The batter figures out wheth- 
 er the second baseman or the shortstop will 
 cover second. If he concludes that the sec- 
 ond baseman will cover he tries to hit the 
 
The Second Baseman 93 
 
 ball between first and second, and if he fig- 
 ures that the shortstop will cover second base 
 he tries to hit the ball between second and 
 third base. 
 
 Here again your understanding with the 
 shortstop will be of advantage to you. One 
 or the other must cover the bag while the one 
 holds his position. If it is up to you to cover 
 do not wait to see if the batter will hit the ball, 
 but start for the bag to take the catcher's 
 throw in case the batter fails to hit the ball. 
 And again it may not be the hit-and-run play 
 at all, but the man is simply trying to steal 
 second. So when the runner starts for your 
 base, also start and get there, regardless of 
 your curiosity regarding the batter's inten- 
 tions. If the batter hits the ball through the 
 opening you left, credit him with outguessing 
 you. Should you happen to keep your posi- 
 tion to find out whether he hits the ball, he 
 may fail to hit and the base-runner will reach 
 the bag safely. 
 
94 How to Play Baseball 
 
 And again your position will be of advan- 
 tage to you providing you follow my advice 
 and play nearer second base than first. It 
 will give you more time to get in a position 
 to take the catcher's throw and tag the base- 
 runner, and your presence on the bag will 
 enable the catcher to make a better throw. 
 It will help both the catcher and yourself. 
 
 The hit-and-run play to a big extent is a 
 matter of luck. The batter is trying to out- 
 guess you. He is trying to figure out wheth- 
 er you or the shortstop will cover the base. 
 
THE THIRD BASEMAN 
 
 By harry lord 
 
VI 
 
 THE THIRD BASEMAN 
 
 BEFORE I played third base I played 
 every other position on the team, and 
 I just naturally drifted around until I fin- 
 ished there. I am still playing third, and I 
 can truthfully say that I like it better than 
 any of the other positions. 
 
 Playing third base is like playing anything 
 else or working at anything else; if you think 
 you are adapted to it, and if you like it, you 
 will stick to it and do the best you can. 
 
 During my days at school and college I 
 played other positions. When I took up pro- 
 fessional baseball with the Worcester team 
 in the New England League, I decided to 
 hold down third base, or it was decided 
 for me. 
 
 97 
 
98 How to Play Baseball 
 
 In playing third base two things are essen- 
 tial : The first is to know how to field bunts, 
 and the second is to knock down sharp drives 
 and to recover the ball quickly. 
 
 You must have a good arm to play third 
 base. Develop your arm if you intend to 
 play that position, for the throws you are 
 compelled to make to first base are much 
 longer than those made by the shortstop and 
 second baseman, and you do not have any 
 more time in which to throw than they do. 
 
 The third baseman should be able to tell 
 whether the batter intends to bunt the ball or 
 hit it out. I don't mean that he must be able 
 to tell this on every batter every time, but he 
 should be able to guess the batter's intentions 
 the majority of times. There are some bat- 
 ters whom you can always guess right 
 
 The boy who can size up the batter two 
 out of every three times will make a good 
 third baseman. But you will be hampered 
 
The Third Baseman 99 
 
 in this in your games as we are in ours. 
 With a man like Ty Cobb or Donie Bush at 
 bat, it is hard to guess his intentions. Both 
 can bunt and both are fast. These two play- 
 ers use one play which is the hardest a third 
 baseman has to contend with. Supposing 
 Bush is on second base with one or none out. 
 Cobb is at bat. Cobb signals Bush. As the 
 pitcher winds up to deliver the ball Bush, 
 who already has secured a big lead, dashes 
 to third. The third baseman, figuring that 
 Cobb intends to bunt, has probably come in 
 close to be in a position to field the ball. 
 Cobb, seeing that Bush has a good start for 
 third, will probably not strike at the ball, fig- 
 uring that the third baseman is too far in to 
 recover himself and take a throw from the 
 catcher, and that Bush will steal third any- 
 way. His reasoning would be correct. 
 
 But suppose that Cobb does intend to meet 
 the ball. The third baseman, suspecting 
 
100 How to Play Baseball 
 
 that Cobb intends to bunt, has crept up close. 
 Instead of bunting Cobb hits the ball hard 
 toward third. The baseman is too far in to 
 make a proper play. If he does succeed in 
 knocking down the ball, it will in all proba- 
 bility roll so far away that he cannot recover 
 it in time to get the lightning-fast Cobb, and 
 if the ball gets away from the third baseman 
 entirely, which is more probable, Bush will 
 score. In either case Cobb would be on first 
 and Bush on third. 
 
 Now if the third baseman guessed that 
 Cobb intended to hit the ball hard and 
 played far back, Cobb would bunt the ball 
 and the third baseman could not come in in 
 time to field the ball and get Cobb at first, 
 while Bush would be safe at third. You see 
 they are almost sure to beat you on the play 
 anyway you size it up and anyway you may 
 happen to form your defense. 
 
 There is only one way in which you can 
 
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The Third Baseman 101 
 
 stop a play like this. If you think that they 
 intend to try it on you, signal your catcher 
 to ask the pitcher to waste the ball, that is, 
 throw it wide of the plate. In that case you 
 will play near the bag. As the pitcher re- 
 leases the ball you rush over to the bag. The 
 catcher, expecting a steal, is already set to 
 deliver the ball to you, and a fast throw from 
 your catcher will reach you in time to tag out 
 the runner coming from second to third. 
 
 The third baseman must be able to get out 
 after balls. In nearly every game balls are 
 lifted near the left-field foul line, to the out- 
 side. It is up to the third baseman to get 
 these. He also has a lot of short flies to left 
 to attend to. Many balls are hit too short 
 for the left fielder but within reach of the 
 third baseman if he is able to go out after 
 them. The third baseman's duties in this 
 respect are similar to those of the shortstop. 
 Both are depended on to take foul balls and 
 
102 How to Play Baseball 
 
 ^^kill" Texas leaguers, the term generally ap- 
 plied to short flies that fall safe. 
 
 After all, the most important thing in the 
 line of duty for the third baseman is to judge 
 the batter. The third baseman does not have 
 time to change his stand. If he comes in too 
 soon the batter will outguess him and hit the 
 ball past him for a safe drive, and if he stays 
 back too far the batter is liable to bunt the 
 ball and get a hit that way. 
 
 Writing of batters crossing third basemen, 
 I want to recall a play to you that came up 
 in one of the games between Detroit and 
 Boston. I am doing this more forcibly to 
 illustrate to you how far a third baseman can 
 sometimes come from guessing the intentions 
 of a batter or base-runner. Ty Cobb was the 
 principal in this affair. He was on third 
 base. One man was out at the time. The 
 batter hit a sharp grounder to my left. The 
 ball was bound for short. I cut across the 
 
The Third Baseman 103 
 
 diamond at top speed, dived down with my 
 bare hand, got the ball and threw with almost 
 the same motion. I made a great throw to 
 the plate. The ball struck the catcher's mitt. 
 I recovered my balance and looked to see if 
 the umpire had called Cobb out. But the 
 umpire was not looking at the plate; neither 
 was the catcher. I turned around and looked 
 at third base. There stood Cobb, on third. 
 He had not moved a foot. Why, I do not 
 know and I doubt if he knows. It must 
 have been a supernatural instinct. Nearly 
 any player in the world would have gone 
 home on that grounder. It looked like a 
 sure hit. I got it only by a remarkable play 
 and my throw home was one of the best I 
 have ever made, but it all availed nothing. 
 Cobb had "crossed" me. He may have in- 
 tended to go home on the throw to first, 
 thinking that the ball would not be thrown 
 to the plate. 
 
104 How to Play Baseball 
 
 In order to develop your arm if you intend 
 to play third base, practice throwing. Long, 
 sharp throws will be demanded from you. 
 
 The third baseman's work must all be 
 clean cut. He must be able to pick up a 
 ball and throw from almost any position, 
 o^'-erhand, underhand and side arm. 
 
 Playing the batter all depends on the bat- 
 ter. For Cobb the third basemen generally 
 play in, depending on his desire to bunt and 
 taking chances on his hard drives. For 
 Lajoie the third basemen generally play 
 deep. Lajoie rarely bunts. He hits them out, 
 and Lajoie can certainly give a ground hit ball 
 and a line drive some speed. Third basemen 
 prefer to be far back when Lajoie drives one 
 in that direction. These are only two in- 
 stances; you will learn to play a certain way 
 for every batter you meet. Cobb is the hard- 
 est man third basemen have to play against, 
 because he constantly tries to outguess them. 
 
The Third Baseman 105 
 
 A third baseman's work is done in the frac- 
 tion of a second. Things move fast around 
 third base and the man covering the bag can 
 look like a hero one moment and like a young 
 amateur the next. During the season of 191 1 
 we tried one play against Philadelphia which 
 was a good play as it was planned, but which 
 came out just the opposite way. It was a 
 close game. Philadelphia had a man on 
 second base and nobody out. Young ^^Stuffy" 
 Mclnnis was at bat. We held a consulta- 
 tion and decided that the shortstop was to 
 stay near second and keep the runner on the 
 bag, that the first baseman was to come in 
 close and appear anxious to field a bunt. The 
 pitcher was to put the ball directly over the 
 plate and start for third to field the bunt and 
 I was to run over and cover the bag. The 
 setting was perfect inducement for the batter 
 to bunt toward third. I was playing far 
 back and near the bag where I could not 
 
106 How to Play Baseball 
 
 come in on the ball. The shortstop was near 
 second and he could not come over under any 
 circumstance. The first baseman was creep- 
 ing up to show that we expected the batter to 
 bunt toward first. Under ordinary condi- 
 tions any batter would lay the ball down 
 along the third base line. But not in this in- 
 stance; here is what happened: 
 
 *^Doc" White, our pitcher in this game, 
 delivered the ball, straight for the heart of 
 the plate as we had planned. As he released 
 the ball he started toward the third base 
 line to field the bunt and I went to the bag 
 to take his throw; but instead of bunting the 
 ball to third, Mclnnis rolled the ball through 
 the pitcher's box. It was a slow roller. 
 White could not recover himself in time and 
 set about to stop the ball, while the short- 
 stop, who had rushed over, could not possi- 
 bly get in the way of the ball and it rolled 
 to the outfield. Before the ball was recov- 
 
The Third Baseman 107 
 
 ered Mclnnis was on second base and the rest 
 of us stood around like whipped children. 
 
 Later we met the world champions in Chi- 
 cago on our own ball lot. Again the game 
 was close and a similar situation arose. But 
 this time we had a man on second with no- 
 body out. The world champions shifted as 
 we had done and our batter, recognizing the 
 intentions as being the same as those we had 
 against them some weeks before, hit the ball 
 through the box and they were made to look 
 like whipped children. So we evened up 
 matters on that point. 
 
 Still, this incident goes further to prove 
 to you how the third baseman, and the other 
 infielders as well, can be crossed by the bat- 
 ter; but in these instances the third baseman 
 suffered most because the play was to be 
 made at his base. 
 
 If you look over the fielding averages in 
 the baseball guides, you will discover that 
 
108 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the averages of the third baseman are below 
 those of infielders at short, second base and 
 first base. The third baseman makes more 
 errors in comparison to his chances than the 
 other infielders, and there is a reason for 
 this — his chances are more difficult. 
 
 A man who had been playing third base 
 for several years once told me that a third 
 baseman got only two kinds of chances, hard 
 and harder. The ball is either hit at him 
 so hard that he can hardly handle it, or he 
 has to come in on bunts that he can barely 
 reach in time to throw out the runner. 
 
 The third baseman gets fewer fielding 
 chances than any other man on the infield. In 
 some games he does not get any. Rarely, if 
 ever, are his chances bunched. That makes 
 it hard to play the position and also it brings 
 up a point that you want to remember. This 
 thing is not so difficult in the broiling days 
 of the summer months, but early in the season 
 
The Third Baseman 109 
 
 and late in the baseball year it gets in its 
 work. If a third baseman goes six or seven 
 innings without having a chance in the field, 
 his arm gets cold. He is not using it. 
 Probably he will not handle a ball from the 
 time the game starts till the seventh or eighth 
 inning and then he is called on to make a fast 
 throw on a close play. His arm, stiffened, 
 will often fail to respond as quickly as he 
 wishes it to. 
 
 It is difficult to play third base in the 
 American League in the spring and autumn 
 weeks. That is, it will be unless President 
 Ban B. Johnson abolishes his orders which 
 prohibit the infielders from throwing the ball 
 around the diamond when they take the field 
 in each inning. This practice was abolished 
 because it was figured that too much time was 
 lost in tossing the ball, and since the games 
 stretched over too long a period time had to 
 be economized in some way. By abolishing 
 
110 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the throwing practice the third baseman was 
 deprived of a chance to warm up his arm 
 and consequently many of them missed 
 chances which otherwise they would have 
 handled. 
 
 Boys playing third base should plan to get 
 in as much throwing practice as possible. 
 This will keep your arm in shape for the 
 chance that is liable to come at any moment. 
 
 The third baseman should arrange signals 
 with his catcher for the purpose of catching 
 men ofif third base. I have seen many boys' 
 teams lose games simply because the third 
 baseman and catcher did not have a code of 
 signals arranged. The catcher would throw 
 the ball when he saw the runner leading too 
 far off third, and the baseman, not expecting 
 the throw, would see it speed by him to the 
 outfield. It is an easy thing to arrange a 
 signal with the catcher. You can signal him 
 when the runner is leading too far off the 
 
The Third Baseman 111 
 
 bag when you think you have a chance to get 
 him, and the catcher can signal you when he 
 intends to throw the ball. In that way there 
 will be no misunderstanding and you will 
 always be ready to take a throw. You may 
 miss the runner, but you will hardly miss the 
 throw if it is anywhere near good. 
 
 The third baseman should not back up for 
 anybody except on rare occasions. If a ball 
 is hit a long way to the outfield and looks 
 like a three-base drive, or if the runner thinks 
 it is good for three bases and will try to take 
 third on the hit, the third baseman should 
 move back on foul territory and let the short- 
 stop cover third while the third baseman 
 should back up the shortstop. You see, in 
 that case the shortstop will have only half 
 as far to go and can reach third in half the 
 time that it would take him to get into posi- 
 tion if the third baseman wanted to cover 
 the bag himself and let the shortstop back 
 
112 How to Play Baseball 
 
 him up. By the time the shortstop got 
 around the third baseman the throw might 
 have gotten away from the third baseman 
 with no chance of the shortstop stopping the 
 ball. The other way is simpler and safer. It 
 takes half the time and is better all round. 
 
 In order to be successful the third baseman 
 should be original. He should constantly 
 plan plays that the other fellows do not plan; 
 he should outguess them and think farther 
 ahead than they do. 
 
 In the world series of 1910 between the 
 Cubs and Athletics, Eddie Collins was 
 severely criticised for stealing second base, 
 with nobody retired and three balls and no 
 strikes called on the batter. It looked like 
 a foolish play, but it was not. I regard it as 
 one of the best plays in that series. Collins 
 outguessed the other fellows. In a situation 
 like that nobody would expect to see a man 
 steal. Collins knew that. Therefore his 
 
"SAFE ON THIRD!" 
 From "Baseball Magazine." 
 
THE SHORTSTOP 
 
 Bv OWEN BUSH 
 
VII 
 THE SHORTSTOP 
 
 EVERY trade has its tricks and every 
 position on a ball team has its pecu- 
 liarities. One of the reasons for the success 
 of baseball is the fact that no two positions 
 are alike. The difference gives variety to 
 the pastime, for you have something different 
 to look into in each case. 
 
 All positions on a ball club are related. 
 A team is just like one big family. Some 
 are related more closely than others. For 
 instance, pitcher and catcher are closely re- 
 lated; third and first basemen are closely re- 
 lated. And so we come to shortstop. The 
 nearest relative of that position is second base. 
 Short and second are closely banded and on 
 
 117 
 
118 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the successful working of the two, the skill 
 with which they work together, depends 
 much of the success of the team. 
 
 You can never be a success at short unless 
 you can work well with the second baseman, 
 any more than you can be a good second base- 
 man unless you deal closely with the short- 
 stop. These two form the keystone to a 
 team's defense. Upon them depend more 
 important fielding plays than on any two 
 other men. It is up to them to stop the 
 other fellows once they get on base. 
 
 The first bit of advice I would give you 
 would be to play deep. Most shortstops play 
 too near the base line. Several years ago I 
 discovered the advantage of playing ten or 
 twelve feet and then even farther in back of 
 the line. This position gives you many ad- 
 vantages that you would not possess other- 
 wise. For one thing it is far easier to come 
 in on a ball than it is to go out after one, 
 
The Shortstop 119 
 
 and you can go to your left much easier than 
 to your right. Remember this. 
 
 When you play deep you can come in 
 on grounders, and you have a better chance 
 of getting flies to short left and short center 
 fields that would otherwise hit the ground 
 and become Texas leaguers. Also, when you 
 are playing far back you have a better chance 
 to get the line drives. If you have played 
 shortstop and played near the base line, how 
 many times do you recall line drives that 
 whizzed over your head or screamers that 
 you had to move quickly to dodge. Now, if 
 you had played farther back you would have 
 had a chance to see the ball and get your 
 hands up to make a catch, or at least to 
 knock down the drive. If you are quick you 
 can recover such balls five out of ten times 
 soon enough to throw out the man going to 
 first base. 
 
 You have probably been taught in school 
 
120 How to Play Baseball 
 
 that the one way to succeed in life is to 
 keep on trying constantly. Baseball is like 
 everything else in that respect; the way to 
 succeed in the game is to practice and keep 
 on practicing. Try hard to do the thing 
 you aim to do in play the best you can. 
 
 Should you be thinking of becoming a 
 shortstop, devote your attention and energy 
 to that position. Try constantly to learn all 
 you can about it Study other fellows and 
 try to find your own weakness and to better 
 yourself in the spots where you are weak. 
 
 Hughie Jennings, now manager of our 
 team, is regarded by some men as the greatest 
 shortstop that ever lived. John J. McGraw, 
 manager of the New York Giants, was also 
 one of the greatest infielders the game has 
 produced; and ^^Wee Willie" Keeler, former- 
 ly of the New York Highlanders, was one of 
 the most wonderful natural hitters baseball 
 fans ever looked at These three men, Keeler, 
 
The Shortstop 121 
 
 McGraw, and Jennings, all played together 
 on the old Baltimore Orioles team when they 
 were at their best, and I have heard the 
 old ground-keeper of the Baltimore park re- 
 mark time and again that Keeler, McGraw 
 and Jennings were always the first men to 
 show up at the park in the morning for prac- 
 tice, and always the last ones to leave when 
 morning practice was at an end. Often it 
 was impossible for the ground-keeper to 
 whitewash the base lines until just before 
 the afternoon game because Keeler, McGraw 
 and Jennings refused to leave the field. And 
 I have heard him say that after the season 
 closed, these great players would visit the 
 park every day and practice for hours and 
 hours. 
 
 In this article I can give you some hints 
 that will help you to play shortstop. But 
 the real ability to play the position you will 
 have to pick up yourself. 
 
122 How to Play Baseball 
 
 For instance, I can tell you to play deep. 
 I have shown you the advantages of going 
 after grounders from that position and the 
 added advantage you have in going after fly 
 balls in short left and short center fields and 
 the fouls to the left. You have a chance to 
 cut across the outfield and do the v^ork that 
 a third baseman cannot do because he is 
 playing farther in and finds it almost im- 
 possible to turn and get started in time to 
 reach the foul flies. Your position in deep 
 short gives you an easy start. 
 
 You must have baseball sense. This can 
 be developed. It is quick judgment and 
 the knov^ledge of v^hen to do certain things. 
 That will all come to you in time as you prac- 
 tice and keep an eye on your work and the 
 work of others. 
 
 One of the first things you want to learn 
 is how to translate the crack of the bat. You 
 can tell where a ball is going by the sound 
 
The Shortstop 123 
 
 made when ball and bat meet. I can't de- 
 scribe these sounds to you, but you will learn 
 to recognize them if you pay close attention 
 to them. Some ball players miss many 
 grounders and flies because they start late, and 
 the reason for this in many cases is that they 
 do not understand the message of the crack 
 of the bat. They wait to see the ball on its 
 way before they make up their mind in what 
 direction to move. 
 
 If you keep your ears wide open you will 
 soon discover that a ball hit to the second 
 baseman leaves the bat with an entirely dif- 
 ferent kind of noise from one hit in your 
 direction, and the same holds good on balls 
 hit to the first baseman, the third baseman, 
 the pitcher and outfielders. 
 
 Another thing you want to do is to find 
 out how batters hit different pitched balls. 
 And the way to find out what kind of a ball 
 is to be pitched is to watch the signals of the 
 
124 How to Play Baseball 
 
 catcher. A batter will not hit a fast ball 
 over the heart of the plate in the same direc- 
 tion as he hits a low curve that cuts the out- 
 side edge of the plate. Knowledge of these 
 things will come to you in time. You will 
 learn to shift your position for a fast ball, 
 slow ball, and curves. You will know in ad- 
 vance that a ball is more likely to come in 
 one particular direction than another, and 
 you will place yourself accordingly. 
 
 That is where practice will benefit you. 
 Most boys want to bat all the time. Batting 
 practice is all well and good, but fielding is 
 far more difficult to master. Get one of the 
 boys on your team to bat the ball to you. 
 Get him to hit it in all directions — near you, 
 to each side, over your head, so you will 
 have to travel out after it and past the foul 
 line. Learn to handle every kind of batted 
 ball, — liners, grounders, flies, and fouls. 
 
 One kind of batted ball that you want to 
 
The Shortstop 125 
 
 pay more attention to than any other kind is 
 the slow one. Those slow-rolling grounders 
 are hard to handle. If you can play a slow hit 
 ball you can play any kind that they bat out 
 to you. The average boy will not believe 
 this, but just wait until you try it. I would 
 twice as soon handle a fast grounder as a 
 slow one, and most of the errors I make in a 
 year are on those slow hit balls. Anybody 
 can play a hard hit ball, but only a few play- 
 ers can successfully play a slow hit ball. 
 
 The hardest play a shortstop has to make 
 is getting a ball behind the pitcher, — running 
 across behind the box, scooping up the ball 
 and making the throw to first in time to get 
 the base-runner. Most of these balls that 
 get away from the pitcher bound over him 
 or bound away from him. Get started every 
 time a ball is hit to a pitcher. Remember 
 that the distance between the plate and the 
 pitcher's box is not far and that the ball often 
 
126 How to Play Baseball 
 
 comes at the pitcher with terrific speed. 
 Often it comes so fast that he cannot get out 
 of the way and the ball hits him and bounds 
 away. He has broken the speed of the ball 
 and it rolls slowly. That is where your work 
 comes in. Here you have to come in at top 
 speed, get the ball and make a difficult 
 throw. So devote as much of your time as 
 possible to handling these slow hit ground- 
 ers behind the box. 
 
 One thing you must learn, and that is to 
 throw the ball as soon as you get it. Do not 
 hold it the way many players do. Any smart 
 base-runner will find out that you do this 
 and take advantage of it. I have seen batters 
 get infield hits simply because an infielder 
 held the ball before throwing it. The base- 
 runner would slow up as if he had given up 
 all hope of beating out the grounder and 
 as the infielder slowly raised his arm to go 
 through the formality of throwing, the run- 
 
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The Shortstop 127 
 
 ner would suddenly sprint for first. The 
 infielder could not change his slow motion 
 in time to get the ball to first ahead of the 
 runner. Also, if you throw the ball as soon 
 as you get it, it will give your first baseman 
 a chance to protect himself. Many bad 
 throws are made to first in every game. If 
 you throw as soon as you get the ball, it will 
 give the first baseman a chance to recover 
 the ball if you throw it badly and he happens 
 to muff it. 
 
 Learn to throw from any position. 
 Another fault with many infielders is that 
 they have to straighten themselves out and 
 get into a certain posture before they can 
 make a throw. Here the base-runner gets an 
 advantage that will give him extra hits. 
 Every fraction of a second is precious. You 
 often get balls in a low, stooping position. 
 Learn to throw the ball from that position. 
 Again your practice will teach you how to 
 
128 How to Play Baseball 
 
 do this. It will enable you to get base-run- 
 ners that you wouldn't get if you had to 
 straighten yourself out before making the 
 throw. 
 
 Always throw low rather than high. If 
 you throw low there is always a chance for 
 the first baseman to dig the ball out of the 
 dirt or stop it — a thing he will not have a 
 chance to do if you throw high. 
 
 Throwing will demand much of your at- 
 tention. The side arm and underhand mo- 
 tion is the best you can use. Try this and 
 keep on trying till you have learned it. Most 
 boys throw overhand, probably thinking that 
 an overhand throw is much faster than an 
 underhand or side arm throw. But consider 
 the time it takes you to get your arm into 
 position to make an overhand throw. Plays 
 are figured in fractions of seconds in the 
 national pastime. Later on you will learn 
 
The Shortstop 129 
 
 to throw fast with the side arm or under- 
 hand motion. 
 
 Now on the hit-and-run play. Often the 
 opposing team will have a man on first base. 
 They figure that if that man tries to steal 
 second you will run over to second base and 
 take the catcher's throw to get the runner. 
 Since you will run over to cover the bag 
 according to their way of thinking, it will be 
 up to the batter to hit the ball to short while 
 the runner is going to second and you are 
 running for the same bag to tag him out. 
 Since you are out of position the ball that 
 is hit to short, where you ought to be, will 
 go into the outfield for a hit. My advice 
 would be — never leave your position on the 
 hit-and-run play until the ball reaches the 
 catcher's glove. You can get started quick- 
 ly and reach second base in time to take the 
 catcher's throw and get the base-runner. You 
 will also be in your position to field the ball 
 
130 How to Play Baseball 
 
 if the batter decides to hit it to short. Thus 
 you should get at least one man and possibly 
 make a double play. 
 
 Always back up the third baseman on 
 thrown balls, fly balls or foul balls. Do not 
 depend on your left fielder to do this. He 
 is too far out 
 
 Never let the third baseman cut across in 
 front of you and take a grounder that you are 
 going after. You can always prevent this by 
 yelling, ^^I have it." If the third baseman 
 runs in front of you chances are that he will 
 miss the ball or knock it out of your reach 
 and you miss the man entirely. Have an un- 
 derstanding with your third baseman. 
 
 When you watch the catcher for his sig- 
 nals so that you can play the batter, always 
 give the signal to the second baseman. You 
 are generally in a better position to see the 
 signal than the second baseman is, and you 
 can arrange a series of signals with him 
 
The Shortstop 131 
 
 which will inform him what you are plan- 
 ning to do. 
 
 Always look around and note the position 
 in which the outjfielders are playing. Get 
 them stationed in your mind and know just 
 how far each outfielder is from you and also 
 know how far in they can come on short 
 flies and fouls. You will know then how 
 far out it is necessary for you to go. It will 
 also prevent collisions and general mix-ups in 
 fielding. 
 
 In regard to the hit-and-run play, you 
 probably know that a second baseman should 
 start for second at the same time the runner 
 starts for that bag when the hit-and-run play 
 is being attempted, and you will probably 
 wonder why I advise you to stay in your 
 position until the ball is in the catcher's 
 hands. Now, the second baseman has the 
 first baseman to help him out. The first 
 basemai> can move over and get balls hit into 
 
182 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the second baseman's territory, while the 
 shortstop is not protected in this way. The 
 third baseman is playing in and can^t come 
 over on grounders to help the shortstop the 
 way the first baseman can protect the second 
 baseman. 
 
 Here I have given you some of the fea- 
 tures of playing the position of shortstop. 
 The principal thing is to learn to play deep 
 and to throw from any position. Both of 
 these things, once learned, will be of the 
 greatest value to you. But the way to learn 
 them and learn them right, and the way to 
 learn the other things I have mentioned to 
 perfect your play, is by constant practice. 
 That will teach you more than all the read- 
 ing you can do on the subject 
 
THE OUTFIELD 
 
 Bv TRIS SPEAKER 
 
VIII 
 THE OUTFIELD 
 
 PLAYING the outfield and teaching 
 others how to play it are two very dif- 
 ferent things. When one has been in the 
 game for a number of years, he does the right 
 thing unconsciously on a great many occa- 
 sions and would have to stop and think if 
 some one asked him why he did it. 
 
 I don't believe in the saying that outfield- 
 ers are born, not made. I've seen many big 
 league outfielders, good ones, too, who have 
 succeeded in making good by virtue of hard 
 work, constant practice, and thinking. I don't 
 believe that a man must be a born ball player 
 to make good in the major leagues, but when 
 he has ball-playing ability, I think he can 
 mak:.e out of himself a capable outfielder, in- 
 
 135 
 
136 How to Play Baseball 
 
 fielder or catcher if he goes at the job in the 
 right way and does not allow himself to be- 
 come discouraged. This isn't true of pitch- 
 ers. They must have a different kind of natu- 
 ral ability, for there are some major league 
 ball players who couldn't possibly learn to 
 curve a ball so that it would deceive a batter, 
 not even if they tried it for ten years. 
 
 If a boy or a young man has the use of all 
 his limbs and a pair of good eyes, he can be- 
 come a capable outfielder. But he must prac- 
 tice and practice, and then practice some 
 more. 
 
 While fleetness of foot is a valuable asset, 
 it is not a necessity in the make-up of a clever 
 outfielder. There are several strong outfield- 
 ers in the big leagues to-day who are not par- 
 ticularly fast. For example, there are Dan 
 Murphy of the Philadelphia Athletics, Mike 
 Mitchell of the Cincinnati Reds, and Fred 
 Clarke of the Pittsburg Pirates. None of 
 
The Outfield 137 
 
 these men would break any records in a hun- 
 dred yard dash, but they are all among the 
 top-notchers in their positions. 
 
 To the youngster ambitious to become an 
 outfielder, I would say, right at the start: 
 "Learn to judge a fly ball.'' This is only one 
 of the things to master, but it is just about the 
 most important. Go out to your ball grounds 
 with one of your friends, station yourself in 
 any of the three outfield positions, and have 
 him stand at the home plate and hit "fun- 
 goes" — fly balls — to you. Keep this up for 
 weeks, until you can tell about how far a ball 
 is going the instant you see it leave the bat. 
 You will find this a hard task at first, but 
 practice will make it easy. There are some 
 big league outfielders, notably Clarke of 
 Pittsburg and Sheckard of Chicago, who can 
 almost tell from the sound of the bat where 
 a fly is going to fall. Naturally this is a big 
 advantage, as it enables them to get a quick 
 
138 How to Play Baseball 
 
 start in the right direction, and a quick start 
 after a fly ball often turns apparent defeat 
 into victory. 
 
 At first it is best to keep your eye on the 
 ball all the time. When you have caught the 
 knack of running back with the ball, or for- 
 ward to meet it, or to one side or the other 
 to get in its path, and when you can get under 
 possible catches time after time without fail, 
 it is time to try the harder '^stunt'' of judging 
 them from your first glance and not follow- 
 ing them constantly with your eye. It is 
 necessary to learn this, for often balls will be 
 hit so far over your head that you will have 
 to turn your back on them and run at full 
 speed to catch up, and you can't do so while 
 watching them. So you must learn to take 
 your eyes off them, and still have a good idea 
 regarding the place where they are likely to 
 fall. 
 
 This knack also comes in handy when men 
 
The Outfield 139 
 
 are on bases and you are running up on a 
 ball. If you have to keep your eyes glued on 
 the ball all the time, you are unable to watch 
 the base-runners, and it frequently happens 
 that a play by an outfielder, quickly thought 
 out while he is in pursuit of a fly and still has 
 his eye on the base-runners, saves his team 
 from defeat 
 
 When you have mastered the art of judg- 
 ing flies, so that you can get under them with- 
 out watching them constantly, you must de- 
 vote your attention to the actual catching of 
 them. Always remember that it is a ^^crime" 
 not to use two hands if possible. Never make 
 a ^^grand-stand" play by catching a ball with 
 one hand where you could employ both. 
 There are some balls which you can reach 
 with only one hand, but it is not well to prac- 
 tice taking flies with your bare hand or your 
 glove, for it may get you into bad habits. 
 
 When you are fairly under a fly, it is al- 
 
140 How to Play Baseball 
 
 ways best to catch it as high up on your body 
 as possible. Not only is this the surest way, 
 but it also gives you more of an opportunity 
 to recover a ball that you may juggle tem- 
 porarily. Where there is time to choose your 
 own way of catching a ball, place your hands 
 close together with the fingers pointing al- 
 most straight up, the palms toward the body, 
 the hands slightly curved, so that they will 
 form a sort of cup with the base of the palms 
 the ^^bottom" of the "cup," and keep the 
 hands about breast high. This is about the 
 surest way and should be used whenever there 
 is opportunity. But do not get your hands in 
 position any length of time before the ball 
 falls in them. With a little practice, they 
 will come up naturally to the right position 
 just in time. To get them there too soon is 
 dangerous, not only to the fingers themselves, 
 but also to the sureness of the catch. 
 
 There are times when you must use your 
 
The Outfield 141 
 
 hands as you do when you are scooping up 
 water to wash your face. This is necessary 
 only when you are running in fast after a ball 
 and must reach for it. Otherwise it is bad 
 practice, for there is much danger of a ball's 
 bounding out of a '^cup" that has such low 
 ^^sides." Balls hit on a line may sometimes 
 be caught with the palms of the hands faced 
 away from the body, but this style belongs 
 chiefly to an infielder, on line hits or on tak- 
 ing hard throws, where the very force of the 
 ball makes it ^^stick." 
 
 In running away from the plate and catch- 
 ing a ball that is hit over your head, it is al- 
 ways best, where possible, to ^^twist" your 
 gloved hand so that the thumb is in contact 
 with the thumb of your bare hand instead of 
 having the little fingers closest together. 
 Where you have to use the regular ^^cup" on 
 a ball hit over your head, it is largely a mat- 
 ter of luck. You can learn how to judge this 
 
142 How to Play Baseball 
 
 kind of fly ball, but it is almost impossible 
 to be sure of a catch. 
 
 When you are sure you can judge and get 
 under all kinds of ^^possible" catches, and 
 when you can catch over ninety per cent of 
 the fly balls hit in your "district," it is time 
 to devote your attention to ground balls. Re- 
 member that many a game has been lost be- 
 cause of an outfielder's weakness on ground 
 balls. Outfields, as a rule, are not nearly as 
 smooth or well cared for as infields, and there 
 is much more danger of bad and crooked 
 bounds. The one rule which you must live 
 up to strictly is to get your body in front of 
 a ball that is coming to you on the ground. 
 Fumbles in the outfield are not as often dis- 
 astrous as they are on the infield, so you must 
 not place as much dependence on your hands 
 as infielders do. Stop a ground ball with 
 your hands if possible, but have your body 
 and your feet ready to help if it is necessary. 
 
ONE WAY OF CATCHING LINE HITS. 
 Photograph of Owen Bush, by permission of Sprague Publishing Co. 
 
The Outfield 143 
 
 I have often prevented a run by getting my 
 foot in front of a drive that was headed for 
 the fence, but I have found it unadvisable to 
 use my foot or my leg where my arms or 
 hands would do the work. 
 
 In fielding ground balls, there are times 
 when speed is the essential thing and other 
 times when you must play "safe." If there 
 is a man on second base and the score is tied 
 or the side at bat is only one run behind, it is 
 naturally your aim to keep the man on second 
 from scoring. So if a base hit is made to 
 your field in such a case, it is up to you to 
 field it fast and throw to the plate to head off 
 the run, or to be in a position to catch the 
 man off third if he only bluffs to go home. 
 In such a case you must take chances. Usu- 
 ally every instant is valuable, so you must run 
 up on the ball at full speed, try to pick it up 
 cleanly with your hands alone and be ready 
 to throw to any base. But if the side at bat 
 
144 How to Play Baseball 
 
 needs two or more runs in such a case, safety 
 is better than speed. Let the runner score if 
 he wants to, but make sure of stopping the 
 ball so that the man who hit it cannot secure 
 an extra base. 
 
 Constant and tireless practice is needed in 
 fielding ground balls just as it is in judging 
 and catching flies. 
 
 Ability to throw fast and with accuracy is 
 a big thing in the make-up of the successful 
 outfielder. There are big league outfielders 
 at the present time who are kept out of the 
 "star" class only because of weak arms, and 
 the weakness is usually their own fault. Men 
 like Lewis and Hooper of the Boston Red 
 Sox, Hofman, Sheckard and Schulte of the 
 Chicago Cubs, Jones of the Detroit Tigers, 
 and Birmingham of the Cleveland team have 
 a big advantage over outfielders with weak 
 "wings." Always bear in mind that speed 
 and accuracy are much more important than 
 
The Outfield 145 
 
 mere distance. Never try to throw to the 
 plate on the fly unless you are standing close 
 up behind the infield. Sheckard of Chicago 
 can actually make a ball bound from third 
 base to the plate, and the bound is just as fast 
 as a line throw. Any one can learn to do 
 nearly as well if he doesn't wear out his arm 
 by using it too often and too strenuously. 
 
 It is wise at first to master the trick of 
 throwing to the plate. Throwing to the other 
 bases comes with comparative ease after that. 
 Try to throw so that the ball will come to the 
 catcher on a long first bound. You may find 
 this impossible at the outset, but if your arm 
 is sound, you can do it by hard practice. 
 After you have satisfied yourself that you can 
 throw far enough and with sufficient speed, let 
 up on the practice and try it only once or 
 twice a day, for there is danger of wearing 
 out your arm by using it too much. A big 
 help in accuracy in a throw to the plate are 
 
146 How to Play Baseball 
 
 the white foul lines. A left or a right fielder 
 has an advantage over one who plays in cen- 
 ter, for the latter has a harder time regulating 
 his throws by the first and third base lines. 
 
 There are lots of outfielders who have 
 great throwing arms, but poor throwing 
 heads — that is, they can throw fast enough, 
 accurately enough and far enough, but they 
 seldom throw to the right place. We will 
 take the example we used once before. A 
 man is on second base and his side needs one 
 run to tie or to win. A ball is hit on the 
 ground to an outfielder and he throws it home 
 to shut off the run. This, of course, is the 
 proper play. But suppose the side at bat 
 needs two runs to tie, there is a man on sec- 
 ond and the man at bat hits a ball on the 
 ground to an outfielder. The thoughtless out- 
 fielder would throw it home just as in the 
 other case. But the ^^smart" outfielder would 
 throw it to second base to keep the batsman 
 
The Outfield 147 
 
 from getting there, for ^^keep the tying run 
 off second base" is a good rule to follow 
 always. 
 
 Never make a useless throw; know what 
 you are trying to do before you aim your 
 throw and then throw the ball where your 
 judgment tells you to. Another thing to keep 
 in mind is ^'get the ball before you throw it" 
 Whether the ball is coming to you on the fly 
 or on the ground, be sure of catching it or 
 picking it up, and then do your throwing. 
 Many games have been lost because an out- 
 fielder was so anxious to throw that he fum- 
 bled a ground ball or muffed a fly. 
 
 There are some outfielders who cannot 
 make a long throw without curving the ball. 
 I am one of these. If I aimed a throw di- 
 rectly at the home plate, it would hit the 
 ground halfway between home and first base. 
 But I aim my plate throws several yards to 
 the right of the plate — the right from my 
 
148 How to Play Baseball 
 
 own point of view — and they curve enough to 
 go almost directly to the catcher. Different 
 outfielders' throws vary in this respect and 
 each man must find out for himself how 
 much his throw curves and act accordingly. 
 
 The good outfielder must work with his 
 mates and not independently. He should 
 never go into another outfielder's territory to 
 catch a fly ball unless the other outfielder, 
 bothered by the sun or wind, asks for him. 
 He should always back up his ^^neighbor" on 
 a ground ball, but should not run over too 
 close on an easy fly ball, for his approach is 
 bound to worry the man who is trying to 
 make the catch. 
 
 An outfielder playing for years in one 
 league learns the habits of the batters and 
 ^4ays" for them. When your team isn't in a 
 league and when it does not meet the same 
 team more than twice in a season, it is, of 
 course, impossible to play for the batters. If 
 
The Outfield 149 
 
 you are a left fielder, however, you are usu- 
 ally safe in playing close in for a left-handed 
 batter and farther out for one who bats right- 
 handed. If your pitcher is a speedy one, you 
 can play closer to the foul line for a left- 
 handed batter than a right. If you are a 
 right-fielder, you move in for a right-handed 
 batter and out for a left-handed one, and so 
 on. A center-fielder moves toward right field 
 for right-handed batters who do not swing 
 quickly, etc. You must watch the batters and 
 the pitchers closely to learn these things. 
 
 Most young outfielders play too far out 
 and lose lots of short flies that should be 
 caught, chiefly because they doubt their own 
 ability to run back. Learn to go back for a 
 ball so that it is as easy for you as coming up 
 or standing still, and then you won't be afraid 
 to play as your judgment dictates. 
 
/ 
 
THE BASE-RUNNER 
 
 By TYRUS COBB 
 
IX 
 
 THE BASE-RUNNER 
 
 IF you want to learn to run bases, you must 
 first learn to watch the pitcher's feet and 
 shoulders. That is the first thing the amateur 
 should get in his mind. There are many 
 other things, but we shall get to most of these 
 later on. 
 
 Success in base-running depends on many 
 things. To the average boy they sound like 
 little things, and before they are brought to 
 his mind so that he learns their value to him, 
 he has probably not given them a moment's 
 attention. 
 
 How many of you boys, when you get on 
 first, watch the pitcher's shoulders and feet? 
 I'll wager that there are not many. You will 
 ask why, and in a few paragraphs you will 
 
 153 
 
154 How to Play Baseball 
 
 know, but before then let us go back even 
 farther. Don't wait until you get on first or 
 second or third before taking notice of the 
 pitcher's shoulders and feet, but observe them 
 before you get on base; study them as soon as 
 you see the pitcher in action. 
 
 There are few pitchers who do not give 
 away their intentions of pitching or of throw- 
 ing to the bag by some particular movement. 
 To keep a runner close to the base a pitcher 
 must hide his intentions. He must try to keep 
 the base-runner in ignorance of whether he 
 intends to pitch the ball to the batter or throw 
 it to the infielder to catch the runner. Now 
 there are not many pitchers in the major 
 leagues who can keep their hands, feet and 
 shoulders in such a position that a good base- 
 runner cannot guess what they intend to do. 
 
 There are a few pitchers who have a de- 
 ceiving movement, a few who can fool the 
 base-runner; and it is hard to steal in games 
 
The Base-Runner 155 
 
 where these pitchers work, because the base- 
 runner cannot get his proper lead. 
 
 If the pitcher uses his right arm in pitch- 
 ing, watch the left foot. You can tell by the 
 position of the left foot whether he intends 
 to throw to the plate or the base. If the 
 pitcher is a left-hander, watch his right foot. 
 
 There are some pitchers who bend their 
 knees when they intend to pitch to the batter. 
 They do this in order to get a better spring 
 and give the ball more speed, so when these 
 pitchers bend their knees we know that they 
 intend to pitch to the batter; and if we intend 
 to steal, then is the time to make the dash. 
 Some pitchers have a peculiar movement of 
 the elbow. You can tell their intentions by 
 this movement, and you will discover that by 
 watching the elbow you can always tell when 
 your opportunity arrives. 
 
 Other pitchers have other tell-tale move- 
 ments. There is the veteran ^^Cy" Young. 
 
156 How to Play Baseball 
 
 When Young settles, the ball on his chest, 
 holding it with both hands, he is ready to 
 pitch to the batter. I do not think that I ever 
 saw Young fail to pitch to the plate when he 
 took this attitude. This is not saying that he 
 never did; I guess he has, but it was always 
 my signal to start when we were playing 
 against Boston or Cleveland and Young was 
 in the box. 
 
 Of course, some pitchers rarely pay atten- 
 tion to the base-runner. They do not try to 
 keep him "hugging" the bag, and it is easy to 
 steal on them, because you can take an extra 
 long lead. 
 
 It is hard to tell you when to steal. It all 
 depends on the situation. You must take into 
 consideration the boy who is pitching against 
 you and the boy who is catching him. You 
 must know the pitcher's habits and the 
 catcher's ability. But that is not all. You 
 must take your team into consideration. Base 
 
The Base-Runner 157 
 
 stealing is risky at all times. If the game is 
 close and the occasion demands that you play 
 safe, it would not be a good idea to try to 
 steal; and the same advice holds good in a 
 close pennant race. You may be throwing 
 away your team's chances to win by trying 
 to steal a base. 
 
 You probably would not think that it is 
 much easier to steal third base than it is to 
 steal second base. In the first place, you can 
 get a much bigger lead off second base than 
 you can get off first base. The pitcher has to 
 make a turn to throw to second, and you have 
 more time to get back to your base. Also 
 it is more dangerous to throw to second than 
 to first, and pitchers do not attempt to get 
 runners off that base as a general rule. In 
 the second place the catcher has to throw to 
 the left of him when you are going to third, 
 while he had to throw ahead of him when 
 you were stealing second. The catcher has to 
 
158 How to Play Baseball 
 
 turn to make the throw to third. It is much 
 more difficult to throw to third than it is to 
 throw to second. Knowing these facts, you 
 will probably agree to the wisdom of prefer- 
 ring to steal third rather than second. 
 
 In your games there is a better chance of 
 scoring on a bad throw to third, because the 
 shortstop and second baseman support one 
 another at second, one backing up the other 
 on a throw from the catcher, while at third 
 the third baseman works alone in most of the 
 games in which boys participate. 
 
 I have told you about studying the pitchers, 
 but you must not neglect the catchers. Study 
 them as much as the pitchers. Learn to know 
 just how fast a catcher can throw, and what 
 his weaknesses are. Then learn to take ad- 
 vantage of them. 
 
 Try to fool the catcher. Go down any 
 time. By that I mean, try to advance any 
 time. Do your best to cross the catcher. 
 
The Base-Runner 159 
 
 When you are on first or second and see an 
 opportunity to better your own chances to 
 score by stealing, go down on the first pitched 
 ball, or the second, or the third pitched ball. 
 Change around. Keep the pitcher and the 
 catcher guessing. If you always go down on 
 the first pitched ball, or the second, or third 
 pitched ball, they will soon become acquaint- 
 ed with this fact and be prepared to catch 
 you in your attempt to steal. 
 
 A good time to steal is when the pitcher in- 
 tends to pitch out. Catchers occasionally ask 
 for pitch-outs; that is, throwing the ball wide 
 of the plate, when they think a team intends 
 to use the hit-and-run play, or when the 
 catcher thinks the batter intends to sacrifice. 
 When a pitcher intends to pitch out he will 
 not be watching you as closely as usual. He 
 will have his mind on the batter more than 
 on you. 
 
 Another thing you want to learn to do is to 
 
160 How to Play Baseball 
 
 watch the baseman's eyes. The baseman is 
 watching the ball. It is up to him to get the 
 ball and get you. He has to have the ball be- 
 fore he can tag you, and he is therefore 
 watching the course of the ball. By watch- 
 ing the baseman's eyes as you near the bag 
 you will know which way to slide, for you 
 can see which way the ball is coming. The 
 baseman will try to be where the ball will be, 
 and your place is as far away from the base- 
 man as you can get and still be able to reach 
 the bag. Slide out of the baseman's reach, 
 away from the spot where he intends to take 
 the throw. 
 
 That brings us to another big point in base- 
 running, namely, sliding. If you should ask 
 me how to learn to slide, I should answer, 
 ^^practice." That is the way to learn any- 
 thing. Practice not only makes perfect, but 
 it also makes possible. Keep on trying to 
 slide, and you will learn how; any one should 
 

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The Base-Runner 161 
 
 be able to learn to ^^hit the dirt," as we call 
 it in baseball. 
 
 Some boys dive into the bag, sliding head 
 first. Do not do this; slide feet first. When 
 you slide feet first you are less liable to be 
 stepped on. Basemen do not keep their feet 
 around a pair of spikes, and these spikes are 
 on the feet which you are shoving toward the 
 bag. When you slide head first, the baseman 
 will not take any precaution, but will step 
 into you, because there is no danger to him. 
 He will not step on you intentionally, but he 
 will not take the same care that he would 
 take if he knew a pair of spikes were whirl- 
 ing that way. 
 
 I have told you to follow the course of the 
 ball by watching the baseman's eyes, and to 
 slide away from the spot where he intends to 
 take the throw, but there are exceptions to 
 this rule. Do not try to slide away from 
 every baseman. There are some basemen 
 
162 How to Play Baseball 
 
 who will expect you to slide away from them; 
 they will be looking for it and be prepared 
 to turn and tag you. Again, it is up to you to 
 outguess them, and you can do this by slid- 
 ing directly into them. There is an advan- 
 tage in going directly into the baseman who 
 thinks you will slide away from him. You 
 might jar him and he will lose confidence in 
 himself and miss you when he tries to put the 
 ball on you, or you are liable to bump him 
 with your knee or the calf of your leg, so that 
 he will drop the ball. 
 
 Never do what a man expects you to do; 
 try to do the opposite. Outguess the players, 
 who are on the defensive when you are run- 
 ning bases. Do the unexpected. 
 
 The fall-away slide is used to advantage 
 in running bases. This fall-away consists of 
 throwing your body away from the man hold- 
 ing the ball and expecting to tag you. Throw 
 yourself to either side of him, selecting the 
 
The Base-Runner 163 
 
 side farthest away from the spot where he 
 will take the throw from the catcher. 
 
 Keep moving. That is a good thing to 
 keep in mind constantly and a good thing to 
 practice. Go into a bag hard. Judge the 
 distance. And in this last bit of advice cen- 
 ters much of the success of base-running. It 
 is all in the slide, and to slide properly you 
 must learn to judge distance properly. 
 
 Some players slide too soon and they lose 
 speed before they reach the bag. As a matter 
 of fact they are lying still before they touch 
 the bag. 
 
 Some players do not slide soon enough, and 
 they slide over the bag, and although they 
 have the base stolen, they are touched out 
 before they can recover it. 
 
 It is all a matter of judgment. You must 
 know just how fast you can slide, and must 
 learn to know the precise moment when you 
 want to start your slide. Find out just how 
 
164 How to Play Baseball 
 
 far you should be from the bag when you 
 start your slide. 
 
 The average catcher will throw you out 
 if the pitcher who is working with him has a 
 fast movement. Many pitchers have a slow 
 and complex windup, which enables a runner 
 to advance quite a distance before the ball 
 starts for the plate; but if the pitcher de- 
 livers the ball fast and does not waste time 
 winding up, and if the catcher is a fair 
 thrower, the chances are against you. 
 
 What you want to do is to be on the offen- 
 sive at all times. When you want to steal, 
 start in a hurry and go fast. Make up your 
 mind that you will get to the bag and do it. 
 Let out all the speed you have and go into 
 that base. 
 
 You can accomplish much in base-stealing 
 by ^^bullying" the catcher. There are few 
 catchers who cannot be bullied. If you steal 
 second base, for instance, and the play is 
 
The Base-Runner 165 
 
 close, or the catcher has made a bad throw, 
 you have a grand opening to continue the 
 good work. The catcher is ^'up in the air" 
 because you stole a base on him, and it is a 
 good plan to go to third on the next pitched 
 ball. You see, the catcher's mind will be 
 occupied thinking about the base you have 
 just stolen, and the last thing he would think 
 of is that you would try to steal another base^ 
 immediately after that. As I have told you, 
 third base is easier to steal than second, and 
 since the catcher's mind is also occupied, you 
 have a twofold advantage in going to third. 
 Another good thing is to tell the catcher 
 that you are going to steal. When you come 
 to bat inform him that if you get on first you 
 will surely steal second on him. Make him 
 believe it, and he will be so busy thinking 
 about it and so anxious to make a good throw 
 that the chances are about four out of five 
 that he will make a poor play. Most likely 
 
166 How to Play Baseball 
 
 he will let go of the ball too soon and make a 
 bad throw, or he will not let go soon enough. 
 You have challenged him, and he is anxious 
 to beat you. 
 
 Always make a slide so that you can be 
 up and away again. Do not anchor yourself 
 to the bag — a fault that some base-runners 
 possess. Be ready to start again as soon as 
 you reach the bag. The catcher may have 
 made a bad throw and you can get an extra 
 base on the throw, while if you are anchored 
 to the bag, you will not be able to advance. 
 
 When you are trying to score — that is, go- 
 ing into the home plate, go in as hard as you 
 can. You do not have to halt at any bag 
 when you are going home, and you do not 
 have to be ready for an advance on an over- 
 throw; your course will be finished when you 
 reach the plate. You can overslide home as 
 far as you like. 
 
 Do not slide only when you think you have 
 
The Base-Runner 167 
 
 to slide to reach the bag. Make unnecessary 
 slides. This will improve your sliding. Do 
 all the sliding you can when running bases. 
 Not alone will you improve your slide in 
 doing this, but it will also save your strength. 
 It takes away the strain that a sudden stop 
 will produce in you. I have often been ac- 
 cused of sliding when it is totally unnecessary 
 — sliding when I can just as well go into the 
 bag in an upright position; but I do this to 
 save myself and eliminate the strain which 
 will wear on the muscles and slow me up. 
 When you slide you free yourself of all strain 
 and you do not waste your strength; your 
 speed will last longer. 
 
 Stopping suddenly has brought injury to 
 many men. Going into a bag upright and 
 bringing themselves to a sudden stop has 
 caused many men to receive a broken ankle 
 or a broken leg. Many have sprained their 
 ankles in just that way. There is no danger 
 
168 How to Play Baseball 
 
 in doing this when you go into a bag sliding. 
 I have trained myself so that I slide without 
 even thinking about it. I have practiced it 
 constantly, so that when I get to the proper 
 distance from a bag I ^^hit the dirt" just as 
 naturally as I put up my glove to catch a 
 ball, or just as naturally as I move both feet 
 when I run. It is a habit now. 
 
 I would advise you not to slide into first 
 base. Some players do this, especially on a 
 close play, the argument in its favor being 
 that the umpire's attention is suddenly thrown 
 on the runner sliding into the bag and that 
 he loses sight of the ball; therefore, he is 
 more liable to give the decision to the run- 
 ner. It also raises a cloud of dust, which 
 makes it hard to see the play, and the base- 
 runner is to have the advantage on nip and 
 tuck plays. It is dangerous to slide into first 
 base, more dangerous than going into second 
 or third, and you are liable to receive serious 
 
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The Base-Runner 169 
 
 injury, sooner or later, by making a habit of 
 first-base sliding. 
 
 Never slide stiff-legged, but have a limber 
 position. As soon as your foot touches the 
 bag stiflfen your leg and dig the left knee into 
 the dirt. This will serve as a brake to you 
 and will stop you without your running a 
 chance of injuring yourself. Tighten your 
 muscles as soon as you touch the bag, but not 
 before then. 
 
 Before closing I want to say something 
 more, something which I have almost for- 
 gotten, and which should have been written 
 at the beginning of this chapter. Of course, 
 you can buy sliding pads at sporting goods 
 houses, but you can protect yourself even 
 more and in a simple manner. When you 
 put on your uniform, double the bottom of 
 your trousers up and under, so that a double 
 thickness will rest over the knee. For as I 
 have told you, the knee plays an important 
 
170 How to Play Baseball 
 
 part in sliding, and should be protected as 
 much as possible. By using the trousers as a 
 means of protection, you will not cause your- 
 self any inconvenience, and you will be pro- 
 tected as well as if you wore knee pads, as 
 some bovs do. 
 
THE UMPIRE 
 
 By "BILLY" EVANS 
 
X 
 
 THE UMPIRE 
 
 ^'X^ THOM shall we get to umpire the 
 W game?'' That question is asked a 
 million times during the summer months 
 when baseball reigns supreme. 
 
 It is usually mighty difficult of solution. 
 Over no other point is so much time wasted 
 as in the selection of the judge of play. There 
 always seems to exist with both sides the feel- 
 ing that they are going to get the worst of it. 
 Ninety-nine times out of a hundred it is 
 purely a fancied grievance. 
 
 When two colleges are scheduled to meet 
 on the diamond, the question of the umpire 
 is all-important. When rival preparatory 
 schools clash at the great national game, the 
 umpire problem always gets the spotlight. 
 
 173 
 
174 How to Play Baseball 
 
 When two teams representing small towns 
 known to be hated rivals are booked to clash, 
 the umpire question is taken up a month in 
 advance of the game. Often it is all but im- 
 possible to get the man agreed upon to take 
 a chance. Usually it is almost worth his life 
 to accept. Frequently the question is settled 
 by importing some ^^semi-pro" minor or big 
 league official. 
 
 Why, then, is it so difficult to get umpires? 
 It isn't very hard to pick up a ball player when 
 you need one, although the classy fellows are 
 scarce. It is hard to get an umpire when you 
 want one, even a poor umpire. There seems 
 to be a universal desire to pass up the job, for 
 some reason or other. Just why, it is hard to 
 explain, for in some ways the life of the um- 
 pire is far easier than that of the player. The 
 playing of the game is usually looked on as 
 a recreation, while umpiring is regarded as 
 a hard job. In amateur circles the players 
 
™..y«^ 
 
 SWEEPING UP THE HOME PLATE. 
 Photograph of "Billy" Evans, by permission of Sprague Publishing Co. 
 
>. 
 
The Umpire 175 
 
 rarely receive any compensation. The um- 
 pire invariably gets his stipend, no matter 
 how small the game. Consequently if you 
 are at all mercenary, it behooves you to take 
 up the umpiring end in preference to play- 
 ing. 
 
 No one cares to be abused for doing the very 
 best he knows how, no matter how poor the 
 effort proves. Perhaps this is the one best 
 reason for the scarcity of umpires, especially 
 good ones, that exists everywhere the game 
 is played. The mistakes of the player are 
 forgotten just as :oon as he has made a good 
 play, but the error of the umpire is usually 
 a cherished memory. There are many people 
 who would lose interest in the game if the 
 work of the umpires should become perfect. 
 It would deprive them of the right to figure 
 what might have been the score if the judge 
 of play had not erred in this or that decision. 
 
 The position of umpire is not as difficult as 
 
176 How to Play Baseball 
 
 it seems to the average baseball enthusiast. It 
 is largely what the man chooses to make it. 
 If he happens to be unfitted for the job be- 
 cause of temperament, it is far from an en- 
 viable position. The sooner such a man gets 
 out of the game the better. 
 
 Bill Dinneen, now one of the best umpires 
 in the world, was formerly a star pitcher. 
 With the Boston Americans he won undying 
 fame as a twirler. Baseball history shows 
 any number of wonderful feats to his credit. 
 Dinneen began to go back, and was sold to 
 the St. Louis Americans. He met with vary- 
 ing success as a member of that club. His 
 arm gave him much trouble and he had just 
 about decided that he was through in a base- 
 ball way, when he received an offer to be- 
 come a member of the American League staff 
 of umpires. Dinneen as a player was easy 
 to handle. Seldom did he make a protest, re- 
 gardless of the nature of the decision. Natu- 
 
The Umpire 177 
 
 rally he had the best wishes of players and 
 umpires. He was a success from the start. 
 As a player he always ranked as a star. In a 
 very few years he has reached a similar posi- 
 tion in the ranks of the umpires. 
 
 There are any number of youngsters who 
 would be delighted to emulate the career of 
 Bill Dinneen as a pitcher. Many of these 
 have not the slightest chance, as they do not 
 possess the ability. It is quite possible that 
 many of them could achieve a like amount of 
 fame as an umpire, if they cared to forsake 
 the playing of the game to call balls and 
 strikes. If they would listen to Bill Din- 
 neen's views on the two jobs they would select 
 the umpiring end immediately. 
 
 ^^I have played, and umpired, and if I 
 could start all over again I would start right 
 in at umpiring. I much prefer the umpiring 
 end of the game. There is no spring train- 
 ing of a couple months' duration, no morning 
 
178 How to Play Baseball 
 
 practice, and no constant worry over the 
 showing of the club you represent. You are 
 your own boss ; you can keep your own hours ; 
 you have but one man you must answer to — 
 your president. I much prefer the duties of 
 the umpire to those of the player." Thus 
 speaks Bill Dinneen. His opinion should 
 carry weight, for he has seen service in both 
 positions. 
 
 It would be foolish to attempt to tell how 
 to succeed as an umpire in this article. There 
 are many who contend that umpires are born, 
 not made. While I hardly agree with such a 
 statement, there is much that must come 
 naturally to any one contemplating entering 
 the profession. It is possible, however, to 
 give some advice on the best way to decide 
 plays. That is to be my purpose. 
 
 Before going into details in this connection, 
 I want to say a few things about those best 
 adapted to the pursuit. If you are of a nerv- 
 
The Umpire 179 
 
 ous disposition, prone to worry over abuse 
 and criticism, and the possessor of faulty eye- 
 sight, don't ever get it into your head that 
 you are cut out to become a second ^^Silk" 
 O'Loughlin, Tommy Connolly, Billy Klem, 
 or Hank O'Day. You would make the mis- 
 take of your life. If you have a bad temper 
 or a desire to hold grievances, cut the umpire 
 stuff. If you let your own temper get away 
 with you and cannot control yourself, how 
 can you expect to control the eighteen players 
 in a game? Under such conditions, you were 
 cut out to shine in some sphere other than 
 baseball. 
 
 The first bit of advice I would give those 
 who have a desire to take up the umpiring 
 end of the game is. Be natural. Be original; 
 never imitate. Because Silk O'Loughlin's 
 famous ^^strike tub" is a hit with the fans, 
 don't think it will get a laugh when you say 
 it. To imitate the mannerisms of the famous 
 
180 How to Play Baseball 
 
 umpires makes the beginner look ridiculous. 
 Do things naturally; just as you would if you 
 had never heard of nor seen the star umpires 
 in action. It will be easier to work your own 
 way than to copy some one else. 
 
 A strong voice is a good asset, but not at 
 all necessary. If one's ranking depended on 
 the power of his voice, I would not be able 
 to get a job in a class X league. There is 
 usually so much enthusiasm at a ball game 
 that the voice of the umpire is drowned out 
 by the cheering of the rival rooters. The sys- 
 tem in use in the major leagues, to show the 
 balls and strikes, is a good one. When a 
 strike is declared by the umpire he raises his 
 right hand. When he declares a ball he 
 makes no motion whatever. In consequence 
 no matter how great the noise, it is possible 
 for every fan to follow the rulings of the um- 
 pire by use of the semaphore system. In 
 some of the minor leagues the presidents 
 
The Umpire 181 
 
 make their umpires raise their right hand for 
 a strike and the left hand for a ball. The 
 raising of the left hand is unnecessary, I 
 think. It is obvious that the pitch is a ball 
 if the umpire stands motionless, when the 
 right arm is used to designate strikes. It also 
 prevents any confusion in the raising of the 
 arms, and is considerably easier for the um- 
 pire. 
 
 Be w^ell protected w^hen umpiring back of 
 the plate. To umpire correctly you must be 
 there ALL of the time when working the 
 plate under the double umpire system, and 
 part of the time when working alone. A 
 good mask and chest protector are the two 
 essential requisites. I prefer a mask that has 
 ear protectors, so that if I should happen to 
 turn a bit on a foul tip there would be no dan- 
 ger of injury. Good masks can be secured for 
 $2 to $6, and protectors for $5 to $io. I al- 
 ways advise getting the best, for they usually 
 
182 How to Play Baseball 
 
 wear three times as long as the inferior arti- 
 cle, and are cheaper in the end. An alumi- 
 num supporter and shin guards, with a com- 
 bination knee-pad, are also used by most 
 major and minor league umpires. 
 
 Several years ago a number of umpires and 
 catchers in the American League sufifered 
 very painful injuries by being struck on the 
 toes by foul tips. In several of the cases the 
 players suffered the loss of the toe-nail, and 
 were kept out of the game for a week or 
 more. Any player who has ever been in- 
 jured in that manner knows how painful such 
 accidents are. The numerous accidents set 
 a couple of us umpires to thinking that some 
 protection ought to be devised for the toes. 
 We hit upon a device that has proved very 
 effective, and is used by many umpires and 
 catchers. 
 
 Take any ordinary pair of baseball shoes 
 to your cobbler and have him make an extra 
 
The Umpire 183 
 
 toe clip about two and one-half or three 
 inches long. It should be made from the 
 stiffest leather obtainable, and be thinned 
 out at the edges to permit sewing to the sole 
 of the shoe. The extra toe clip should be a 
 fraction of an inch from the shoe, and thus 
 make an air cushion. With such an appli- 
 ance on the shoe the catcher and umpire are 
 impervious to foul tips, so far as the toes are 
 concerned. 
 
 When working back of the plate it is best 
 to stand directly behind the catcher. I pre- 
 fer to work real close to the catcher, and am 
 never more than a foot from him. Umpires 
 differ in this respect, however, such an excel- 
 lent official as O'Loughlin preferring to stand 
 about a yard behind the backstop. I advise 
 standing directly behind the catcher, because 
 in that position you look straight at the ball 
 as it approaches the plate. If you stand a 
 trifle to the right or left of the catcher you 
 
184 How to Play Baseball 
 
 must necessarily view the ball at a slight 
 angle, and you are more liable to miss the 
 strikes that cut the corners. If you happen 
 to be small of stature, and you are working 
 back of a catcher much larger than yourself, 
 you are compelled to stand a little to either 
 side. That is one reason why some presidents 
 favor men in the neighborhood of six feet 
 tall for the umpiring job. There is another 
 advantage in standing directly behind the 
 catcher, especially if you follow his every 
 move. He protects you from many a foul tip 
 you would stop if standing a trifle to either 
 side. 
 
 When working alone always work from be- 
 hind the plate until a man reaches first. Then 
 shift your position to a location back of the 
 pitcher. This enables you to watch any at- 
 tempt of the pitcher to catch the runner nap- 
 ping, and makes it easy to get over to the play 
 at second, should one come up there. When 
 
The Umpire 185 
 
 more than one man is on the bases, shift to 
 your former position back of the plate. 
 Should an attempt be made to catch any one 
 napping, just as soon as you see the play 
 started run out on the diamond and get as 
 close as possible to it. The main reasons for 
 working back of the plate when more than 
 one are on the bases are these: You are in 
 the best possible position to see a hit down 
 the foul line. A single will invariably score 
 a man from second or third, and you are in 
 a position to be right over the play. It gives 
 you a full view of the entire field, enabling 
 you to detect an interference on the part of 
 a fielder or base runner. 
 
 With the double umpire system in use, 
 which by the way is quite general these days, 
 certain duties devolve on the two officials. 
 There is the plate umpire, and the base um- 
 pire. When working the bases I favor stand- 
 ing about ten feet back of first base and about 
 
186 How to Play Baseball 
 
 six feet from the foul line. On throws to the 
 right of the first baseman I usually shift my 
 position as the play is being made to about 
 four feet in front of the bag and about six 
 feet foul. It is an easy matter to run the 
 fourteen feet while the play is being made, 
 and you are then in a position to see if the 
 throw pulls the first baseman off the bag. If 
 the throw is right at the first baseman, or to 
 his left, I retain the original position, about 
 ten feet back of first and six feet foul. When 
 a man reaches first I shift to the center of the 
 diamond, about twenty feet back of the 
 pitcher and eight or ten feet to the left of the 
 box. I vary this position frequently by rea- 
 son of knowledge of the man at bat. If he is 
 a left-hander and usually hits to right field, 
 I often move to the right of the pitcher's box; 
 always about twenty feet to the rear. 
 
 Team work is indulged in by umpires 
 when working double. With a man on first, 
 
The Umpire 187 
 
 the batter often bunts to sacrifice him to 
 second. Many runners try to go to third on 
 the play, if the bunt happens to be a good 
 one. In such cases the play at first is usually 
 close and the base umpire tries to get as 
 close as possible in order to decide correctly. 
 If the runner from first goes to third a play 
 comes up there. It is impossible for the base 
 umpire to get the play at first and then get 
 at all close to the play at third. In such cases 
 the man behind the plate goes to third, and 
 is there to decide the play if it comes up. On 
 the hit-and-run play, with a man on first, the 
 same plan is used. The runner invariably 
 tries to go to third, while the batter usually 
 attempts to get to second on the throw in. 
 The plate umpire anticipates this play and 
 hastens to third, while the base umpire takes 
 a position near second that will best enable 
 him to see the play there, if the batter tries 
 for second on the return of the ball to third. 
 
188 How to Play Baseball 
 
 With only one man on the bases it is the duty 
 of the base umpire to see that the runner 
 holds his base until a fly ball is caught. If 
 more than one man is on the bases, the plate 
 umpire watches the man nearest home. Most 
 of the major league umpires, in order to keep 
 the players from stealing a step or two on a 
 fly ball, keep reminding them that they are 
 being watched and that it would be unwise 
 to leave until the ball is caught. Knowing 
 he is being closely watched, the runner rarely 
 tries to take the advantage. If he does, the re- 
 sults are usually costly. These are a few of 
 the customs used by the leading umpires in 
 an effort to improve umpiring and make the 
 work easier. If the amateur, college, and 
 "semi-pro'^ umpires would use the same sys- 
 tem, many of the causes for forfeited games 
 would be eliminated. 
 
 Learn the rules thoroughly, is the first 
 thing I would say to an ambitious youngster 
 
The Umpire 189 
 
 who desires to shine as an umpire. Always 
 read thoroughly the questions asked about 
 various plays and answered in the news- 
 papers. Much valuable knowledge can be 
 obtained in this way. Not only learn the 
 rules, but be able to apply them at a mo- 
 ment's notice. 
 
 Never lose sight of the ball, is another 
 cardinal principle of umpiring. Keep it in 
 sight from the time you start the game until 
 the last man is out. It will help you out of 
 many a difficulty that will arise if you turn 
 your head too quickly; such as dropping the 
 ball, interference on the part of the runner 
 or fielder, and use of the hidden ball trick. 
 
 Always try to be on top of every play. Also 
 attempt to come to a stop before the play is 
 completed. It is much easier to take a good 
 picture with a camera when standing still 
 than it is when on the run. The eye in many 
 ways is not unlike the camera. 
 
190 How to Play Baseball 
 
 Do not give your decisions too quickly. 
 That is a fault common with umpires in every 
 class. Anticipating a play often makes a lot 
 of trouble. Some unexpected happening may 
 upset all calculations. Don't be in a hurry. 
 Haste is usually the worst enemy of the um- 
 pire. 
 
 Don't go on the ball field with a chip on 
 your shoulder. You will find plenty of trou- 
 ble in the role of umpire without looking for 
 it. Enough trouble will present itself. There 
 is no need of beckoning it 
 
 A little mistake by the umpire through 
 carelessness or loss of temper can cause a big 
 row, and big rows hurt baseball. Little mis- 
 takes can be avoided, and it's the duty of the 
 umpire to avoid them. 
 
 Do not try to look authoritative. Ball play- 
 ers are just human. Men on the ball field 
 are the same as those found in any other walk 
 of life. Impress on them that they are in 
 
CALUNG A PLAYER OUT ON SECOND. 
 Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y. 
 
The Umpire 191 
 
 your power, and you issue a challenge. A 
 challenge generally results in trouble. 
 
 Be considerate. Ball players in the heat of 
 action often say things they do not mean. 
 Try not to hear them if possible. Often a 
 smile and a word of caution beats a bombas- 
 tic display of authority. 
 
 Treat a fellow like a gentleman and he 
 will treat you the same way, if he is a man. 
 That goes on the ball field as well as in any 
 other business. 
 
 Above all things, be firm. A man without 
 a backbone has no right to umpire. 
 
 It is more difficult to umpire an amateur 
 game than a big league contest. The big 
 leaguer has backing, while the amateur must 
 protect himself. It is very fortunate that a 
 number of the leading cities are taking up the 
 umpire question. Amateur baseball associa- 
 tions controlling all games on the city parks 
 are in vogue in a number of places. Teams 
 
192 How to Play Baseball 
 
 and players who make trouble for the umpire 
 are fined and suspended, and often lose the 
 right to play on certain grounds. Cleveland 
 and Boston have made wonderful strides in 
 this direction. As a result a better class of 
 fellows are umpiring, for they realize they 
 have the protection of the city behind them. 
 I think it is only a matter of time when 
 the umpiring problems will be much nearer a 
 solution. There is a big field for the intelli- 
 gent chap in the umpiring game. It is a 
 battle worth while, for the minors and the 
 majors pay big money. Many of the best 
 umpires draw a $4000 stipend for six months' 
 work, a rather desirable salary. If you can- 
 not be a star player, take a whirl at the 
 umpiring end. Perhaps you were destined 
 to be a great arbitrator. It is worth while 
 taking the chance. 
 
 3477-3 
 
ntlSR/^'^Y OF CONGRESS 
 
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