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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1911)
TITE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX. PORTLAND. DECEMBER 31. 1911. FEET OF BUTTERS PITCHERS' STUDY EEVX2T FAMOUS GEIDIEON HEE.OI3 WHO WILL BE SEEN EEPRESENTCN3 SEATTLE ATHLETIC CLUB IN FOOTBALL GAME TOMORROW WITH MULTNOMAH CLUB HERE COAST IS LACKING 1 f! - a !!5 r t ar - i . f It Brainy Twirlers Owe Much Success to Watching Op ponent's Movements. Four Stars of Last Season Wi Be In League Again This Year. v. . ATTITUDE IS IMPORTANT - BEAVERS WELL EQUIPPED t i - 4 ETCHERS 7 . .V-vl N e i . . .,'4 v- . : ' ' . ; IP- --- ,' . - - f.'- "- - ; ! , t ' . $ w VAt V it K i McCredle) to Start Day With Kuhn and Murray, of 1 1 1 1 Champion, and -tang Dan" llowley, Ex. pericocrd Krrrult. RT W J. PKTRA1.V Every year aa the baseball Muon " approaches the fans of each citr rep resented in a regularly organised cir . cult commence peculating' about the pitchers ita baseball team will boast i during the season, yet the mora Im portant department of catching 1 more or less overlooked by the bugs. Qood catchers are the moil Import ant requisite of a club. for. while the brunt of the work devolves upon the pitcher, he muet depend upon a first class receiver to handle hla delivery and as often he requires the assistance of his battery partner at critical . staa-ea of the frame. One food, first-class catcher, who Is not prone to frequent injuries, is - worth as much to a ball club as a staff of high-class pitchers, for ho must work every day and is caned upon to usa his brains all the time and must be ever on the alert through out a hard-fought contest. Ccaat Has Fear Ceed Mra. Last season the Pacific Coast League boasted of about four first-class catchers. Kuhn and Murray of Fort ' land: Berry, of Ban Francisco: Ml tie, of Oakland. The other cluba had fair tan catchers, but thy were by no mesne In a class with the quartet ' named. The nearest approach to the four stars was Schmidt, of the Seals, ' and he can be depended upon to show tronirer In the cumin season. In -Ked" Kuhn and Tommy Murray, until the latter broke training; rules, ' the Beavers boasted of the premiers of the circuit, though the writer would class Carl Mlue and Claude Berry on 'a par with the Beaver backstops. Los Angeles waa without what could be styled a good catcher all season. Even the Introduction of Brooks st the end of the season could not be 1 atyled as Improving the Angel back slopping department, for the Fresno lad possesses the defect of most catch ers of the mediocre variety by a lack of alert thinking ability. Sacramento ' hi woefully short of catching ma terial, and Vernon's backatopplng partment consisting of the excitable llogan and the lazy Brown waa hardly n a par with the other cluba. Ilewley Well Reeoeaeseadea. Next season Walter McCredle has added another first-class catcher to lna staff In the person of "Long Pan" llowley. a catcher who haa demons trated himself to be a receiver of the llrst water, llowley has had several years' experience in the American As oclatlon. Southern League and New Tork Slate League, and Is rated as a hlKh-elass man in all of those circuits. Willi llowley. Portland will also have Walter L. Kuhn. the gingery little bunch of muscle and nerve which helped land that pennant last season, for the Fresno red-head proved hlm elf a star receiver last season, and -an be expected to show to better ad rantaa next season. Tommy Murray will also likely be found wearing a I'ortland uniform, for McCredle an nounces that he will retain three -etchers with the Beaver team iext teason. San Francisco will retain Claude Brry and Schmidt, the clever pair who officiated back of the bat for that ' tram lust season, and has added a backstop named Melford. from the New York State League to the staff. Oakland Is Justly satisfied with the work of Carl Mltxe and "Bunny" Pearce. Mltxe was the regular catcher with that club during the past two seasons, and Is one of the cleverest nd hardest working catchers seen in :hia league for several seasons. Pearce la a big. awkward fellow, who can throw well and also hit the ball, and la a good second catcher. Harry lloiean asserts that he will do little or no catching for his club next eeaeon. and anserts that he will de nenri upon !rumniond Brown and Jack Sullivan to handle his pitchers. Sulli van comes from the American Associa tion. here he I" rated aa a fairly good catcher, and If he l. he will help the Vernon tam considerably, for Brown gave several exhibitions of catching last leason that would disgrace a bush aggregation and 11 la laziness and un steadiness which are his bad points. He may ginger up If forced to compete against a live catcher, and Hogan may hare obtained such a man In Sullivan. The Angels have Imported a catcher named Hulee. who comes highly recom mended, and It Is to be hoped that Hen ry Berry has not been handed another lemon In this man. The Los Angeles club haa been out of the running for several seasons, principally because of the Inability of that club to obtain the services of a high-class catcher. Hughey Smith, the husky youngster who has been used back of the bat most of the time by that club. Is not cut out tor a catcher. He cannot think quick enough to make a good catcher, but his batting and base running ability ought to make htm a good man In the out field. salta Sataral Ballplayer. " Hi Is a natural ballplayer and Is fast on Lis feet for a big man. Ilia batting haa helped the Angela grratly.'and be cause f his good points It would seem that In; Ion .might try him out in soma other department than back of the bat. Brooks Is only a fair catcher: Is af- ' (i I'd the same as Smith, so it is up to Boles to make good or the Angels wt!l once more be out of the running despite the Influx of a stellar pitching staff for next season. ' In the case of Sacramento, that club Is without a catcher at all at the pres ent time, unless this man Cheek, from the New Tork State League shows abil ity. The Senatorial aggregation also has claim to Hex De Vogt. who played In the Northwestern Ieague last season, and he displayed ability of no mean va riety, which may gain him a chanco with Charley Graham. Sacramento ex pects to get a catcher from the Boston Americans, and Patsy O Rourke will see to It that this man will be a real catcher or he will refuse him quickly. However, good catchers are scarce and It Is a lucky manager who Is able to draw one at any time of the year. This department usually meana the making of a baseball club. for. If a club possesses a good catching ataff. and Is equally balanced In the other depart ments, there Is no chanco for It to bo coma a loaer If handled by, a manager ' who knows his men sad the game as walL vs. - , . . . ' . - V V ' , f -. v . PITCHERS BIG WORRY McCredie Not Satisfied With Prospects of Four Left. TRAINING SEASON ON WAY Promising Twlrlcrs Are In Great De mand In Big- Irag-urs and Clrre land and Si. Ixnla Are Unable to Help Heavers' ' Leader. tVlth January 1. 1(11. only one day sway, and the starting of the training season scarcely two months off. Man ager McCredle, of the Champion Port land Beavers, Is scratching his head In worrlraent over the prospects of his pitching staff for the coming sea son. Harknesa Koestner. Henderson and Lamllne are left, b'ut McCredle does not seem satisfied with the prospect of only four, as he was expecting to have replaced Beaton and Steen before this. Cleveland and St. Louis, of the Ameri can League, have been unable to help htm In this respect, for the very pitch ers the Bearer leader had his eyes on cannot be turned over to him, for the reason that the clubs dealing with Mc Credle cannot get them by the waivers. Promising pitchers are In great de mand In the big leagues, and Mitchell nd Blair, the Cleveland recruits ex pected to be turned over to the Beavers, nd "Lefty" George, of St. Louis, have had the waivers asked on them recalled, for other teams showed great anxiety o secure them. The same applies to Heyder Barr, the outfielder, who waa to have coma to Portland from Cleve land, but too many big league clubs seemed anxious to secure bis services nd Cleveland decided to retain him Instead. "I guess It will be up to me to take chance on some of these youngsters. nd It may be that I will have to use Walter Ioane aa a pitcher." said Mc Credie In discussing the situation yes terday. Ioane Is such a good sticker that t seems a shame not to use him regu larly In the game, and I may not have to pitch him after all. If Byrd, Green well. Hlrsch or somev of the others show they have "the goods.' In case have to use Point as a pitcher I can send Harry Petera or Bill Lindsay to the outfield, so that department will ot be weakened at all. as both these men can play the patch, and both are good hitters and baserunners. e McCredle has not heard a word from Petera who Is supposed to be studying law at Salinas, and this has pusxled the leader of the Beavers. Peters Is no of McCredle's fondest hopes, for he haa been "sweet" on this speedy young player for two years. "Mack" ntends to try Peters at third base at he training quartera. and It Is more than likely that this speedy youngster will give Bill Lindsay a hard tussle for the Job as regular guardian of the "difficult corner." Peters was a member of the Ban Jose team In tha California Stat League In 110. and when McCredle took his Beavers to that place on tha training trip of that seaaon he saw Peters In action. The youngster Impressed the Portland man so highly that he tried to get him when that league blew up In 110. but Harry Krause beat the Portland leader to It and signed him for Connie Mack's Philadelphia team. Philadelphia turned him over to Tren ton for seasoning, and McCredle drafted him from that team last Fall. Superstition may swing the Portland training camp to Santa Maria one more, for the leader of the two-times champions Is a firm believer In fata. Having won two pennants In succession after having trained at Santa Maria. Walter McCredle will be loath to select another point for fear of breaking bis lucky streak. However, ss his friend. John St. John, has already predicted that the Beavers will be three-times winners at the end of the coming sea son. McCredle may take a chance and change quartera Oeorgs "Admiral" Schlel, the ex-Cln. clnnatl catcher who worked alternately with Long Larry McLean for several aeasons at Cincinnati, haa been signed by the Chicago Cubs for next seaaon. Schlel figured In a trade between the New Tork Nationals and Cincinnati a couple of seasons sgo, and was given his unconditional release by New York last June. He was offered a position with Indianapolis, but chose to act as sub-catcher to Jimmy Archer with the Cubs Instead. Senators Uet Ilofb Miller. NEW TORK. Dec 10. Tha following release wss approved today by Presi dent Lynch, of tha National League: Hugh 8. Miller, from Philadelphia to Sacramento. v 1 1.;, j''A 'fl! . '-'-A . ? V' V l Y - t v- t A j i , i V - vv ; . . - - :) I ..I h J; - -. : - r - ! WILL HANK LUST? Golden Rule Dealings in Cincin nati This Year Doubted. CANTILLON TRIED SCHEME Veteran empire's Plan to Treat Indicator-Handlers With Dne Re . spect Will Be Watched With Interest by Baseball Men. BT W. J. PKTRAIN. Hank O'Day, the veteran umpire who has been signed by Garry Herrmann to manage the Cincinnati team, announces that he will apply the golden rule in his dealings with the umpires of the National League next season. In other words. Hank will conduct himself to ward the officials In the manner he tried to enforce towards himself when he was an official. O'Day's announcement that he wonld give the umpires no trouble Is taken with a grain of salt by the fans, for Joe Cantlllon. also a former umpire of note, made the same statement before he took charge of the Washington Americans a few years ago. - If O'Day makea as good In this ex pression of determination to Introduce managerial reform in the matter of dealing with umpires, he will be fired out of the game on an average ot three or four times a week, for such was Cantlllon's "golden rule" fate. Cantlllon did not give the umpire half as much trouble as some of the other managers, but because of hla having been an um pire, his protests registered against the officials were played up more strongly by the press representatives than were the actions ot his fellow managers. Unless he is a remarkable success as a manager. Hank O'Day Is going to have hla troubles adhering to the "gold en rule" thing In Cincinnati, for losing clubs are a severe trial on . a manager any how. and to refrain from blaming the umpire for some of the 111 fortune is a practical Impossibility for a base bail manager. . "Hank" Perry, the big Sacramento outfielder of the 1910 Senatorial aggre gation, who went to the Boston Ameri cans only to be "farmed" to Providence last year, is to have another chance in fast company, for the Detroit Ameri cana have secured him for 1912. - Perry Is a corking good hitter and lead the Pacific Coast League In 1910 and followed this by leading the East ern League last season. In some way he had escsped the draft, but Messrs. Navll and Vawkey. owners of the De troit team, recently purchased the Providence club, and Perry became their, property in baseball. He waa trans i t 1 '" t ? wfcr i 1 " "fl.i 4 i t ferred Immediately to the Tiger pay roll and It Is said that he will form the Detroit outfield trio with Ty Cobb and Wahoo Sam Crawford. e In Richmond, Va.. the proposed Uni ted States Baseball Association Is being welcomed with open arms by the fans of that city. The situation In Rich mond is much the same as prevailed In Portland In 1901. when the Portland magnates cast off allegiance to the Northwestern Lesgue at the end of that season, and Joined hands with the Pa cific Coast League. The Richmond fans object to being linked forever with the smaller cities of the Virginia League, and would like to "hook up" with cities like Wash ington, Cleveland and other places where the United States Association proposes to Invade with independent teams. e e Eastern writers and baseball dope sters do not seem to pay much heed to the United States League, and It Is poss'ble that the assertion of some of its chief organizers to the effect that the organization would not countenance contract-Jumping may be the reason for the lack of Interest. The promoters of tha new league say thev can secure enough good oaseoau material without having to Induce any players to Jump their American or Na tional League contracts, which state ment Is not given much credence. A new organization butting Into major league territory cannot possibly compete with those organizations without Introducing high-class players, and performers of this caliber are not to be picked up at leisure. The United States League will have to carry on a war to the knife In order to make good, and such a battle wll cost the pro moters millions of dollars. It Is not generally believed that the new league has the backing. Tyrus Cobb, the great Detroit out fielder, who Is playing one of the lead ing roles In a revised edition of "The College Widow," announces that he will retire from baseball before he starts to decline. By this statement Cobb does not mean that he will retire in the near future, for be figures, and so do the dopesters. that he ought to be in his prime for nearly ten more years. Cobb admires Fred Clarke's determin ation not to play any more baseball, and to manage the Pittsburg club from the bench. Clarke played great base ball for Pittsburg for a long time, yet some of the fans of that town seemed to utterly forget Clsrke's services and hissed the Pirate chief last season. Clsrke haa not forgotten that episode and will see to It that it will not occur again. Fifth place Is the prediction of Her man Schaefer. the Washington Ameri can's shortstop, for Clarke Griffith's team In 1912. Echaefer thinks that Griffith will work wonders with the Nationals and says It would not sur prise him to see Washington land In fourth place, but that the club will not do any worse than fifth, which means that It will lead the second division In the American League. Vean Gregg has th distinction of having been pjeked among the 20 best players In the American League, by all of the dopesters in the East. Among the celebrated players who selected the former Beaver were Ty Cobb, Joe Jack son. Eddie Collins, Harry Davis and Charley Comiskey. v S r i; f r ,f ' i Urn M illl l4 NO PROTEST FILED Coyle and Ward May Be Seen on Football Field Again. FAST GAME IS EXPECTED At Graduate Managers' Conference Here Matter of Allowing College Men to Play Against Multno mah Tomorrow Is Settled. Because the graduate managers of Northwest colleges in session here yes terday declared that they would not protest Coyle and Wand for Spring sports If they played with the Seattle All-Stars against Multnomah New Tear's day, the premier college quarterback of the Northwest and his teammate. In all probability, will be seen In a Seattle uniform against tne wmgeu j playera Graduate Manager Zednlck. of the University of Washington, pre sented the case of his two stellar athletes to the conference delegates and thev declared they had no objec' tlon to Coyle and Wand taking part in the game. Coyle is a baseball player and last year was the leading slugger of the Northwest Intercollegiate league. Wand was a member of the crew and both athletes are figuring on taking part in Spring sports again the coming season. The noticeable defect In the Seattle team against Multno mah Christmas day was the quarter back position and If Coyle Is there to run the team the Puget Sound ag gregation will be 50 per cent stronger than It was in the last game. "Our conference agreement provides that no athlete shall be eligible to represent his institution in any sport during the college year If he repre sents any other institution or athletic club during that period," said Zednlck yesterday. "I pointed out to the other managers that the Seattle players are not representing any particular club or Institution and simply asked their views on the matter. . They were of the opinion that the participation of Coyle and Wand would not come under the conference rule. Whether they take part in the game or not Is Im material to me. but I wanted to be aure they would not make any mistake and be barred from Spring sports." The Washington manager says it is Tom McDonald's plan to use Borleske at quarterback provided Coyle does not play, ana tnis win oe an improve ment over Brlnker or Bagshaw. The Seattle team will arrive here Sunday evening accompanied by a number of college and athletic club fans. Multnomah heia its jaai practice yesterday. . - "A t i iarii : -.- ' sn, r GAME HARD FOUGHT Independents Win From 0.-W. R. & N. by 4-to-1 Score. GROUND SEA OF DEEP MUD Winners Give Good Exhibition De spite Wet Condition of Field. Bryce Plays Well Specta tors Are Enthusiastic. Oregon Association. Team Played. Won. Lost. P.C. Mount Scott 4 8 1 .750 North Bank 8 2 1 .80 Independents 5 8 2 .t00 0.-W. K 4 N. 4 0 4 -000 The Independents were successful yesterday in their game with the O.-W, R. & N. by four souls to one. The Columbus Field bore a close re semblance to a muddy pond, as some of the players found to their cost long before the end of the game, wniie tne wet ball rendered fast play almost im possible. Under the circumstances the winners gave a good exhibition. Bryce In particular showing himself to be cool and masterful halfback, and he was well seconded by Tuffs and Ritter in fact the whole team played well. On the losing side Maglus. W. Gavin and Morris were conspicuous in attack, but strong behind as were their opponents. The lineup: IndeDendents. Position. O.-W. R. SE N. Harris Q J. Gavin Wempnar .........R B chamberlain Bayliss '...LB Struble Hitter R H B Blgelow Bryce C H B Llnd Tuffs L H B. ........ Bercsvtk Flint O R P W. Gavin Tlbley I R F Maglus Wells .......C F. Johnson Howarth I L F Morris Grier O Lr F Voss P. C. Browne, referee; Von Volkenberg and Brown, linesmen. Mount Scott and North Bank will meet this morning at Columbus Field Mount Scott has one or two changes in the lineup, but the North Bank eleven expects to have Its full strength. The lineup: Korth Bank. Position. Mount Scott. R. H. Karr O J. Btrader C. Karr .....R B J. E. Strader Bpooner .. ... ...... .L B ... Bartholomew Webster R H B Gur.n Balllncall C H B G. Drynen Planlch ...L H B R. Robson Drispoll O R F McGllgerlo Francis ..........I R F Wallace Manning L C F w. Robson Crosby I L F F. Brynen Pstrlck O L F J. Robson Duncan, referee. LEST WE FORGET What Fanner Portland Players Are Now Doing. No. 67 Matt Stanley. WHEN Dugdale found he could not win ball games with the aggre gation of disgruntled talent left him when W. Fred Ely was frozen out by his brother, Ben, in 1904, he began lop ping off the "heirlooms" and supplant ing them with former Northwestern Leaguers. One of the best importations, of which there were a few, was the vet eran catcher. Matt Stanley. Matt was a long ways from being in his prime when he played with Portland, but despite the fact that he was getting into the "has been" class, be caught good ball when he was not injured. Stanley had been catching for the Seattle team in the Pacific National League, which practically disbanded when the Pacific Coast League entered the organized fold and Stanley was a free agent. Dug decided he needed the services of Stanley and he forthwith brought the veteran to Portland. "Matt" played out the 1904 season with Port land, and In 190S he went back to his old love, the Northwestern League. About three years sgo Stanley re tired from baseball and is doing well as a merchant In Seattle. FOOTBALL Game Called at 2 P. M. SEATTLE ALL STARS ?s MULTNOMAH A. A. CLUB The best game of the season. The large new grandstand will afford pro tection to the spectators against rain or snow. Entrance on Stout and Washington. General Admission, $1. Reserved Seats, $1.50. Children Under 12, 50c. Tickets on sale at Schiller's. Famous Ilurlers Like Griffith and Malhewson Observe Ways of Men at Plate and Pitch Accord ingly Ssys Umpire Evans. BT BILLY EVANS. American League Umpire CLEVELAND. Dec. 30. (Special.) "Study the position of the batter's feet," Clarke Griffith, who will manage the Washington Americans next year, says all the really successful pitchers must. In his day Griffith was one of the great est pitchers in the country. Griffith didn't have the stuff that Walter John son has. In fact, his stock in trado was rather limited, still when In his prime, no twlrler was harder to beat than the "Old Fox." Griffith had a slow ball that was a beauty, and then he had another one that was a little slower. He had a fine curve, but just fair speed. But Grif fith had plenty of gray matter, and he always usedi it to advantage when on the rubber. His change of pace was perfect, and he usually had the batter who tried to figure what was coming standing on bis head. During the Cleveland-Cincinnati series last Fall I was discussing pitch ers and batters with Griffith. I asked him what helped him most during his career as a twlrler, and he instantly re plied, "Making a study of the position the batter took at the place was my best asset as a twlrler." Study Important One. "All the great twirlers of the present day are men who make a study of the batter's feet," said Griffith, who had warmed up to the discussion. "No brainier pitcher ever lived than Math ewson, and that is one of the first things he does when the batter steps up to the plate. Some pitchers get it Into their head that a curve ball is the only thing to use on a certain batter. Per haps a curve ball is the batter's weak ness, provided he takes his regular po sition In the batter's box. All batters are not dummies, even if they are glar ingly weak on a certain ball. They finally discover that certain pitchers never use anything but a curve on them. When these pitchers are work ing, they hug the plate as closely as the umpire will allow them. Often they hit a curve ball hard, when standing In such a position, whereas had they as. sumed their regular stand they would have been made to look foolish. The pitcher cannot understand the situation. He comes back to the bench Insisting the batter is no longer weak en curve ball. "Take pitchers like Mathewson and they are never so fooled.- Say, in a game on Monday, Matty .has made a certain player look foolish on his curve. Perhaps the player has been unfortu nate enough to have fanned three or four times. The batter has come to tha conclusion that Mathewson will never give him anything but a curve, so he decides the next time he faces Matty he will be prepared to hit suoh a ball. Mathewson is selected to work against the same club on Thursday. When this batter oomes to the plate Matty ob serves he hugs it' closely. "He is get ting a toe-hold for my curve," reflects the great twlrler. "I'll Just fool him and skim his letters with a fast one. Now this same player standing In his regular position just murders a fast ball. Hugging the plate, expecting the curve, he is unable to do anything with a fast one. He still hugs the plate and Matty sends over another one in the same spot. Both have been strikes. The player decides to shift. Matty no tices at once he doesn't hug the plate so closely. He divines that he is getting ready to kill a fast one. He at once shifts to his curve or the fade away. In all probability the batter has stepped back so far from the plate that he la unable to do anything with either de livery. The result is a strike-out, a pop fly or a weak grounder to the infield. "Of course, all twirlers do not have the uncanny control of the ball that Mathewson possesses and cannot exer cise the power he does over the bat ters. The great twirlers must have control, and thus the really great twirl ers always take Into consideration the position the batter assumes at the plate." Walter Johnson In Xeed of Coaching. Walter Johnson is unquestionably one of the greatest pitchers the game has ever produced. With a second di vision club Johnson has always been a hard man for even the leaders to beat. Johnson's speed Is terrlno and his curve ball a very good one. There are many pitchers who, If they had the smoke of Johnson, would be almost un beatable. Never In my life have I seen Walter Johnson Intentionally use the "bean ball." The "bean ball," as all dyed-in-the-wool fans know, is a ball delivered as close as possible to the batter's head without hitting him. There Is really no desire on the part of any pitcher to hit the batter, for such a hapening might result very se riously. He simply throws such a ball to Intimidate the batter, drive him away from the plate, and make it next to impossible for him to bit a curve broken over the outside corner. Such a ball is invariably used by the pitcher under such conditions He is very likely to convince Johnson that there is nothing wrong in driving those batters away from the plate every now and then, just to make them re spect him. If Johnson does make up his mind to use the "bean ball" every now and then during a game, he is bound to be more effective. Batters will not- continue to take the toe-hold they ordinarily do against him, and some of the fellows who have been murdering his speed will find It a trifle harder to hit. NEW YEAR'S DAY MULTNOMAH FIELD I