The Sunday Oregonian., August 21, 1910, SECTION SIX, Image 62

TOUCHING SECOND; INSIDE PLAY
On the Bench
R
atTNSERS r on flrst and third
blui. Th gam wa clos ana
nk iim raunt
tens and alert, churned the inoffensive
air with ahort nervous motion of hi
bat. Out on the whltwahd Una by
first and third bases, two eoachr
rsnttd and raved, pawed the dirt, ran
up 'and down howling encouragement
to the batter and word of caution to
the runners. stretched eprawllngly
along; the bench a row of white-gar bod
athletes watched the field before them,
holding their pose a If froaen Into
position. Above and oa both aides of
them the noise wave of the great
crowd broke dearenlngly aa the rooter'
chorus sang tha song of hop of an
other pennant which might b decided
In the next minute.
Suddenly, at th end of the teni
line of athletea on the bench there was
a movement. A player with earnest
but rather weary face. Immobile even
In the moment when the whole result
of his year's work might be ruined,
raised his right hand to hi cap. lifted
It aa Inch from his head, replaced It.
and without a muscle of hi fax
twitching sat watching.
Like a flash tha coacher at third basa
sprang down tha Una. "Look out.
Pielny." he screamed. "Look out.
Frank." came the echo from th flrat
bass coacher' box.
Th pitcher wound hlmelf Into fan
tastic contortion. From somewhere
out of tha tangle of revolving limbs a
ball ahot Ilka a flash to the plate. Into
the catcher- mitt. Aa the pitcher
started to wind up. tha runner at first
base leaped 30 feet toward second.
topped, hesitated and took a step back
toward first baa. Th catcher, who
had caught th ball In perfect posi
tion, leaped forward, right arm drawn
back, watchful, alert. In perfect po
sition to throw to aecond base. Th
crowd groaned. Another strike on th
batter: the effort to teal balked. Slowly
the catcher relaxed from hi tense
poise. His arm dropped and he started
to throw the ball easily back to the
pitcher. In that Instant the runner at
first base waa galvanised Into action.
Two tremendous leapa toward aecond
and ha waa flying at full speed down
th Una. Th catcher, healtatlng a
trica tightened again Into throwing
position and threw like a rifle hot to
aecond Just as he caught a glimpse of
a figure tearing homeward from third.
An Instant later. In a whirling cloud
of dust. runner pivoted around the
plate. hi foot dragging across the
rubber just aa the ball, hastily hurled
back to th catcher, came down upon
his leg. The umplre'a hands went
down. Th run had scored. Th gam
waa won. Th crowd In a tumult of
enthusiasm roared and screamed and
shrilled Its Joy. Th mad at th end
of th bench let th hadow of a smile
flit over his fc and watched more In
tently than ever. Tha crowd had for
gotten htm and was cheering th
others. ,
Let a see what really happened, for
th play described Is the one y which
Ftank Chance saved the championship
of 1901 by beating New York one game
on the West Side grounds. The crowd
aw everything that Is. everything It
could . What It did not was
this- Tinker wa batUng. Stelnfeldt
was on first base, Schult on third.
The orders were for a hit-and-run play
when Tinker went to bat. After ne
strike had been caUed Chance raised
ht hand, lifted his cap from hia head
and quickly replaced It the signal for
his men to attempt a delayed doubl
steal. Marshall, ooaohlng at third,
cried. "Look out. Stelny." and Ever,
coaching at first, "Look out. Frank.
No one noticed In the Jumble of their
veils, that they used the namea of the
base runner for th flrt tlm. Th
use of the name of the runner waa th
signal for th delayed doubl steal.
All that happened afterward was only
mechanical. and although Schulte
scored and Bteinfeldt reached second
and Tinker helped them by hia motlone
aa he struck at tha ball. Intentionally
missing It. they war but puppet car
rying out the ordera of th generaX
Chance had won th gam from tn
bench when h lifted hi cap from hi
head. ...
When Chicago- and Detroit mt for
th championship of th world that
am rail. Cbanc planned and won
on of th moat beautiful strategic
struggle vr fought and th cam
paign that he planned and carried out
was worthy a baseball NapoUon. Tha
rm waa the aecond on of tha ae
rie and waa played In Chicago be
fore a huae Sunday crowd. Both
team realised that tha gam meant
atmoet everything; to Detroit an vn
chanc for th till, to th Cubs al
most certainty of retaining their
honor. Befor th game meetings of
both team wr held. Chanc
Planned hi campaign depending en
tirely upon which pitcher Detroit
used, end hi ordr. issued th mo
ment -wild Bill" Donovan wa -levied,
war convoyed to hia men Id
one word: "Wait." They waited
waited waited. whll th hug
crowd went wild a Inning after In
ning reeled away and neither ld
waa abl to score a run. Donovan
In that gam hsd prhp a much
peed as ar.y human being ever pos
sessed. Ills fast ball Jumped and
darted and his curve, pitched with
tremendous power and speed, broke
almost at right angles.
Inning after Inning aa Chanc sent
his men to face that human get '.in S
gun which was firing th National
cannon ball at and around them, h
monotonously commanded: "Walt," and
they went up and waited. One strike,
one ball, two strikes, a foul, two balls,
foul. foul, sometime three strikes, some
times a weak fly that netted nothing.
To th crowd It seemed aa If Donovan
never could be beaten, aa th Cham
pions appeared heipies befor his
tremendous speed. Still Chanc com
manded: -Wait wait him out." Every
batter went to the plat Intent upon
making Donovan pitch a many ball
s possible. They fouled, they wait
ed, ometlme ven let him strike
them out. sometime they hit, but
never until they wer compelled to
ij so. When th eighth Inning cam
neither had scored. Ilofman led off that
Inr.lr.g and still has ordera wer to wait,
and he waited until be could wait no
lor.ger. then rolled a safe scratch hit
do a towards third. In that moment
Chance, commanding general, ordered the
charge. T.nker wa th next batter, and
th order for th assault wa th lngl
word: "Switch." That wa an. but Tin
ker, rushing eagerly forward to th bat
ter position, knsw that th leash that
had held th champion) had been cut
and that he tooM h'.t when he pleased,
even the first ball. Crash! Tinker smot
th snher a terrific blow, and Ilka a
swallow the ball darted out to right
Held, high, hirher. until, soaring far ever
the heads of the crowd. It atruck th sign
above the rtM field seat and th crowd
want wild. Then, like soldier attacking
b.-escheJ wall, th champiocs rushed
t tha assault, and. befor the inning was
over they had made six run and their
waiting gam had won.
Cbaaoo toad irsii1-- tram aha. first
BY JOHN J. EVERS. KING OF SECONDBASEMEN, AND HUGH H. FULLERTON, FAMOUS NEWSPAPER' WRITER
that Donovan waa pitching with too great
speed, and that no human being could
bold such a pace through nine Innings,
and during all th time that the crowd
thought Detroit would win, th leader of
the champions wsa airting watching vry
move, wailing for the first asgn that
Donovan wa tiring or beginning to lose
hi speed. At the start of the seventh
Inning h thought he detected sign of
weariness, but the Smiling Tiger still wa
strong. After H of man stretched that hit
at th start of th eighth. Chanc saw
Donovan lower hia pitching arm a If
weary and be issued his order and after
Tinker drove that horn run he ordered,
"Tak a crack at th first on."' Lik a
general, he had found the breach and or
dered th charge, and his men leaped to
tha plat and began th bombardment
that brought victory.
It at seldom that spectator at any
game get a glimpse of tha brain work
behind too movements f the player and
even to hardened "fans " the game looks
haphazard. They criticise because they
do not understand. They see only the
individual, what be does, wher tha ball
la hit, or caught, or thrown, and tha
Intent and purpose of It all ia lost, with
out thinking how much thought may
hav been wasted on the play that the In
dividual attempted to carry out, or how
well planned tha gam may have been.
They Imagine, moat of them, that th
players ar individuals who walk to the
plate, hit or mlsa th ball, mak a saf
hit or go outs they do not know that be
hind th way th man hits, behind tha
movement of th baa runner, behind th
position th men take, ar hidden a code
of signals, and a series of order to b
obeyed without question, for the general
good. They scarcely Imagine that gamea
ar planned befor they ar started, or
that aa soon as a pitcher ia namsd -th
manager and hia advisers map out a
scheme of action and plan an attack upon
the weakest point of th opposing team.
They do not realli that as soon as
Marquard of New York or Pfelster of
Chicago la named to pitch, th opposing
manager order a bunting game, or that
aa coon a a catcher known to have a
weak arm, or to throw badly, or a pitcher
who doe not watch bssa runners care
fully Is elected to perform battery duty
for th day the opposing manager sig
nals "steal." "steal." "steal," to every
fast man who reaches a base
Listen to a coacher. "Doc" Marshall, of
Brooklyn, for Instance, on tha Una at
first base, running up and down, pawing
the dirt, acting like a madman, and per
haps on not deeply versed In th gam
imagine h la trying to "rattle" tha op
posing pltchsr. or spur his own men to
greater efforta. A hundred of th word
or phraaea he use msy mean nothing,
but somewhere among them the base
runner hears. 'Careful. Harry." which
tell him Marshall ha seen a signal for
a fast ball, flashed tb batter a aignal
to hit and 1 warning th runner to start
as soon as th ball la pitched. Or he
may catch, "Now we're at "em." and leap
forward to save himadlf from being
forced whan th batter bunt a sacrifice.
- e
Sometimes, however, tha beet laid and
most carefully planned campaign go sad
ly amis and on of th instance of this
wa th mlscarrlag of a plan Chanc
one laW to beat St. Louis, dalle. "The
String Bean," a tall rangy pitcher who
la about 1 hands high and left-handed,
wa pitching a Strang gam. Regardless
of who wa batting, he pitched the cam
way to each man. a curve over th pku.
another curve either on the Inside or out
ld Conner, two fast aid arm balls high
and outald and then a curv low and
over th Plata. Bis pitching, although
monotonous, waa effective, and for an
odd reason,
Chano had a theory that Salle lacked
control, tn spit of th fact that he wa
hewing almost perfect control, so he
counseled a- waiting game and told hi
men to "take two," which meana they
wer not to strike at either of the flrat
two balls pitched. As a consequence
Bailee had th batter "In tha hole" all
the time that In, bad the advantage, and
when they finally wer compelled to hit.
they work forced to hit bis curve, so they
did not do much hitting.
By th middle of the gam Chanoa
realised Salle waa not going to be wild
and right ther th gam ceased to b
baseball and became a guessing match.
Chance, seeing Bresnahan'a plan of
pitching, axpecud him to change it, so
he stuck to hi original plan. Hrasnahan
knowing Chanc expected him "to change,
decided not to change, and waited for
Chance to switch his plan of campaign.
Tha gam wa almost over before the
champions, msde desperate, began hit
ting the flrat ball, and then Bresnahan
changed on every batter, outguessing,
them ail th time.
It wa Just ilka men matching head
and tails, aoh manager sticking to his
own plan. Bresnaheui turning hsad every
tlm and Chanc tails, each expecting
the other to change.
The man who, perhaps. 1 past master
of directing ball clubs from th bench 1
John McCloskey. who haa managed
many clubs. As many of his cam
paign hav been poorly exeouted
by Inferior players, he often ba
failed, but If ever ha get a team to
gether that can and will carry out his
ordera. that team probably never wlU
lose a game.
On of McCloekey's most brilliant
plana was conceived when he waa man
aging th 8t Louis Cardinal, lie had
an Idea hia team could beat Raul bach,
of Chicago, by banting and ha sent the
flrst IT wen to bat with ordera to bunt
or push th bail down th infield, no
batter being allowed to hit th ball
hard until after two strikes had been
called. The flrat six Innings passed
without a run being scored by St. Louis.
Then two bunts went saf In succes
sion, another advanced the runners and
th next man pushed th ball towards
first basa. It waa thrown wild to tha
plat, tw runners scorsd. and St. Louis
continued bunting until five runs
counted and ths game wa won. All
during the early stages of tha contest
tha playera war frantic, begging to be
permitted to hit hard but McCloskey
stuck to his plan of campaign and won.
On the attack, when his own team Is
at bat, the manager haa th opportunity
to speak to each man as he leavea the
bench, to tell blm what he la expected
to do. but If he changes that plan after
the man Is In batting position h sig
nals either the batter direct, or th
coacher hi change of plan, so that
every man on the team may know what
la to be attempted. With experienced
men few signal ar necessary, except
those of th manager, who must dsclde
which of two posslbls plays th batter
shall try.
After a team haa played under on
manager several years, tha playars
know, almost without a glance toward
the bench, what the orders will be un
der given circumstances. Often, too.
wbea a manager and batter suspect
that th opposing team haa learned
their signals, th batter will look to.
wards th bench, vsn whn h knows
perfectly what la axptd f him, and
receive a false order Intended to "oross"
or deceive the trickster who Is stealing
signals. It la whsn the batter "cross"
ths opposing team, leading tham to
think he la going to d on thing whan
he doe another, that disastrous conse
quences ar likely to result to th de
fender. In a gam between Pittsburg and
Philadelphia years ago, when Tommy
Leach waa a youngster, he thought he
detected a algnai for Larry Lajoi to
boat and fc cams creeping forward ex
pecting to get a good start on th bunt
If It came towards third. Lajole slashed
a line drive down th third base Una,
tha ball struck Leach on the shins, and
hia head waa tb first thing that hit
th ground,
'
Th length to which club will go to
learn th signals, especially th signal
of managers from the bench. Is aston
ishing to those not familiar with tha
game. To catch a signal legitimately,
by observation, quickness of eye or
quickness of thinking is part of the
rport. Marshall of Brooklyn, Kan of
Chicago, Doom of Philadelphia, Brld
well of New York. Hartself of th Ath
letics, of th present generation of play
ers, are past masters of the art of see
ing what the opposing batamsn ar
trying to do befote the effort is mad.
In one gam at Cincinnati In 190 Man
ager Griffin said he was compelled to
change his signals six times during the
contest because Pat Morgan waa get
ting thsm.
Efforts have been made In the past to
steal the signals by the most brasen
trickery and unsportsmanlike methods
Perhaps th worst case of this kind
ever revealed was that of the old Phila
delphia team in the National League.
Here was the greatest aggregation of
batter aver assembled on on team,
but. not satisfied with their natural
batting ability, they wanted to know
In advance what kind of a ball tha
pitcher wa going to servo In order to
Increase their hitting. Morgan Murphy,
on of the cleverest men at Interpret
ing signals who aver played In a ball
game, formulated ths plan. Stationing
himself with a confederal In the club
house tn center field, he armed himself
with a pair of powerful field glasses
with which he watched the signals of
tha catchers as well a the signal of
th managers from th bench. It was
afterwards learned that he frequently
watched th pitcher, catcher and man
ager making up their aignal before a
gam and frequently knewbefor play
started every signal that waa o be
used.
At first th atgnala were given by
the confederate, who stood in a club
house window, and passed th signals
by th positions of his arms against tha
sides of th window. One arm waa for
fast balls, ths other for curves, and the
cod Included many poaltlons of th
man. The opponents, knowing their
signals wer being "tipped off," grew
suspicious and Murphy, learning of
their suspicions and 'fearing detection,
changed his plan and gave the signals
by raising and lowering an awning on
the clubhouse. If the awning waa
raised a few Inchea and held there, a
fast ball waa to be pitched and If it
was raised and dropped quickly a curv
hsd been signaled for. Not content
with th success at horn tha club took
Murphy on th road, and bs worked
from wlndowa overlooking tha park,
often hiring rooms In order to carry on
th unsportsmanlike practice.
e
It la remarkable how quickly
catcher suspects th opposing team 1
getting his signal, or thos that are
being given from the bench. Ho Judges
chiefly from the unnatural action of
th battera. After even two men have
batted th catcher begin to look In all
directions to see who is "tipping off"
tb signs, and he Immediately signals
th bench what la going on. Then all
yes on th bench scan tha field, fences
and adjaoent buildings to discover
what schema 1 being worked.
Murphy's awning worked well, until
It waa discovered by sharp eyes on th
bench and then Murphy and hia asso
ciates Invented something entirely new
In baseball. They put electrlo wires
underground, connecting th clubhouso
with th ooacher'e box at third bas
and burled In th ground a small
wooden box containing a "buzzer." A
certain noisy, obstreperous player wa
stationed at third bas with on foot
directly over th box containing the
"buaser" and aa the signal aounded
he could feel the tapping under
his foot, whereupon he called a
ood word warning the batter
what th pitcher was going to pitch or
what th opposing manager had ordered
from tha bench.
Not a regular player on th Philadel
phia team batted under 100 per cent while
th "buzzer" was In operation, and sev
eral of their pitcher and catchers wsra
among the leading batter of th Nation
al League. Opposing team knew that,
m eom way, th Phlladlph!an were
getting tha signals, but how they could
not discover until one day the Cincinnati
Club was playing on the Philadelphia
grounds. Every man on th Cincinnati
team was watching to se where th sig
nals war coming from and they saw
that one player stationed near third base,
no matter how he moved, always kept
on foot in the sams position.
In th mlddl of th game, on of th
Cincinnati team wandered aimlessly to
ward third base, made a sudden rush,
pushed the guilty Philadelphian out of
th coachers' box and dug up th device
which wa winning gamea for Philadel
phia. Th discovery created a big sen
sation In baseball and aroused a vigorous
protest against such unsportsmanlike
methods. But Instead of stopping, the
Philadelphia Club moved the buszer to
their bench, and continued using It until
stopped by league action.
Not satisfied with having that much
advantage on the home grounds, the man
who planned the thing followed his team
around th country, renting window ov
erlooking th grounds In each city and
wigwagging signals to the batter. He
wa caugbt at Brooklyn by some of th
Brooklyn players, and trounced, and after
that th method of spying gradually was
abandoned.
Pittsburg, however, tried the saroa
thing a year later, using an Ingenious de
vice; a semaphore arrangement fastened
to th center field fence which was raised
at right angles for a fast ball and
straight up for a curve. The arrangement
was not In use for a week before the keen
eyea of th opponents discovered It and
began changing signals so rapidly th
plea could' not follow them. After ev
enteen batter had been hit by pitched
bails In four days and some of tham hurt
because they expected one curv when
another was being pitched th scheme
was ahandfraed.
. e
Th defensive game of all team la or
dered by th manager either from th
bench or from bi field position and th
manager who also Is a - player baa an
Immense advantage over the bench man
ager in that he can reach his men more
readily and moreover without a signal,
sign, or spoksn word his player can
tall from th position he assumes wher
he wants them to play and bow h ex
pects the play to be made.
Observe th New York ball team. Me
Graw from th bench flashes a aignal to
Tennay. Devlin creep forward IS feet
lnsld of third base, Tenny move for
ward almost 15 feet, th entire outfield
advaacea while Doyl and Brldwell re
main as they wer. There I a man on
first basa, another on third, on batter
ont and New York ha on run (nor
than tb opposing- team- Any on who
rows th gam know th batter la not
a fast man and understand th entlr
plan of action. If th ball 1 hit to Ten
pey, to Devlin or to th pitcher. It will
b thrown to th plat to prevent the
runner from scoring from third bas. If
It 1 hit either to Doyle or to Brldwell,
th other will cover aecond base, tak
th throw and attempt by a quick throw
to complete the doubl play and rUr
the opposing team.
Th barter make a bass hit. th runner
cor from third, th man who waa on
first reaches third, and again runners are
on flrst and third bases, with one out,
and the opposing team needa a ran to
win. ' But the infield instead of playing
th same way gets a signal from Mc
Graw and while Tenney and Devlin re
main as before, Doyle and Brldwell move
forward onto the grass. 5 feet nearer
tha plat than they war before. The
fan may not understand, but a fsst man
la coming to bat; there la but a slight
chance of a double play being executed
successfully and the Giants, driven to tha
defensive, ar signaled by their manager
to close up the Inner line of defense In
the desperate hope that the ball will be
hit straight at one of them who may. cut
off the runner at the plate and save the
day. McGraw haa issued tha order, and
whether It wlna or loses the game be
accepta the blame.
e .
. Ther was a game played in Cincinnati
tn 1909 which Chicago came near losing
after having saved It three times by
magnlfloent generalship. McLean, th
heavy hitting Cincinnati catcher, is one
of th most dangerous of battera when
bis team needs runs, and four times dur
ing the gam he cam to bat when a
safe hit, it seemed, would win the game
for Cincinnati, and each time Chance, on
ths bench, raised his hand with four fin
gers up and th thumb turned In, which
wa his aignal to give McLean a base
on balls arid not allow him to hit and
to rely upon retiring the next batter,
who waa not so dangerous aa a batter.
Three times Reulbach purposely pitched
four balls wide, allowing McLean to tak
first base and each time the succeeding
batter failed to bit. so Cincinnati could
not score. The other, tlm Chance ahoved
up four fingers Just as on of th um
pire passed bstween him and the field,
and Reulbach missed the signal and
thinking Chanc had not signalled at all
he broke a curve over ths plate for a
strike. Again Chanc flashed four fin
ger and again the umpire obscured tho
view, and Reulbach drove over another
strike.
Moran, who was catching, was angry.
He thought the proper thing to do was
to give McLean a base, and he turned
to Chanc for orders to pass ths batter
even then, but having escaped twice
Chanc bad a "hunch" that he had been
wrong and signalled to make the batter
hit. Reulbach pitched a high fast ball
and McLean hit It safe to center, scoring
a run and tying the score, and the Cubs
war compelled to play 11 Innings before
they finally won the gam.
Many spectators who sea player go
through season after season and play
perhapa 176 games a year Imagine that
they would get hardened and become In
different as to whether they win or
lose. Th opposite Is tha case. Tb
young players endure defeat better
than the old onea and It seems tha
longer the player Is In the gam the
more he hatea to lose.
The bench, during a defeat. Is Ilk
an array In a rout, everyone raving,
swearing, blaming each other, and hurl
ing abuse and invective back and forth.
But whll the result hangs In the bal
ance the men aeem Impassive, almost
Indifferent. Conversations are carried
on in low tones, order ar Issued
quickly and Incisively, and everything
Is deliberate and calm. The storm
that follows either victory or defeat
comes as quickly as tha hit or th er
ror that starts It. The moment that
th hit that brings victory, or th er
ror that means defeat comes, all the
pent-up and repressed excitement of
the day breaks loose and then the
wildest fan In . the bleachers la
sane compared with the players and
usually tha manager la worst of all.
e
But th bench la not always calm or
angry, for at times It 1 lika a crowd
of school boys, up to all sort of pranks,
from nagging tha umpire to playing
Joke on each other. On of the fun
niest situations arose tn Cincinnati a
few years ago when the Reds were be
ing beaten. On of the players was an
Inveterate Joker, and even In defeat he
could not understand the temptation to
turn the laugh upon aomeone. There
waa a water pip from the stand that
divided directly over the playera' bench,
one end being at the side of the bench,
th other directly over the water tank
where the playera drank. The Joker
had discovered that the pipe could be
used a a telephon and whll his team
was going to pieces bs sat where he
could lean' over and speak Into the
open end of the pipe. Lobert had mad
a couple of bad mlsplays and as he went
to the water tank to get a drink after
the disastrous Inning th joker leaned
over and spoke Into th pipe, saying:
"You big, bowlegged. Dutch slob, who
ever told you you could play ball?"
The words seemed to coma directly
from over Lobert' s head and be leaped
back, glaring up Into the stand to see
who waa "roasting" him. The party In
tha box overhead looked supremely in
nocent and unconscious, but Lobert re
mained in front of tha beach all dur
ing tb inning, to see If he could dis
cover the offender.
The Joker remained iuiet until the
next player went to the tank, and then
he hurled more Insults through the
tube. He kept It up during the entire
game, abusing, criticising and Insulting
every player who went to get a drink,
and by the middle of the contest he
had tha players fighting mad. and send
ing spies into the stand to try to find
the man who waa abusing them.
So the most interesting part of the
game, the brain work, the generalship
of baseball Is hidden under those coops
behind flrst and third base where the
masters of baseball use lingers, ayes,
head, feet, hands, cap, strange phrases
and senseless words, all of which are in
th coda, to direct their wonderful pup
pets. The public never get a chance
to And out what la behind all the run
ning the throwing and batting unless
some one tells and then it Is Impos
sible to tell even th half.
. On know that when he sees Chance
raise his cap. a double steal Is to be
attempted, that if he raises four fingers,
the batter la to b given a base on balls.
One knows when McGraw changes
places with th man next to him on
the bench he is ordering his players to
hit and run. On know that when
a Chicago coacher uses tha given nam
of the base runner the given name is
part of that coda. One knows that
when "Doc" Marshall yells. "Thafa get
ting them," that "getting" la the catch
word, and that when Hughi Jennings
pulls grass with his right hand, ha
means one thing, with his left another,
and can hear behind Griffith' "Watch
hia foot," an order to steal. But no
on knows It all.
Deciding Moments of Games
NEARLY every baseball game 1 won
and lost on th play; a play that
come at th psychological Instant.
Among th plyr (who do not study
psychology) th crucial moment 1
known as "the break." a phenomenon
which no on haa analyzed and which
tha player themselves do net under
stand. Twenty men on th bench ar watch
ing closely and Intently every move of
tha pitcher. Tha tid of battla rises.,
ebbs and then suddenly, at the start
of soma Inning, something happens.
Wliat It Is no one outside th psychic
OF BIG LEAGUE BASEBALL
sphere of influence ever will under-'
stand, but the silent, tight-lipped, alert
fellows on the bench see something, or
feel something . and the mysterious
"break" haa coma.
"One ball!" Th playars on th bench
suddenly stiffen and prepare for action.
"Two balls!" Two players Jump for
bats and begin swinging them; the
coaehera who hav yelled only because
it was their duty, suddenly bsgln rag
ing, screaming and pawing tha dirt.
The manager, who has appeared half
asleep, makes a trumpet of hia hands
and leads his men. bawling orders to
his playera and wild taunts to the op
ponents. The spectators do not understand any
thing has happened. Other batters hav
had two balls called many times-.and
tli situation looks the same to the spec
tator who Is beyond the "break" influ
ence. In two more minutea the bench is
a madhouse, with 20 men shouting,
screaming, ordering and movirfg. "Three
balls." A madman rushes out to the
"deck." "Pour balls!" And the specta
tors Join the players In th demonstra
tion rtn trtiHAmtninHner whv. The mad-
ness Is spreading. Crack I A base hit. a
bunt, a wild throw; another base hit;
screams! shbuts! Imprecations: a roar or
frantic applause! a final long fly. The
manager reaches for his glove, spits Into
it. and says quietly: "Four runs. We've
got 'era." The break Is over and tha
i v iri a ucum ." m.- .
of the grounds. The surge of enthusiasm.
confidence ana noise iuuwuco wiu
game Is won.
Baseball la almost as much psycho
logical as athletic Why one team can
beat a stronger one regularly, and lose
to a weaker with the same regularity;
why one better can hit one pitcher and
Is helpless before another; why one
pitcher is effective against a strong team
and at the mercy of another that cannot
bat half aa hard, are psychological prob
lems. In 1908 Jo Tinker, who Is only an ordi
nary battor, becamr. Imbued with the idea
that he could hit Mathewson's pitching
at will. The confidence born of this idea
enabled him to beat Mathewson out of
several games, and after that Mathewson
seemed to have the same belief,, for
Tinker during the season won five games
from New York by his Individual hitting,
and in four of them Mathewson waa the
victim. One of the hits that Tinker made
off Mathewson will bs part of Chicago's
baseball history for generations. The
teams, with Mathewson and Brown pitch
ing, had battled for four Innings, neither
being able to score and In the fifth Tinker
came to bat, first in the inning. Tinker
drove the ball on the line Into the far
left field corner and he raced around
the bases. At third base' Zimmerman,
who waa coaching, leaped out, tackled
Tinker and threw him, trying to drag
him back to third base, but Tinker broke
away and scored with th only run of
tho game, beating Mathewson 1 to 0.
Twice later in the year Tinker beat
Mathewson by long drives.
On of th hardest games Chicago lost
tn that season waa to Brooklyn late In
the year, at a time when the Cubs were
fighting desperately to overtake New
York and Pittsburg, and when every de
feat seemed to wreck their last hope.
The champions "had the game well In
hand, but Tim Jordan waa bitting terri
fically and -Lundgren seemed unable to
stop him. Twice Jordan had driven the
ball over the right field fence of the
Washington Park grounds and yet when
"the break" came In the eighth Inning
Chicago waa two runs ahead. With one
man out, two on bases and Jordon at
bat. Chance, seeing Jordan was so anx
ious to make another long hit that he
was kicking one foot high in the air
every time a ball was pitched, went to
Lundgren and said: "Put it over straight.
Make him hit It. If he hits It out of
the lot." Four times Lundgren tried to
mak his straight ball go over the plate
and four times It swerved outside and
Jordan drew a base on balls. Brooklyn
suddenly changed plans, ordered Lumley
to bat for Lewis. He drove a three-base
hit against the right field fence, and a
long fly that followed allowed him to
core, and gave Brooklyn the victory.
Another game lost In the critical In
stant to Cincinnati on the same trip
seemed to end Chicago's flnal chance for
tho pennant and was the result of Just
Buch a rally. The ninth inning saw the
Cubs seemingly victorious, the pennant
within their grasp, but the psychlo wave
Inspired the Reds and with two men on
bases, Lobert at bat and two strikes and
two bolls colled. Chance ordered his
pitcher. Overall, to pitch a straight low
ball. The result of the entire season
seemed to binge upon that ball. Overall
tried, but tho fast ball went high Instead
of low and Lobert sent It screaming over
second, driving home two more run and
winning the game. . . ..
That bit waa one Of the best testi
monials to the honesty of baseball ever
given, for Lobert was wild for Chicago
to win the pennant, end a great friend
of Overall, whose heart almost was
broken by the hit his friend made.
What probably was 'the most sensa
tional flnishever recorded In any league
waa that in the Western League on the
last day of the season of 1309. On that
day the psychic wove struck Omaha. The
situation was this: Des Moines and Sioux
City practically were tied for the pen
nant, and each team was playing two
games, the Eioux City team playing at
Omaha. Sioux City had to lose two
games and Des Moines had to win one
to give Des Moines the championship.
Sioux City lost the first game, but had
the second won by three runs in the
ninth Inning. Manager "Ducky" Holmes,
of the Sioux, did not feel the "break
coming He leaped Into his automobile
after the first Omaha batter In the ninth
inning? went out. called the attention of
the crowd to his champions, and raced
toward home to start celebrating the vic
tory. Jtrst then the "break" came.
Omaha needed three runs to tie, , four to
win. Hits and errors quickly filled the
bases and with two men out three men
were on the bases, and a home run drive
scored four runs, won for Omaha, beat
Sioux City and gave the pennant to Des
Moines.
Manager Rourke hastened to the press
stand and sent a hurried telegram to the
police In a town between Omaha and
Holmes' home, which read thus:
"Arrest Holmes, put him In handcuffs
and a straight Jacket, gag him and then
break the news. Omaha won out In the
ninth."
On of th play which turned the Na
tional League tide in 1909 was one made
In July and was one of the most peculiar
and decisive double plays on record.
Chicago was leading by a score of t to 1
when New York came In for the seventh
Inning, and with Brown pitching it
looked as if the game was won. Bres
nahan. the first batter up, singled, and
Donlln smashed a two-base hit to
right, sending Bresnahan to third. The
"break" waa on and tho Cub In panic,
Seymour poked a short "Texas Leagu
fly to right field, and Evers played a
trick that stopped tho break. Pre
tending not to se tho ball, he stood
still to the last possible second. Don
lln, eelng the ball Jailing safe and
far out of Schulte's reach, made a
frantlo dash for third. Intent upon
scoring behind Bresnahan and giving
New York the lead Instead of only
tying tho score. Evers, seeing his
trick had worked, reached the ball by
a desperate sprint, caught it and in
stead of tossing the ball to Tinker,
whirled and without looking threw to
th plate, knowing Donlln eould be
doubled, and Intending to prevent
Bresnahan from trvimr to score on the
double play, which ho might have done.
Bresnahan was driven back to third,
and Kling racing in, met the throw,
hurled the ball back to Tinker on sec
ond base completing the double play
and stopping the break.
A play which come at the oeoiaing
moment and wrecked Chicago's hope
of the Notional League pennant of
1903, was peculiar. The Cubs, then
young, were making a spurt, winning
games steadily and pressing the lead
ers, when the play come up that broke
the winning streak and robbed Jack
Taylor of a record game. It was at
Boston and in the ninth inning, with
a runner on second base and two men
out, the score 1 to 0 in favor of Chi
cago. Boston had made only one hit
off Taylor up to that time. The bots
moa hit an easy fly to left field and
Slagle ran over and caught the ball
fairly in his hands, but ot the instant
it struck his hands he collided with
a fence and was rendered unconscious.
Before another player could reach the
unconscious man ond pick up the ball,
two runners scored and Boston won
the game.
Tho majority of games are won and
lost by pitchers blundering in the cru
cial moment, but sometimes it is the
catcher who makes the- mistake. One
of tho funniest blunders of years was
made by . "Haokeasehmidt" Gibson,
Pittsburg's greot -ycatcher, who per
sisted in his error. ."Lefty" Leifield is
one of the best ond brainiest of pitch
ers, but essentially a fast ball pitcher
and a "waster." A waster Is a pitcher
who never puts the ball over the plate
unless compelled so to do, but keeps
It high, low, inside, outside, hia plan
being to make batters hit bad balls.
Leifield seldom uses curves unless com
pelled to, and his high fast ball which
breaks with an odd little Jump, is one
of the hardest for a batter to hit. One
day Leifield had held Chicago help
less and beaten . them decisively, and
the following day, after the Champions
in a "break" moment had started a
slashing attack upon Willis. "Young Cy"
Young was sent in to check them on
the theory that a change from a right
to a left-handed pitcher might stop
the "break," although every player
knows that when a team starts hitting
nothing will stop them except Bheer
acoident or a sudden change of "luck."
Gibson had observed Lelfield's effec
tive use of his fast ball against Chi
cago and signaled Young to pitoh fast
ones. The Champions made seven
straight hits before Young was re
tired, and all because Gibson did not
differentiate between two kinds of
fast ball. Lelfield's going high ond out,
while Young's, pitched shoulder high,
angles down and low.
Pitching and studying batters is an
art in itself, and the pitcher who
knows tha men who oppose him, and
who can put th ball where ho wants
it to go Is a great pitcher, and one
who sometimes can stop "the break."
In the art of pitching, the batter, so
far as brainwork goes, is a failure,
except In Instances In which batters
are men of desperate courage and fear
less. The batter1 in matching wits
with the pitcher has no chance, be
cause be is taking all the risk of in
Jury, and trying to "outguess the
pitcher" is dangerous, aa the one who
blunders may receive a blow on the
head that will end his career. The
pitcher, on the other hand, can study
the batter, analyze his position and
condition of nervousness, and. If he
has sufficient control of the ball, he
can prevent him from hitting.
Observe closely a pitcher when "the
break" comes. Up to that time ho has
been pitching ooolly, taking his time,
studying each man but, after "the
break" he hurries, returns the ball as
fost as he gets It, loses head, loses
control, and loses the game. Mathew
son, one of the greatest of them all,
has only that one fault, and tho in
stant the tide turns against New York
every effort of the other players is to
slow down Mathewson and make him
hold the ball, instead of pitching as
soon as it returns to his hands.
.
On of th prettiest bits of brain
work wos done by Leifield, by which
he won a hard fought game from Bos
ton and staved off defeat by sheer
cleverness. Pittsburg had been lead
ing, but "the break" came against them
and Boston started slugging ond pil
ing up runs rapidly, until one more
hit meant victory, when Bill Dahlen
came to bat Dahlen is a dangerous
hitter "Inside" which means when the
ball Is pitched between him and the
plate, and Leifield knew this, so he
attempted to make his fast boll go
high and outside. Instead the ball es
caped him and went waist high across
th plate, on the lnsld corner. Just
where Dahlen likes, to hit. Dahlen, ex
pecting a high fast one, was surprised,
and swung at the ball, missing it. In
stantly the entire Pittsburg team was
screaming at Leifield, abusing him for
making the blunder and ordering him
not to pitch Inside again.
Leifield Instantly decided that, as
Dahlen had heard him ordered to keep
the ball owoy he would expect a fast
ball outside, so Instead of pitching
there, , he deliberately repeated his
blunder and Dahlen struck again.
Clarke, angry and fearmg Leifield had
lost control and would lose the game,
rushed In ond ordered him to keep tha
boll outside. Lelifeld nodded assent,
but pitched the boll where Dahlen likes
It best for the third time, and Dahlen
struck out because he had been out
guessed and outgeneraled.
Another gome which Leifield won
lote in 1908 after one of the hardest
struggles of the year, was won by his
brainy pitching to John Kling. Chica
go's heovy-hitting catcher, wh6 came
to bat In the eighth Inning with men on
second and third bases and one out. Lei
field pitched three balls -so for from -tha
plate Kling could not reach them, and
Kling naturally supposed that Leifield
waa going to give him a base on balls,
fill the bases and increase the chances
for a double play, so he was stretching
as far as possible, hoping Leifield would
pitch close enough to the plate for him
to hit to right field. Instead Leifield
shot a fast boll straight over the Plata
and followed this up by curving two
over, striking Kling out, and the result
waa that Brown lost his flrst game in
three years to Pittsburg.
There are three decisive moments that
stand alone in baseball history. Possibly
the greatest of these was the famous
tenth Inning at Columbus, O., when, with
one hit, "Big Dave" Orr decided the
American Association race and kept St.
Louis from ' breaking all records as a
pennant-winning team. Brooklyn and
St. Louis practically wore tied for th
championship on the last day of the sea
son. If both teams lost, or both won,
St. Louis would win its fifth pennant. If
St. Louis won and Brooklyn lost, the
Browns would have -the honor but If
Brooklyn won and St. Louis lost, Brook
lyn would win. Brooklyn, playing in
th East, already had won, and St. Louis
and Columbus were tied In the ninth In
ning. -St. Louis scored one run In th
tenth and with a runner on second base,
two men out and three balls and two
strike called Orr stood at the plot
with on ball left to decide the season.
He drove it over the center field fence
sent home a runner ahead of him and
won the pennant for Brooklyn, hia, hit,
according to many, being the longest ever
made.
The famous pit ball pitched by Jack
Chesbro, which slipped and beat New
York out of a pennant, th pitch of
Theo Breltenateln, the veteran, which
gave Nashville victory in the ninth In
ning of the last game of the season, and
with it the pennant, are historic events
of recent years.
The greatest individual feat ever per
formed in a decisive moment probably
in any moment was a catch by which
Bill Xange, now retired, .saved a gam
for Chicago and $200 for himself at Wash
ington years ago. There is a story lead
ing up to that play. Lange had missed
a train In Boston two days previous and
failed to arrive In New York in tlm to
play there and Anson had fined him $100.
Thereupon Lange missed a train to
Washington, arrived on tha grounds after
the teams had practiced and Just in tim
to start the game, and for that Ansoa
fined him another $100.
The game that afternoon went 11 In
nings, Chicago scoring one run In tha
11th. There were two men out, a runner
on bases, when Selbach, one of the hard
est hitters of his time, smote the ball a
fearful blow and sent it flying over
Lange's head toward tho center field
fence. The hit seemed a sure home run,
but Lange, a man weighing 225 pounds,
turned and, without looking, sprinted
desperately out towards the fence, rac
ing with the flying ball. At the last In
stant, as the ball was going over his
head, Lange leaped, stuck up both hands;
turned a somersault and crashed against
the fence. The boards splintered, one
panel crashed outward and out of the
wreckage crawled Lange, holding, the ball
tn his hand. Lange came limping in,
with the crowd standing on seats, shout
ing madly, and said to Anson: "Fines
go. Cap?" "Nope," said Anson, and the
catch had saved the big fielder 00.
Scores of miraculous individual feats
have been made in deciding moments.
On one occasion Jimmy Ryan leaped en
tirely over the bleacher barrier in the
right field at Washington and caught a
fly ball while falling into the crowd. One
of the greatest exhibitions of nervo and
courage of that sort was given by Hughie
Jennings, now manager of Detroit, In a
game at Chicago, when he was playing
shortstop for the famous old Baltimore
team. The crowd had encircled the play
ing field and was surging closer and
closer to the base line as the battle
progressed and, when the ninth Inning
came with tha score tied, one out and
Bill Everett on third base. It looked as
if Chicago had won and that Baltimore,
by losing, would be compelled to surren
der tho pennant. Ths batter hit a foul
ball, high and Into the crowd bock of
third base, a crowd ten deep, part seat
ed, part kneeling, with rows of standing
spectators behind. Jennings, tearing
across from short, did not hesitate. Hurl
ing himself through the lr, he caught
the ball over the heads of the spectators
and plunged down upon them. Everett
meantime had touched third base, turned
and was sprinting for home. Jennings,
climbing upon the heads and bodies1 of
prostrate spectators, threw to the plate,
cut off Everett and in the next inning
Baltimore won the game.
That Baltimore crowd, a team of only
fair players winning by dash, nerve and
courage, gave many exhibitions of Indi
vidual daring, but one of the greatest
was the feat of "Wee Willie" Keeler on
the home grounds. Right field on the
Baltimore grounds of thosa days was. the i
terror of visiting players, it was oown
hill, rough and weedy, ond back of It
wa a hiirh hill, peculiarly constructed for
advertising purposes. Inside tha fenaac1
sloped at on angle of about a degrees,
being straight on the outer side. Boston
was playing there late in the season in,
which the two teams had their frantio
struggle for the pennant, and late in the
game, with runners on bases, Stahl drove
a long fly to right that seemed likely to
win the game for Boston; Keeler, on
of tha fleetest men In the business, see
ing the ball was going over his head,
leaped upon the elope of the fence and
mat ,.n alnna. It irrA .1 a- th .Hit
higher, ond Just os the ball was going
over the fence he caught It. His mo-1
mentum carried him higher along ths In
cllne ond before the big crowd realized 1
he had caught the ball, he was running I
along the top of the fence, and then, j
holding the ball aloft, he plunged over j
ana ieil ouisiue -tile ruuuua. nuuaui
never a ballplayer received such an out
burst of applause as he did when ho
climbed over the fence and tossed tho
ball to the Infield.
Another magnificent individual feat
was that of "Dutch" Schaefer, then De
troit's second baseman, in tho opening '
game of the world's championship serie3
between Detroit and Chicago in 1907, a
game which, for thrills and excitement,
was the greatest ever played. An inw
mense crowd watched the battle and both
teams were near exhaustion in the 12th
inning from the succession of tense situ
ations and desperate plays. The crowd
seethed and bubbled with excitement and
spouted volcanoes of noise at every move
of the players. The score was tied. Chi
cago had a man on first base and two out
when Chance hit one of the fiercest
drives of -the year, a line smash between :
first ond second which, if It cleared tho i
infield, was certain to go to the corner of
the grounds and bring home the run lor
which the clubs had fought for over two
hours. Schaefer, playing down near sec
ond base, raced back ten steps, leaped,
twisted, stuck up his gloved hand, with
his back to the stand, and while twisting
dragged down the ball, and tha crowd
was so stunned by the wonderful catch,
that It forgot to applaud until the um
pire had stopped play and called tho
game a draw.
That same game, however, was thrown
away by Chicago In tho critical Instant
by Stelnfeldt, who, in the stress of ex
citement, lost his head and the game at
the moment of victory. That was InJ
the tenth Inning when a wild throw let
Slagle sprint for the plate, as Stelnfeldt
waa batting.- Tha ball was recovered and
thrown back to the plate, too late. Ic
came high and five feet to tho left of '
the plate as Slagle raced across, and, in i
that instant, when the crowd thought !
the game over, Stelnfeldt hunched hia t
shoulder, made tho ball hit him, prevent- !
ing the fielder from getting it. Slagio
promptly was called out because of
Steinfeldt's Interference and the struggle
continued until Schaefer saved It by his
wonderful catch.
Sometimes the turning play of a game,
the one that decides it is freakish, and '
one of the oddest freaks of reoent year
happened In one of the bitter contests
between the Chicago and New York
teams, an accident that gave New York
a victory, and almost gava them tho
championship. Chicago had runners on
flrst and third bases, one man out and
"Del" Howard at the bat, when the fates
interfered. Howard hit a vicious bound
ing drive near second boss, and Doyl
wa In front of the ball, with Brldwell
standing on second basa to receive th
throw and relay the ball to first base
to complete the double play. The ball
broke through Doyle's hands and struck
his shinbone with terrific force. In- .
stead of the error making Chicago's vlo- -tory
easy. It beat the Cubs, for the ball,
bouncing off Doyle's shin, went straight
Into Bridwell's hands and resulted In an
easy double play that deprived the cham
pions of tho victory.
In that same series there was one of ,
the grandest exhibitions of generalship
and pltohing ever recorded. Crandall was
pitching for New' York, and the Giants
gained a big lead early in the game.
When the ninth Inning started With New
York four runs ahead, Mathewson, who
had been warmed up and ready to rescue
Crandall, thought the gome safe and, re
tiring to th clubhouse, disrobed, got un
der th shower bath, and prepared to
don his street clothes. Just then "tho
I ( essd uo pepnpuoQa