Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-11-18
E BALL FIELD.
SHORT STOP WARD DISCUSSES THB ADVl-
Stability OF A LARGER GROUND.
he Bases This Necessity on the Fact that Batting
Has Been Weak and is Getting Weaker.
The Pitcher Should Stand Five Feet
Further from the Plate.
Nelr York World.

In tine game Of blss ball there are prep
erly, fur departments batting, fielding
bne-ruunipg and battery work. Each ha
its Importance, AID all together SO to max
up the play. The rule ofthe game, there
fore, should be Sd framed that each de
psrsment may have its proper prominence
and any regulation which disturbs thi
balance by developing any n department
at the txps5se or to the exclusion Of tn
others, is Al erious mistake.
When, last November, it was announced
that the Joint Comm ttee on Rlles hst
reduced the numb:r of strikes from FLU,
20 three, there were many who questioned
the wisdom of the change. Tue result o
the seasons play TO date has shown
how we'll founied were these fears
The batting has been simply in
fantile. The "sluggers that used to slug
have all turned club swipgers, and
howl has gone up from every city in th'
land against the impotence of the players
Siugle-6gure scores have been the Orde
of the day, '~'strikeouts'' have been the
somely frequent and tie list of ''whi'e
washes" has grown alarmiugly long. Tht
result of this has been rot only to render
the games tame and less attractive, but t.
create a great deal of dissatisfaction amonI
the patrons of the sp0rt. For seye;a
months the entire blime for this state 0
affairs was laid TO the fault of the players
and indeed there are many who do not ye'
realize that it is owing entirely 10 th'
rules. TIE pitcher has been given such
an unfair advantage over the batter tina
good hitting, measured by the 8 and ard o
former years, is simply out of the question
Lest there be yet some TO question th'
existence of this dsCria'e in batting, l ap
p:nd the following figures. They ar
based upon records kept by Mr. Stevens
aud, for 1887, do not count q b~ase-on-ball
as a base hit nor as q time at bat, 20 tina
the comparison is a fair one. In 1873
BroutIe7a, Rowe, Richardson and Thomp
SOD, OF Detroit, went to bat 2.ll7 imes
made 734 siogle hits, with u total of l 055
Tneir average, therefore, was 3i7 in singl
hits and 5l2 in totals. Up to Sept. l o
this season the same men have been 1,24,
times to bat, made 357 hits, with q tota
Of 545, and have thus an average o. 1888 il
single aud 439 in total hits. That IS, they
have fallen off 80 points on their last feI
sons average Of 347, or about II per cent
In the same way. Wood, Fogarty, IrWi'
and Mulvey, who hgd a combined average
in 1897 cf277, have, up TO S pr. l CT 1888
made only 2l9-a decrease OF over 20 pc
cent. So also AusU, Pfetler, Burns aHC
Williamson have fallen from PSI TO 252-'
decrease of about y per cent. Aud 80 or
through all the tesms, q similar c)mparl
sor will chow a falling off of from II 4
20 per cent.
Eve suggestions are e. present being
discussed by players and press:
First, a return to the high and low bsll
Second, q return to the old strAight-sru
pitch.
Third, TO allow the batter again .fou;
strikes.
Fourth, to move the pitcher furthe
away.
Aud fifth, to increase tie SIZE Of th,
field.
A return to tie rule permitting the bat
ter to cali fer Il high or low ball would b
a step backward. That distinction wa
done away with for the purpose of Lighter
ing the work of the umpire. The distsnct
between the knee and waist and the wais'
and shoulder is go short that a low bal
must necessarily approach either the knei
or the waist and a high ball the waist OF
shoulder. Thus the umpire was continual
ly forced to Judge balls near the extremes
and this was the source Of q continuous
kick" from the first inning TO the last
Bat with the entire distance from th'
shoulder to the knee, the number OF ball
app -oaChing the limits is naturally verJ
much diminished, and, as a result, there Il
rot one. half, no, nor one-quartsr tn
amount of fault found as formerly.
The second remedy proposed being a re-
turn to The old style CT s~traighS-arm pitch
ing is neither practicable nos Advisable. L
is rot practicable because il woald drive
out sll the present pitchers and neceSSttat'
the cultivation ofs new crop. This wo1Ic
require time, and in the interim the llaJ
would be dem1ralized. 1t is no! advisable
because the batters woald simply Slaugh
ter such pitching and the games would
never end.
The third proposition, to again allow
four strikes, finds many enemies amNnl
those who like fast play. They CAIN
that the batter will wait until he has 6
strike or two before attempting to hit
hoping to gain his bIse on balls. Tnis,
they say, destroys quick action snt roo:
the play OF much Of its attTactiyeness.
Ths fourth proposition, which would re-
move the pitcher farther from the batter,
is, t, my mind, the best yet of cred. J
wish distinctly to d;sclsim its authorship,
which has been attributed to ma. l d.
not know who first suggested it. 1t ha;
doubtless suggested itself to many differ
ent persons, because it is at the same timt
the most natural, the simplest and the
most efieacious solution of the difficulty,
Under the old-time slow pitching the dis
tsnce was forty-fve feat; yet now, will
the spekd twice as great, 1t is only nit
feet. A further increase is advocated By
Harry Wright, Arson, Robert Forgu'o n
Clark 500 ard many other CNetdl obey,
ers. Arson thinks the pitcher should b.
placed in tie middle of the diamond
which would remove him ab,u: thirtCeI
feet further away than at pr.s9nt. b
lieye, however, we eto2ld b'giu with f7'
feet. 1t is only necessary to increase tn
L..4;,. % NOV cont this distance doe