The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-10-10
THE BASEBALL FIELD.
A Noted Player Advises q Larger
Ground.


n-.-ls- go 1. 1artmerts-tatsin
| Helding. base rsnn. u oAsss
| work. Each has ~ - =
all together 90 70 rake ~ ny -
The rules Of the gasse. = -
shonid be 50 framed tiaas gao
men; may have tspEopev prom -,
aad any regulation which dis. :.
this balance by developing any
department. al the expense OF 70 III.
exclGsion OF the others. Is a seriou,
mistake.
| When. last November, il was an
nouneed that the joint committee 81
rules had reduced the number o.
strikes from four to three. there wers
many who questioned the wisdom o.
the change. The result OF the season.
| play 70 date has shown how well
founded we're those fears. The batting
has been simply infantile. The slug
gers that used to slug have all turned
club swingers, and howl has gone ny
| from every city in the land against the
! impotence Of the PLAYERS. Single
1 figure scores have been the order OF
| the day, .sstrIke-outs' have been tire
soInely frequent and the istof .white-
washesr has grown alarrningly long.
The result OF this has been not ony 70
render the games tame and less
attractive, but 10 create great deal OF
dis. abstraction among the patrons oil
| the sport. For several months the
entire blame for this state OF affairs
was Laid to the fault OF the players,
and indeed there are many who do
not vet realize that il is owing entirely
to the rules. The pitcher has been
given such an unfair advantage over
the batter that good hitting, measured
| by the standard OF former years. is
simply out OF thequestion.
| Lest there be some yet 10 question
i the existence Of this. decrease in bat
ting, | append the following figures.
| They aresfsased on records kept By Mr.
stevens, and, for 1857, do not count q
| base-on-basIs as base hit nor as 4
time at bat, 80 that the comparison Is
| a fair one. In lss7 Brouthers, Rowe
| Richardson and Thompson of Detroit
went to bat 2ll7 times, made 73i sin
gle hits. with a total of i055. Their
| average. therefore. was 81 in single
| hits and 5i2 in totals. Up to Septenl.
Der | Of this season the same men
have been 124l to bat, made 35T hits,
y it'll d 10 al of Sis. and have thus an
| average of 2ss in single and 4a9 IN to
| tai HIS. That il, they have fallen of
| 30 points ON their last season. average
of ssf7, or about II per cent. Ia the
same way. Wood, Fogarty. Irwin and
| Mulvey. who had combined average
in 1857 Of 273, have, up TO September
| | OF 1888. made only 2isi-a decrease
of over 20 per cent. so also Arson,
Pfetfer. Burns and Williamson have
fallen from 2s4 10 ga decrease OF
| about u per cent. And 80 on. through
all the teams, similar comparison
| will show a falling off OF from u TO q
per cent.
Five suggestions are at present be-
ing discussed by players and press:
| First-A return TO the high and low
ball.
second-A return to the old straight
arm pitch
Third-To allow the batter again
four strikes.
Fourth Tomove the pitcher further
| away.
Aid Fifth-To increase the size Of
the field.
A return to the rule permitting tbs
batter To call for a high or low bal
would be step backward. That
distinction was done away with ioi
| the purpose of tightening the work ol
/ The umpire The distance between
the knee and the waist and the waisi
and shoulder is so short that a low
bali mnst necessarily approach eithei
the knee or the waist and high bal
the waist or shoulder. Thus the
umpire was continually forced e
ina,e balls near the extremes, and thi,
was the source of continuous kick
from the first inning to the last. But
with the entire distance from the
shoulder to the knee, the number o
balls approaching the limits Is natur
aily very much diminished, and, as {
result. there is not one-half, no, MOI
lone-quarter the amount OF fault found
as formerly.
The second remedy proposed being
a return 10 the old style OF straight
arm pitching Is neither praetieahl,
nor advisable. IL is not practicable
because it would drive out all this
i tile present pitchers and necessitat;
the cultivation of a new crop. This
would require time, and in the interim
the play weuld be denorallxed IL i
not advisable because the batters o
ltoaay would simply slaa ghter sucf
| pitching and the games would nevci
end.
/ The third proposition, to again
iallow four strikes. finds many enc
mics among those who like I Il play
They claim that the batter viii wal
until he has strike or tive before Al
tempting 10 hit. hoping TO gain hh
base ON balls. This, they say, de
stroys quick action and robs thc pla'
OF much attractiveneSs
The fourth proposition, which NouiI
remove the pitcher further from tn
batter. il, 10 mas mind, the best We
offered. | wish distinctly 10 diselaia
| ia authorship, which has been at
,ribnte,l 10 me. l do not know VIII
first suggested it. II has doubtles
sucrested itself 70 many different per
| sons. because it is at the same TIM
the most natural, the simplest an'
Il the most etflcacious solution OF III
ldielienltv. Under the old-tine sloS
pitching the distance was IS feet; &c
nov. with the speed twice as great, !
!. only 80 feet. \ further Increase j
advocated by Harry Wright, Arson
| Robert Ferguson, ClaFkson ana man,
other careful observers. Arson think
the uitcher should be placed in tn
middle Of the diamond, which woal
remove him about Is feet further ava
than al present. / believe. however
we should begin with five feet. Is
only necessary to increase the baitin
about - per cent. Ii this disiane
. does not effect the desired increase
, lancthen the distance again Ia ISE
! but. for the present, make Il IS instea
! | of 20 feet
. The change would not oaiy help "a
batting. hut incidentally il Would =
! Reve two other difficulties and he I
great benefit 10 The game.
In the first places il woald afske IA
hatcher work easier. In the secon
| pls,-,, It Woald free the batter fTnf
atlrh danger. Standing before a sSi
tuitchsr- expecting a haa on the piss'
Il require the liyeiiest kind % Go3gim
b. e-eape q tall pitched az the bod.
| Five fdavers killed outright and
number seriously Injured Is TIE reeoF
isireadv for this season, though sunOr
: the kil.ed isaye been M pro.css! nal
!. os.ur w the fsct either fsfat &c al
trarr skiliia3 ID geti < ultt q tl.s 81
- that ogr heads are hsFder sci
nugt{Hr 81 pT0ttS sionaiS have tEt
Z -sriaa4T ard dangerously burt !
sar one thinks ile ave extra e
!. woall Hake hut little difference,
ihim try facing ssits pitcher ai 4
!. two distances and he VII SIX his ns'
take