The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-07-02
HOW TO THROW 4 BALL.
A Great Deal May be Learned by
Careful Attention to
Details.
The Short Arm Throw Decidedly
the Best and Most Ac-
curate.
RI. Secret of the Throw is to Keep the
Hand in Line With the
Arm.

Now. a few words regarding the objects
to be aimed at in general practice. First,
az regards throwing. Every one has what
NAV be called natural way of throwing
the ball, says st. Nicholas for June, but
this so-called natural way usually means
a perverted method acquired through care
lessness, or attempts to throw too hard be-
fore the arm is sufficiently accustomed to
the work. As a result of this. there are few
bows or college men who may not learn
great deal in the matter of throwing BY
careful attention for few weeks to one or
two points, The first man to whom atten-
tion should be called is the man who takes
a hop, skip and jump before he let's the
ball 20. No mnn can run fast enough TO Deaf
a thrown ball and, consequently, 1t taxes
longer to carry the ball part way ana
throw it the rest than it does to throw it all
the way. Therefore, the first thing for the
man who has acquired this trick to do, IS
To stand still when he gets the ball, and
then throw it. The opposite fault to this,
ia that of leaning away when throwing. :,
man gets a sharp grounder, ana throws tne
ball before he has recovered his balance,
and the force of t1e sa 4S;s 10 Is not nearly
90 common as the other fault, it is quite as
difficult to correct. The happy medium medium
hetween the two is the man VINO receives
the tal and, quickly stralentenlle
himself. drives it while leaning forward;
and as i leaves she n aah his th aoss 40
81 much for the feet and the body. now
for the arm. hand and wrist. The best and
roo "a accurate throwers are those who con-
tinuallv practice wha is called snort-arm
throw. TO get an idea OF the hrst steps
toward the aGap tha BAH in his hand and
hrincino it back just level with his ear,
nianfino both feet firmly, attempt to throw
the bali. without using the legs or pody.
At first the throw is awkward and feeble,
but constant practice speedily results N
moderate speed ana d this until Quite
n nace1 i Il acquired, the man may be allowed
10 use his legs and body to increase the
s su @9 still. however, sticking to the
stra;uht' forward motion of the hand, wrist
and the arm. The secret Of the throw ~ Is
Of course keeping tie ma nand s IN nne
y out 'n0 to the side and away
from the head, where much Of the &C
cnracv and some Of the quickness IS lost:
Certain catchers have brought this style OF
throw to such a pitch OF PERFECTION as 10
get the ball away sts a~t he Sends They aid
the throwinp by slight twist of the body.
The nuickness of this method of throw
mo il. Of course, due to the fact that there
inno DELAY caused by drawing back the
past the head or BY n tTh,nng Inc
Its accuracy is due to the fact that it is
easier to aim at an object with a hand IN
front of the eyes than when 1t is out beyond
the shoulder. One can easily ascertain
this by comparing the ease OF pointing the
index at any Object w me sng II
dong 40 when the arm is extended out side
wavs from the body. Still further, IN the
almost round arm throwing, which
many players use, the hand describes ,es
an arc, and the ball must be
let go at the proper Ioeer ,olPn pom; o.
wild. In tie other method. that Of straight
arm throwing, any variation IS Iar more
likely to be a variation in height only, and
in that respect the variation may be greater
without serious error. A straight-arm
throw sends ball much easier to handle
than the side arm style. The latter is like
" to curve, bound irregularly, and be more
ifconyenient for tho baseman. lnheid
throwing should be on line, as muoh as
possible and there are few distances to be
covered there that require any up ana
over UuIUWAAks AA eCoeAA1A -
q deep out-feld, the distance is sometimes
SO great that none but professionals; OF
ceptionally strong throwers can drive the
bali in except by giving it quite an upward
then Ss ps fals sh9 %s
down. as it is far better to have it
reach the catcher on the bound thar, than to 70
go sailing over his head; keep down" Is
a cardinal rule when fielding to the home
plate from the field. If a low ball is thrown
It is easier for the catcher to touch the run n
ner, who in tight place will invariably
slide as close to the ground as possible. A
high throw gives the catcher The b alm9a tho
man. whereas low throw brings his hands
in the most advantageous position for or
touching the runner. The same ls, o.
course true in the case of the catcher's
thro to the second or other bases, to put
out the runner.
The position of the fingers when throwing
a ball is a point upon which there are ndl-
yidual differences Of opinion but 1s the nonn maz
use principaly the forefnger and the mid
die finger in giving direction to the ball.