The herald., 1893-02-13
GOSSIP ON THE NATIONAL GAME.
What Will the Game Be This
Coming Season
A Discussion Of q Few Proposed
Changes in the Rules.
Shall the Game Consist This Season En-
tireIy of Hard Hitting and Heavy
scores?- ?-Yesterday's Ann
ateur Game.

If one half of the changes are made in
the playing rules of the national game
this season that have been proposed by
fan-enthusiasts, baseball patrons may
look for such an exhibition of their
favorite sport as they have not seen
since the brotherhood days. 1t has
been practically conceded that the game,
through the latitude allowed the
pitcher in his delivery of the ball, has
been reduced almost to question of
superiority in the box. The combina-
tion OF speed and curves places the bats
man very much at the mercy of the
pitcher, so that if the former happens
to hit the ball at all it is almost five to
one it will 90 directly toward fielder.
Indeed, when one looks over the score of
8 modern game of baseball, in which 40
individual batsmen face the pitcher. it
will be found that eight base hits out of
that many "times at bat" will be tar
above the average. OF course it reads
all we'll enough the next day to say that
''the game was pitchers contest" and
that "base hits were scarcer than hens
teeth =" and after game Of that kind is
little over half finished the spectators
realize its scientific nature and settle
down to nervous and quiet enjoyment
of contest of pure and simple skill.
But the real question which confrOnts
the business end of baseball is whether
this matter of skill in pitching has not
been carried too far. With surprising
unanimity the writers on the subject say
that it has, and the outgivings from the
seat of high authority, the National
league, are to the effect that a radical
change will be made in this respect.
.*x
To accomplish the desired end-make
the game faster and hitting livelier-
there have been many schemes pro-
posed. One suggestion is to increase the
diamond to 93 feet between bases; an
other is to put the pitcher back five or
eight feet more; still another is to put
the box in the center of the diamond /;
put more rubber in the ball; confne the
pitcher to the man in front of him and
prevent him throwing to the bases; and
probably dozen other visionary ideas
that have only to be tried in order to be
discarded. But the consensus of opin-
ion leans to larger diamond and the
pitchers box greater distance from the
plate. The leading eastern authorities
the pitcher in the center Of
the 03 foot diamond. At the
recent meeting of the New, England
league, without waiting for action on
the part of the big organization, the
managers heightened the pitching dis
tsnce to 68 feet. If this means the dis
tauce between the plate and the box,
which ia five and half feet deep, then
the pitcher would have to be able to
cover 631& feet. The center of a 93-foot
diamond would be but trife less than
&c foot, and il that peios -wsro- nfrr-rrsreao
the center OF the box, the rear line
would then be about 6S% feet from the
plate. Speed from that distance would
count for but little, and curves would be
easily solved. The batter, If at all scien-
tific, could place the ball almost where
he would want to, and the game
would be rapid enough in
hitting to suit the rankest touts.
But the players think this change will
be too radical. They say that the
scores will pile up 30 that game un-
der two figures to a side will be phe-
nomenal, and that the games will be
slow in other respects. Then, again,
comes up the question as to which kind
of slowness will be the least offensive
slow hitting or large scores, and the
answer can only be found by expert
menting.
Manager Harris, of the San Francisco
team, has proposition to make field
ing livelier. He suggests that on
foul fly the ball come back
into play as soon as it touches a felder's
hands. That is, base-runner may
leave his base at once on an error of
foul fly, the same as if it be held. A
rule Of this kind would only add stu
pidity to the game and put desperate
attempts at discount. To avoid ad-
vancing base-runner on an error of
that nature, the fielder would simply let
the ball go, and take his time to pick
it up after it stopped rolling. He would
be foolish to take any chances one way
or the other.
Other ideas to liven the game are
open to as many objections, though all
have some points to commend them. 1t
seems to the writer that happy solu-
ton would be to put little more rubber
in the ball, give the batter four strikes
or allow him to call for ball above or
below the belt. This should surely make
hitting enough to satisfy anyone, and at
the same time admits of fair skill in the
box. But we will all know more about
it after the meeting of the rules COM
mittee of the National league on March
10th, and in the meantime it is we'll
enough for fans to make up their minds
for a season of hard hitting and large
scores.