The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-01

AUTOMATIC BASEBALL BY ELECTRICITY
The electrical baseball put on the boards OF
Palmer's Theater New York, as a summer
attraction, has taken the town by storm.
One Of the curious features of the perform
ance is that electricians form large part
OF every audience, and an electrical journal
recommends all its readers to take in the
show, whether baseball cranks or merely
electrical enthusiasts. A journalist, who is
combination of the two, gives a
graphic account of the pitch of excitement
to which the audience is worked up by the
realistic representation of the distant
game. The stage is set out as
a baseball field, with diamond" and
green baize turf, Astounding in YAM
pire traps, through which the players
disappear when put out, instead of return
ing to the bench with more or less dust on
their clothes and language on their lips.
The path OF the diamond from base to base
is grooved, for travel, and the ground COW
cred by, the catcher is also grooved, in
order that he may close in after 1.-TWO
strikes" All the outs have their proper
position in the field, and are represented
by dummy marionettes, in the uniform of
their side and between two and three feet
high. Besides these and the men at the
team are seen on a bench waiting their
turn; two coaches gesticulate wildly on
right and left field, and back of the pitcher
IS an umpire who calls the game and
waves his arms with professional energy.
The sound of the dropping OF the bat
winch the batter at the home plate filings
down as he makes for first base
arouses all the sporting instincts of the
audience, who are thus brought into close
touch with the game from the start. The
field is sloped gently upward, so that
everything is i'll full view. Along the foot
lights runs & scoring-bo which gives
the figures not only of the game in prog
difficulty OF enabling the audience to fol-
low the course OF the ball is ingeniously
solved. Each fielder, as well as the pitcher
and the catcher, has white incandescent
lamp in his hand, which lights up only
when he has the ball, so that one always
sees and knows where the ball is. When
it leaves the pitchers hand his white light
goes out, and the white light is seen in the
catcher's hand. If the catcher's hands are
above his head it is lone ball" If
the light shows with his hands at
his waist it is a strike. If the
batsman hits the ball foul, it is shown
within the foul line by green light at the
spot. II the batsman gets solid hit
the track of the bail across the
sward is shown by a series of white
lights flashing instantaneously one after
the other across the baiZe. If the ball is
q Fly" its course though the air is marked
by a series of white lights strung from the
flies. If the "fy" drops safely in the hands
of the fielder his white light al once shines
out. If he fumbles the light fickers, and
if the ball drops red light at his feet
indicates the error. In running to base,
If the ball gets there first the white light IS
seen and the batsman drops out of sight
through a trap; but if otherwise the light
goes out. The actual movements seen on
the field are supplemented by the work OF
an elocutionist, who repeats the messages
coming directly from the original game
and received by an ordinary sounder set.
The lights are flashed and all the move
ments are indicated by means of switch
ing and controlling board, not three feet
square, and, all told, fifty incandescent
lamps are used