Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-10-01

His slow, deliberate style drives ncrvou:
batsman to the verge of insanity
grasped, waiting. waiting, waiting. The
effect on the latter is like sitting in a den
lists chair, constantly expecting to fee
the grip of the forceps.
To nervous tempered player like Bro
die or Donavan, Cuppy is a terror. His de-
liberate, threatening holdback style is suf
ficient to drive such men into condition
strongly resembling delirium tremens.
Elmer Cunningham of the Louisvillcs is
another slow delivery pitcher. 1 have seen
him enforce the strain on batsman sc
rigdly that the latter would be compelled
to leave the box and seek relief by walk
ing around for a change.
Cuppy's success is to a large extent the
result of strategy. There are few pitch
ers Of the present day who do not depend
wholly ON their speed and curves, and
Cuppy is one of them. 1t may sound like
the croaking of an old fogy, but | am
forced to the opinion that the pitching of
today is more tho result of brute force
than Of headwork. Such men as Kccfe,
Clarkson, White, Bond, Radbourne and
Matthews used their heads rather than
their muscles and gave to the world strate-
gic pitching such as is now seldom seen on
the diamond. In these days the pitcher
usually is machine run by the catcher
as an engineer. The catcher decides on
what kind of a ball is to be pitched and
signals for it, The pitcher takes the sig
nal and pitches as directed.
That is well enough when veterans like
Farrell Camel, Mack, Robinson and Zim-
mer arc behind the bat. But when we
have Wilson coaching Rusie, Clarke and
Meekin, Donohuc directing Terry, Hutch
ison and Griffith, and Ryan telling Mich
OILS and -tivCttS what to do and Clarke in
structing Mcmahon, the system shows up
weak.
have been requested to state what ma
tonality as a rule turns out the best base
ball players. The question can be an
swored offhand. Irish blood prcdominates
among tho stars of the ball field. Next
comes tho German stock and possibly the
true, whole blood American must rank
third. Let us see if this is not truo.
In the Irish class we have Duffy, Dole
hanty, Kelley. Brodie, Doyle, Grady, Ry-
an, McIeon, Mccarthy, Mullane, Gleason,
McGraw. McPhce, O Connor, Toboau, Nc
CURE, Burke, Mc-Alecr Mcmahon, Tier
nan, Cdreuy, Sitftc, quinn, hCllly, NC
Carr, Murphy, Dailoy, McGill and others.
Then comes the German phalanx, in
Guiding Cross, Childs, Dahlen, Stencil,
Burkctt, Beckley, Sugden, Van Haltren,
Hassamaer, Langc, Long, Shoch, Hart
man, Foutz, Vaughn, Setback, Reitz, Gum
bert, Biorbauor, Shindlc, Pfeffcr, Boyle,
Shugart, Zimmcr, Fuller, Camel, SHE
beck, Pcitz, Schrivcr, Stein, Witrock,
Brcitensicin and Ehrot.
Sowe sec that the men of Irish and Ger
man lineage predominant in the protest.,
of baseball. Possibly it is the Irishman' s
love of q scrap or his proficiency in the
use of n club which leads him into the
pleasures and pursuits of the diamond.
Why the Germans arc almost equally pro-
flcient in the playing art is hard to say,
unless it is because that nation as q rulo
is blessed with better eyesight than al
most any other people on earth.
Very recently Arson signed new pitch
er by the name of Friend, who PLAYED this
season for the Fail River club of the New
England league. The connection of this
fact with the subject in hand is that
Friend is an Israelite. / believe there is
but one other player in the National league
who is of jewish blood, namely Inks. The
lattor's real namo is Inkstein, and he is
full bloodcd Hebrew. The st. Louis club
had young Jew playing on its nine
few weeks during tho summer-Third
Bascman Samucls-but he was released.
Tho Jews never turned out many ball
players, though they are extremely fond
OF the sport. No better patrons of the ma
tional game exist than the Jewish citi-
Zens. Therefore it is strange that no mora
OF their number have been found on the
ballfield in uniform.
Arson himself is Swede, and, though
Lange Is classed as German, 1 am inclined
to believe that the big center fielder is al
SO of Anson's nationality. His walk and