Evening journal., 1903-02-19
EVOLUTION OF THE
BASEBALL PITCHER
No Matter How Much He Is
Curtailed He Generally
Wins Out

|, Inc baseball pltcnei Is one OF the
most important factors in the game It
seems no matter how much the rule
makers curtail the pitchers freedom, he
generally manages to overcome it and
secure the upper hand.
Managers and players alike agree
that the baseball public is anxious to
see heavy batting and games in which
there is plenty of run making. That
has been the plea for twenty-five years,
yet as time passes the games become
close, light-hitting contests i'm which
the pitchers are the whole thing.
II was back i'm the early SOS that the
pitcher became so great a factor in the
game that the National League men
concluded to listen to public clamor and
make a change. The pitchers mark i'm
those days was so feet away from the
plate, and the twirler was allowed to
take deliberate run of several feet or
even yards before delivering the bah to
the bat. Some of the big men, Jim
Whitney, of the Bostons, for instance,
got this method down so fine that they
managed to work up speed which not
only puzzled the batsman to a ridicu-
lous degree. but also frightened many
Of them out OF their wits. A pitcher
weighing 200 pounds had a tremendous
advantage for the reason that he was
enabled to put just so much more mo-
mentum into his delivery. But the rule
makers put their heads together and
the pitcher was compelled to stay i'm a
so-called box, which prevented him
from taking the usual run before deliv-
4 ering the ball.
This ghapna NJ fret ho ! all fba f,ifoI
ers up tree, and as a result the bats
: men enjoyed a picnic, but soon the
N pitchers began to study deliveries more
, and with the swing of the arms over
the head. coupled with a sort of hitch
and kick movement with the feet, they
N were able TO get almost as much speed
q as formerly and yet keep within the
4 confines OF the box. In time the bats
man was at the mercy of the twrlers
again. and the rule makers tried an
4 other wrinkle.
They passed a rule which compelled
the pitcher to keep both feet solidly or
the ground until after the ball had beer
pitched to the plate. This was a posi-
n tive hardship and proved to be so great
a strain on the pitcher that there was
& a general protest against it, both from
& players and public with the result that
it was rescinded with a new amend.
+ ment. however, which compelled tn,
n pitcher to keep one foot on the grounC
as is the case now.
But this one-foot rule caused a peel
- of trouble, because pitchers were al
ways ready to SNEAK up an inch o.
two and many OF them openly brokl
the rule, feeling safe from penalty be
n cause of the other troubles the umpir
had TO contend with. I'm the course o
time, however. even this rule becam
IN child's play. and the small-score con
Is tests with little or no batting becam
e. prevalent all over the country Thei
- the rule makers hit upon the plan L
u move the pitchers box back from tn
i, plate a distance of GO feet. This wa
believed TO be handicap which fev
pitchers could overcome. incidentally
the box was abolished, and a rubbe
n' plate was substituted, the pitcher beini
re required to stand one foot upon It be-
Is fore letting go of the ball. With the in,
creased pitching distance in vogue, ,ther
r. was a sudden boom in batting whicl
v delighted the crowd and made the play
ie ers, who wanted to fatten their aver.
H. ages. supremely happy
r. The pitchers complained of the Sc.
le we're strain, howled about lame armi
& and all such things, but the rule MAKE
,e ers would not bulge. The pitchers
finally giving up their protests in de
,, spair, went TO work scheming again
i, They had some wonderful examples be
fore them I'm the stars. Clarkson, Keefe
wv Welch, Caruthers. Foutz and others
brainy men, who had, in their day
proved conclusively that the possession
d. of head filed with baseball brains
le was of far more value tfisn an arm o
L. steel backed up by the bulk OF a heavy
Il weight. Headwork, therefore. became
fs craze among the cleverest pitchers an,
\, it has so far developed nowadays tina
10 few pitchers of note go into the bD,
without knowing the weak points o
every batsman who may come TO tn
y plate. In other words, they know o
Al feel sure that they know just what kim
T. OF a pitched ball each batsman canno
af hit safely, and as result they feed
L each hitter with what they believe viii
s. retire him at first base or on thre
/ strikes.
rs Even though they are now sixty fee
&, away from the home plate and the fou
T. strike rule has compelled them to pu
,t almost every ball over the plate. tn
s pitchers have the batsmen where the.
~ want them. and it may be said righ
> here that the secret of most pitchers
success in these times is due to what 4
lSnowp as change of pace" or as tn
players themselves call it, mixing
y them up Time was when a pitche
p did not dare to pitch a slow BAH to tn
~ batman. Such a ball was called
IT, "dewdrop" and was generally hammer
! ed high and far into the air, sometimes
for long drives over the fence for
home run. But by making use of de
ceptve delivery which so puzzles tn,
batsman that he cannot tell whether
fast or slow ball is TO be handed NJ
to him, the pitchers have mastered tn,
slow bah so that "boxman" who has
nothing but speed is not regarded as
high-class performer.
= The big hitters of the profession car
generally kill" speed. They run up and
n meet the fast ones with quick, snapp,
motion OF the bat and can push the bal
into either right or left Geld But Will
the elpUr hall fh,xr FnI l,.ftf,-.- -.