Evening journal., 1905-05-08
JAP LOVE OF BASEBALL
Fred Merriheld Tells of Growth
of Game In Nippon.
NO "KIoKso FROM THE PITCHERS

Ex-Captain of Maroons who Has
Coached JRpanese Team which
VIII Play In America Says 1Ifla-
dos Subjects Quickly Master the
Sport - same CharRcteristics Dis
played In Playing ns In War.
The departure from Japan Of the
Waseda university baseball team FOR
America marks the beginning Of a new
era in the athletics Of Japan, says Fred
Merriheld, ex-captain Of the Chicago
university baseball team, writing TO
the Chicago Tribune from Tokyo. Hith-
erto the japanese players have meas
ured themselves by the pickup teams
Of the ports from the foreign warships
or at best by themselves. or late
years the local players nave usually
been easy victors over their American
and English opponents, who have had
little or no opportunity for practice
The universities, colleges. middle
schools and even those of lower grade
all have their champions or thbir
skillful players. The Japanese believe
ia giving a man a fair chance. IL he
cannot speak or sing. wrestle or fight
skillfully and yet proves himself a
champion in athletics they honor him
heartily for what he can do and forget
his shortcomings. They believe thor
ougllly in specialization, and some OF
them overspecialize In such a sport as
baseball They feel they must come UP
to the world standard IN whatever they
undertake.; then it is time for other
things
The Japanese students ordinarily
wear white uniforms in their play,
with blue socks or 'tabi' for footwear.
No doubt such q dress Is much cooler
IN the hot weather. with no stockings
or stir shoes, but there is a correspond
ing loss Of speed and quickness Of start
which spikes would at once make pos.
sible
The native baseballs are a tribe
] smaller than our own and do not keep
their shape and hardness as well. The
/ American balls, bats etc, are not
strangers, however, to these children
Of progress. All this apparatus may
/ not be understood at once. but It is
here and is used until It is mastered.
Suppose the pitcher does stand be
hind his plate and step forward to ii
as his foreign competitors at the por
are accustomed TO do; yet tell him h'
need not pitch quite so far and he nev
er will make the mistake again.
sometimes sounds queer to hear th'
umpire call, "Strike-ballr' instead o
Striker simply But the wonder 4
that they use English terms at all OF
the diamond. In fact, all the common
words Of the game are spoken in Eng
lish. but woe betlde the man who tries
TO make out the japanese words o.
coaching While you're thinking wha
it all means the man Is under you a
second
The other day I was coaching a new
pitcher on drops" placing" etc, an,
was acting as batter TO help his eye
At a suitable stage in the process
turned to instruct the catcher on som'
point or other. The point was under
stood, and we were about to resume
our positions, when zip came the bal
past my ear and caught the unfortu
nate catcher squarely on the cheek
bone. Two more points are illustrated
The catcher scarcely moved a muscle
and never a sound came from his lips
He quietly walked away 10 bathe hii
swollen face. That is n bit Of Japa
nese stoicism. for we all know how ;
straight ball stings. Again, the pitcher
had been working so hard 70 maste
that new finger movement and locate
his batter that he all but did the op
posite to his fellow player. That 4
Japanese persistence and eagerness
Sust bit Of it.
College wells have not yet been adopt
ed in Japan, though the crowds Of on
lockers clap their hands freely in ap
plause. heard one or two men hiss
ing at a recent game, but concluded
they did not know its meaning in Eng
fish. for they did not look hostile. /
was quite refreshing 10 hear the Wa
seda team give n newly made yell a
the steamer pulled out and to hea
their new baseball song in real. livinI
japanese. Put them on the battlefield
and that lusty song would have anoth
er meaning. Manager Abe said recent
" at a dinner given in honor Of tn
team by one of the teacher mission
aries.
''You see we have to hold in AM
keep cool in playing baseball. n W
could only get desperate now we woul'
feel that we had little more chanc
to win In America"
There is another good point In tn
japanese style Of playing. They ma.
not be good hitters yet and may no
know much about curves. but they lis
ten to the umpire and know how TO &C
cept decisions without a question, AM
the financial question has nothing to d
with the matter either. I have seel
ball after ball skim the batteT's eyes
and "Striker' from the umpire woul'
not affect his temperament in the least
The pitcher might put several tellin
drops over the outer corner, and II tn
slow eyed umpire said "Ballr' ball
remained without a murmur, althoug
one acquainted with the situation kneN
of the disappointment suppressed b'
cause the game was In the balanc
and these drops should have saved il.
Give the Japanese player a littl
more training in the fine points Of th
game, and prophesy he will hit you
curves, slide and field with the hes