The Washington times., 1905-10-22
HANLON'S PRICE
FOR PITCHERS
MathewsOn, Plank, and Ben
der Worth $4,000.
GIANTS TWIRLER A WONDER
Knew Exactly What to Give Each
Man-Praise Also for
Bresnahan.
GIANTS TWIRLER A WONDER

Il would gladly give $4,000 for the
three p!tchers-Mathews wson. Bender and
Plank. was the strong implied tribute
Manager Edward Hanlon paid this
morning to the men named in a talk
in Baltimore.
Mr.. Hanlon had been talking about
the recent worlds series between New
York and Philadelphia. There are few
mer VINO are capable OF making as ex-
pert a similar study as Mr.. HanIon.
for pitching has been his hobby since
the time he assumed the managerial
role
The pitcher is not the ninth man on
a team" so many casual observers
of the game are wont to assert, but he
is % per cent OF the entire game, Mr..
Hanlon very rightly believes So the
chief interest 10 him in the remark
able series just past was not the crowd
not the applause, not the rungetting
nor the fielding, but every move of the
two pitchers from the time play was
called until the last batter went out
Wonderful Battery.
THAT Mathewson Is a wonder" con-
tinued Mr.. Hanlon. And little less so
is Bresnahan. After all. the pitcher
and the catcher should be regarded as
a unit when they are doing the battery
work. and not two players. Headwork
OF necessity counts for more IN battery
work than in any other department
While the fielder or the batter or the
base-runner must use his head when
in position TO make brains tell, there
Is not a moment a battery Is working
that headwork is not the essential
feature
1 Upon the headwork displayed in
pitching, even more than the mechan-
zeal ability of the pitcher to put puz-
zling balls over the plate, does the
winning of a game depend. Now. in
the case of Mathewson and Bresna-
han, I could not see one ball pitched
that was wrong. 1t was as though the
battery knew beforehand what would
be the weakness of the batter and
what kind of a ball would be necessary
to fool him, and had figured it all out
so that only a well-devised program
was being rendered, number for num-
ber.
II never saw Mathewson give 4 bat
ter the second time the kind Of ball
he had hit safely before. and if the
man at the bat had proved that he had
/ no particular weakness, he mixed 'em
up in the most effective way 1 ever
saw. In the case of that big right
fielder, for -Seybold-Mat-
hewson would send the bail swiftly
over the plate one minute at a speed
the eye could hardly follow and tie
next minute one of those slow boys
would float up until he had Seybold
jabbing about with a short-arm motion,
completely at sea what to do. 1t is
Q
hewson's work. for the result speaks
for itself, and is one of the most won
derful records l ever knew
But Bender and Plank deserve more
; credit than losing men are apt 10 get
| Both showed through the catcher Con
ME Mack's master hand at training.
Neither of these men made an un-
natural move. l watched them closely,
and every act was the perfection of
pitching art.
''rhe fact that there was a runner
on base, that the vast crowd was root
ing like mad. even that the Athletics
were losing the game-none Of those
things most trying To Il pitchers nerves
had the slightest effect upon either
Bender or Plank. Upon Coakley it did
have its effect-he is a younger man
and has not been under Mack train
ing for sufficient time-but Bender
and Plank were superb.
"Cool, putting into effect every bit of
information they had about their op-
ponents, using every wit to its utmost
every moment, their pitching, even
though they lost all but one game, was
one OF the sights of lifetime. Mack
certainly has pitchers Of the kind who
delight managers heart