The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-05-12
sIDELIGHTs ON BASEBALL.
Filthy Paragraphs of Interest to the
 Fans.

Tim H. Murnane. the well-known au- thority on baseball, has this to say in being introduced into the game. Mir Muruane says:
 fAs I take in the game day after day played by the cleverest experts 1 won der why 1t is that no new play is intro duced Year after year the pitcher gets the best of a batsman and the game I- saved by anotker handicap on the box man. The bunt was introduced over thirty years ago, and the hit-and-run twenty-five years ago. All the slides known to the players were practiced were great throwers years ago, and men were constantly thrown out at first base from right field. Forcing tn" batsman to hit back at the pitcher to get man going to third after the sec ond baseman or shortstop ran his man back to second is clever play by Joe McGinnity, but was worked to perfec- ton by Tom Bond with the Boston club twenty-five years ago.
 The one thing that has improved Is the throwing to bases by the catchers especially to second base. although Buck Ewing and Charles Snyder had all of the catchers of the present day ing the ball about the bases while Mike Kelly was nearly as good Ss the two first named.
 We have no outfelders like-Johnson. Welch or Fogarty, and find it difficult to compare the infielders on account of the gloves used at the present time
 The spit ball Is the only new, thing in the game for years, and this one addition has made good pitchers out of very ordinary material and put several good men op the retired list and will cause the rule makers to do little thinking as to how to improve batting, for without good hitting you cahno1 furnish brilliant tiecing, and the game will soon become uninteresting to the spectator who is looking for excite ment.
 field this season, and the wet ball will force wild throwing by usually accu- rate players. Never was there so much interest taken in the sport and yet the old players. must stick to old methods and advertise their plays before they come off, as they do in the sacrifice batting. ..~S~s
 Can you imagine Mike Kelley or Buck Ewing allowing third baseman to come within a few yards of the home plate to take bunt? If they lost a leg these old briIliants would bang through the man who took the chance. That was baseball.
 Nowadays a player will walk to the plate. and then look over his shoulder to the bench manager and look for a cue as to what to do. If the order comes to bunt well and good. the batsman dumps the ball into the front yard and walks back to the bench as if he had done his littIe stunt according to orders No good ball player should nave to LOOK 10 the DtllCn HldudStI AOA instructions. The real ball player can see what his duty is and should be freo to change his tactics as increase comes up for action.
 "MechanicaI ball playing Is poor stuff and unattractive. The rule makers should cut out the sacrifice bunt aud give the spectators an open game with every man up trying to reach hrst oase No there Is nothing new in baseball this season, and. fin fact. the gamo hac really fallen off in many ways. Some biographers of Reuben Waddell assert that he came from Borneo, and while no proof can be disclosed, there | Is sufficient ground for entertaining l suspicion. The only other place that has eyer been fo bs as 6nSpose niS o this sketch It's 9 to 10 on either plac" and take your pick.
 2ube acquired his eye by throWTi,nE T,L! gourds through window panes. This was when he was very young, and II l Pives him nothing more than local reputation. One day in early youth his where Rube coughed up his only nickel for three throws at living Ia, man head. After the first ball the living man threw up the job and took an easy position with a museum breaking rocks on his cranium. l There wasn't much on the 1arm |" at- l tract Hube and he left one night. Ih' following morning they found the plow l on the windmill. the corn planter Was astride the roof of the neignborlnE church. while the hay rack was discov- cred in the oat bin
 A short time later Rube appeared or | Broadway. New York, where Gus and Max Rogers saw him first, and the neXt day they sung for the first time thal thrilling song, "When Reuben Comes to Town" Then all the song writers got busy. and Reuben, Reuben, I've Been Thinking" had good run Tor l time.
 With plenty of fame to go on, Rups decided to be a ball player and rlgh' there the path of the baseball mhn' l siats covered with barbed wire. In
 fortunately for Milwaukee, he landec l there in closed season for fishing; II have agprsavated Rube, but the idea oi not bss1Sa permitted to fish preyed Oi