The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-06-02
BASES ON BALLS LOSE
THE MAJORITY OF GAMES
More Contests Lost Through
Passes Than Are Won by
Timely Hitting.
SOME CASES IN POINT
Instances Showing Where Wild
ness OF Pitcher Was RESPONSE
bic for Defeat.

More games are lost through bases
on balls than arc won by timely hit
ting. That is the declaration of stu
dent of the national game whose
knowledge is practical for the man is
leader of one Of the sixteen big teams
and gained an enviable reputation as
q player before he advanced to MS
mana gerial job.
Command is a twirler's stock IN
trade says this expert. and bases
or balls cause more disaster to teams
than most people credit. IL the gift
civer be star twirlcr, with a team
of colts behind him. who go into the
game with the idea that they can only
win by the gilt-edged work of the
man on the rubber. the issuance of a
couple of passes is more than likely 70
unset,le the kids. and they will go on
ballooning expeditions Take team
that is not hitting. and. by hook or
crook, a weak batter gets to first on
four wide ones. See how his mates
ginger up and go after the unhittable
one.
Free PASSES Disastrous.
I'm close games base on balls is
sure to turn the tide. and If you look
over the 1to-O battles that have oeen
played this season you Will see that
] am right. have kept my optics on
eight engagements marked ,by THIS
score in 1907 run off in the National
League UP to week ago. and II l
am not mistaken the lone tally In I'VE
of them was started through gift.
This man was right In his facts. On
April 18th Brooklyn lost to Boston,
to O, and the run was scored by bates.
who walked In the first round. On
April 22d Boston was defeated ny this
same score by New York. and Bresna-
han made the tally after working RIA
herty for pass in the ninth. On May
3d. az the Polo Grounds Breslt.h han
scored the one run against Brooklyn
after he touched Stricklett for billet
to the beginning bag in the fifth. The
following afternoon. in Chicago, Willis
held the Cubs to two hits, and the
Pirates found Lundgren for SIN. YET
lost by the lowest possible margin be-
cause Will passed Chance, who stole
second, and Hofman's single sent MS
manager in. On the occasion of Brook
lyn's second victory. on May llth. Ma
loney took a present from Pnester IN
the first round and registered the
games only run with the aid of anoth-
er pass and two steals.
In the tcn-inning game between
Chicago and the Cardinals. on April
2Sth the deciding run was made by
man who had walked, and New 1orKs
2-to-1 win over Brooklyn on the pre-
ceding day, gained in the ninth, was
made possible through pass ana
man hit by a pitched ball. A sacrlhce
followed and then hit broke up the
affray. Fromme, the Cardinal pitcher
forced the winning run over the plate
in a ten-round battle with Pittsburg
on May I'd. Many other instances are
on record where the decision has been
gained through lack of accuracy on the
part of the pitcher
.skid" Pitchers Generous.
Efforts on the part of kid" curvers
to master the moist ball are RESPONSE
BILE for many passes, but the troubie
this season when twirlers became UNI
duly generous seems to be that when
"a man gets on base they waste
couple of balls on the next batter III
the hope that the runner will go down
TO second and be thrown out lack
stops who can nail a runner on strike
seem to be almost extinct, and as the
American League receivers are supe-
rior as a class to the Nationals men
of the mask and nit 1t naturally fol-
lows that there have been moro pre-
sentations among the Pulliamites than
among the Johnsonites.
AT the finish of the fifth week or
the major leagues season the figures
showed that the American League
pitchers had given away 412 bases on
balls and hit siXty-seven stickers,
while the NATIONAL delivery clerks were
charged with t04 passes of the reguia-
ton variety and sixty-eight of the Red
Cross kind The Giants have 1oT gifts
to their credit and the White SoS four
less. OF the individual players Roy
Thomas has worked the slabmcn for
four balls twenty-five times.