The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-21

going to marry your mother-inlaw! I
gaSped. Are YOU dany3
Latham calmly pulled out a note
book, and. after looking over the scrawl
that covered the first page, said, Say,
old pal, come 10 think Of ii, | buried her
on the coin you gave me yesterday, and
] want this coin TO buy suit Of black
clothes.
81 counted out the money while still
dazed. -
"You can talk about your crack
catchers all you want TO-, said
"Tacks' Parrott. "but the equal of
Charley Snyder was never seen on ball
field. He was a wonder as Il thrower
and had more baseball sense than a half
dozen average players. Talk about
signs, He was full OF them. And quick3
Why. he had base runners nailed be
fore they knew what they were about.
Boston was playing in New York one
day and George Gore was on third and
Roger Counor on first. Snyder caught
Gore off his base and Connor was indig-
nant and exclaimed, What do you think
of that for base running In a twink
ling Snyder threw the ball to the first
baseman and he caught Connor fairly
and squarely off the base. Connor was
so disgusted he hurled himself on the
grass and pounded his head with fists. a
Clever trick of Snyder's was his ability
to puzzle the base runners as to where
ne intended throwing the ball, He threw
easily, quickly and strongly. One Of the
great things about Snyder was that
when he wanted to catch man mapping
he took good care that the pitcher would
not give the batsman chance TO hat
good ball into the space an lnhelder had
left to cover the bag.
That a man TO become a baseball
star must be a quick thinker goes with
out saying, for many game has been
won not through the merits of q team,
but through the rapid thinking of some
player on the victorious club.
a case in point occurred IN game
at Chicago few years ago, ST. Louis
was the opposing team at the time.
O'Neill, the Cardinals catcher, was
ON second base and Mike Grady was at
the bat. 1t was in the first half of the
ninth inning, with the score a tie.
when Grady swatted one down so hot
that IT seemed TO burn the grass.
o Neil started to sprint at the crack
of the bat and was going fast, when
he saw Casey. the third baseman of the
Chicago team, make a dive and the
next moment he felt himself being
Under this impression, he stopped
dead IN his tracks and was walking
slowly TO the bench when the shouts
from his team mates acquainted him
with the fact that the ball that Grady
had landed on was just then being
feIded in by 'Husk" Chance, who
was that day playing left field. When
O Neil realized this he started TO make
a dash for the home plate, but was
I,- la,
Chance. In their half of the ninth the
Chicagos got in one run and so took
the game, which was rightly the prop
erty of the St Louis people,
One Of the clevcrest bits of quick
thinking on record is credited to Jimmy
Ryan of the old Chicago team This
happened in game between the New
forks and the Chlcagos, which was
played on the Polo grounds in New
York City. The contest was a hot one
and went into extra innings, so that
the evening shadows had begun to fall,
when at the end Of the twelfth inning,
with Chicago one run ahead and almost
confident of winning the game, Amos
Rusie, the New York g big pitcher.
stepped TO the plate.
Charley Farrell, the catcher, was on
second and there were two men out,
ana as huslc hadu I hit 4 ball safely
IN month the Giants on the benches
were mighty low-spirited lot But
suddenly they were electrified by hear.
ing the smack of Annie IS" bat as il
came into contact with the leather and
seeing the ball sailing away in the dis
tance.
As 1t was getting pretty dark by this
tune, the ball was soon lest sight Of.
but every one knew that it was a long
mt, even though they could not follow
the flight OF the spheroid.
As Farrell and Rusie ran thcy kent
their eyes in the direction where thev
had last seen the ball. and Charley had
cleared third base when he saw Center
Fielder Jimmy Ryan. after quick
sprint, suddenly pause: place himself
in position and apparently catch the
ball that had gone from Rusie Is bat
The next moment Ryan was racing for
the Chicago bus, where he was soon
followed by the other members OF his
team, who only then discovered that
Jlmmy,s play was fake. as the ball
Rusle had struck had sailed far over
Ryan $ head. and would have been re-
sponslble for n New York victory had
Farrell and Rusie not been deceived
by Ryan S cleycrness.