Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-07-19

HE tried wetting the ball with
Z water. then moistcning his fingers with
saliva. He found saliva superior to
! mere water, owing to the amount of
toil it contained. >. n
Tho great virtue of the spltball is
= thar II breaks much more sharply than
any curve bali. and that throwing 1t
does not weary and stiffen the arm
yYhiCh throwing the curve does.
Another great merit the splitter pos
I sess9s is that 1t comes to the batslman
without revolving and with peculiar
dead hcavincss which makes it hard
to drive even should lie catch it fairly
with the bat.
- "f'eing hit with Il splitter is ten
times wores than being hit with any
other sort of ball no matter how fast
1t may be. The splitter comes with a
dull. dead penetrating hcavincss of
lead while the curve balls. having
rotation or English upon them. take a
bite of tho object they strike and
bound away. Not so the splitter 1t
has no English on it and sinks dead
in.
zone day last fall I threw n spitball
to batter. Spencer caught it. A
runner was stealing second. Ed
threw to stop him. He got his fingers
upon the exact spot l had minc-on the
m"istcncd portion-and. losing control
fn me in the back as l stopped to let
him throw over nay head. That ball
went, almost through me. I could feel
II ffsrsfw G. months. A dry ball would
not have done. more than make q
= superficial bruisc.
''1ro pitch perfect 'spitbalr you
must have a ball with a perfect cover.
A new ono is best for it's purpose.
While you can throw 'spitters' with all
sorts OF halls. a 'wingy' or rough sur
face Of cover makes it uncertain. You
see, you must have perfectly smooth
surface to slip the first two fingers
over. The least bit of roughness Is
liable to spoil the break and bang!
your ball goes to the fence.
'You must not touch the seams
when you want To throw a splitter.
This Is an inversion of all pitching
practices. for in throwing all other
balls we want good rough seam. If
YOU want to throw a splitter never grip
II between the seams.
'You must not use full swing, as
when you throw a curve. or even
three-uuarter motion of the arm The
splitter must be thrown with smart.
short motion Of the shoulder and
snap of the wrist. The fact that the
two first fingers have really no influ-
cnrc upon the ball dcprivcs 1t of "life"
and spin. 1t goes away with good
speed. but. being without spin. there
Is nothing in the ball itself to help
carry 1t along.
Everyone who has thrown ball
with any degree of skill appreciates
how much a certain twist or spin helps
1t on its way. If you want to make
ball carry afar. You let it slip over the
end of your first two fingers and give
1t a sort of flip that imparts an up
ward spin to it. The effect of this is
that after the ball carries fifty feet or
SO it will catch the banked air and
shoot up bit. We call this the raise
shoot. A most valuable pitching asset
II Is. too. Only the fastest men can
get it, and then it is matter of luck
with the best of them. Some days they
nave 1t and some days they do not.
Nichols. Young. Powell. Rusie and
all the great fast fellows of the decade
3 mad this ball when at their best 1t is
an easy ball to throw and hard to hit,
Dut. as I have previously remarked.
nard to get You must have speed and
certain deft touch to get it. If the