The sun., 1908-12-14
CURRENT SPORTING GOSSIP
JENNINGS SAYS SOME THINGS
.iB0UT BASE RUNNING.
1y Cobb. He Asserts, Better at 1t Than
was Mike kelly-Tom sharkey, Tells
Why He Thinks johnson viii Beat
i,urns Richard Cf0ker's Jockey

iiurns-NichArd Cf0ker's Jockey
Hugh Jennings. manager Of the Detroit
American League champions. who attended
the baseball conclave last week. had many
Interesting things to say about the national
game speaking of base running Jennings
said.
The only man who has no chance TO
project himself from runners spikes II
he is playing his game Is the first sacker.
lie must keep his foot on the bag. and he Is
hound to get nipped more or less. But
nobody wants to hurt a first baseman. In
present day baseball ! do not know one OF
them who Is at al! offensive. OF the first
bssemen in the American League know of
but one who might invite trouble-Jiggs
ponohue OF the White Sox. Donohue and
had several rows In 1907 and we told each
other pretty plainly what we thought.
Ru, Jiggs proved himself a man. every inch
Of him, after the season was over. when he
came to our hotel during the worlds series,
talked to the boys. advised them and en-
rouraged them. We buried the hatchet
after that
As said before, nobody wants to hurt
a first baseman. II Ia a sort of unwritten
law that as the poor fellow must keep his
foot there 1t isn't fair to cut him. Matty
Mcintyre. for instance. would have played
all Of 1907 for us II he hadn't turned his ankle
To save Bob Unglaub.
King Kelly once offered to bet Jack
Crooks SIS that he could give the latter the
ball, be ten feet away from the bag and yet
make 1t without being touched. Kelly was
so clever in dodging one way when the base
man expected him TO 20 the other that few
could touch him. Crooks knew this only
too we'll, so he declined to take the bet.
Famous as Kelly was for his work on the
bases. Ty Cobb is a better base runner. for
Ty has more speed and Is equally tricky in
getting around the man with the ball
Watching the baseman Of course Is
the great trick in sliding. You can usually
tell by the way the guardian of the sack
is standing which direction the ball is COM
ms from, and 1t is your cue to go the oppo-
site way. But even in this method there Is
always a chance Of being outgeneralled.
It's an old trick of the fielder to hold his
hands on his hips and pretend the ball is
not coming to him. AS result you go slow
TO your slide, when he suddenly becomes
animated. grabs the ball out Of the air and
Tags you. Or basemau will lean in one
direction for the ball and then dodge over,
take it from another. and unless you can
outguess him he has you.
Scientific base running makes a ball
cam. Yet 1t is surprising that this i'm
pOrtant part of baseball is neglected in many
instances. Runs win games. and the first
principle is to get men around the bases.
Hesdess base running of course amounts
TO nothing and often works great harm, but
ii is the rule that pennant winners are
made up of fast players who know how
and when to steal bases.
Jennings in this respect speaks by the
card. although there have been some cham
pIon teams which were not particularly
pctroits. ] who won the National League
championship twenty years ago. were
slow coaches on the base paths. The only
charley Bennett. great catcher that he
was. could not run much faster than Jim
Mcl'uire Dan Brouthers. Fred Dunlap.
urdsOn and Sam Thompson we're all in the |
Ice wagon" class.
The, Detrots in those days won the pen.
the fine pitching OF Lady Baldwin, Get |
lioirto the rule, for the old Chicasos. under
by Hugh Nieol. Billy Sunday. George Gore
and Mike Kelly. When the New lorks won |
ne pewnna55t wna5 @ in isss r. and 1889 BUCK Ewing.
Aegualled in this department of the game. |
The. st. Louis Browns. who played New |
York for the worlds championship, in ,isss.
iapk Robinson. Tip o.Neill Tom Mccarthy
and even Charley Comiskey. Mccarthy. |
Ee Ry al dsss5 LGn ons the Eo sad
tons 70 win several pennants later. while
the old Baltimore team had such star base
runners as Mctiraw. Kelley. Jennings.
Tom sharkey says johnson will defeat
esSt 1eiS Wien % be decided
the day after Christmas IN Australia. Shar-
key says Burns while fairly good fighter
es months snd ~ t4spss be coa
beat him himself Sharkey says johnson
win win the fight il it Is on the level because
Bnrns. is also Ave inches taller and is the
ceyerest big man in the world.
The former sailor does not think Burns
range and says johnson viii do most Of the
Job with his hard, straight left banders,
u may be wrong in my ideas. continued
how little man, no matter how game or
,leyer he might be. could beat a man bigger;
leaNier and more scientific. That Is the
nil. Jefrries b bes: % ne In @ t%enty-five % % rounds
tIesyler and several inches taller. He
Tie beef behind his punches and also q
longer reach That Is why Jef ries beat
'orbett. FitZsimuions. Rubin and others
world"
Sam Fitzpatrick. Johnsons manager,
" letter lmst received here writes that
Burns will be knocked out inside OF twenty
rounds. Fitzpatrick also says Burns knew
that johnson could beat him when he de-
manded and got a guarantee OF $4,000.
=, Rather than lose chance to defeat
hurns. writes .Johnson's manager, we
would have let him take the entire purse
ne ring ready to put up the fight of his
lfe More than 10000 persons will prob
ably see the mill, as Australia is fighting
Irahy There Is big money here. and IL
Johnson wins he will tour the country
before coming back to America. Then he
hetchel, Langford, O'Brien or any other
man who wants a crack at him.
Stephen Donoghue has signed a contract
10 ride for Richard Croker next year.
Douoghue was the leading jockey In Ire {
and last season. A Dublin turf authority !
saws Of him. ,
Donophue finished up the season. which
'oGnd him at the head Of winning jockeys.
N brill liant fashion by riding three consecu-
I'VE winners Donoghne Is no boy. being. I
AS matter OF tact % years of age. He :
can 90 TO scale at q little more than aS /,
hounds and Mf Croker has secured his ,
.erNlces for next year. paying him a, re-
ialner Of 5000. Donoghue rode Rhodora t
Snd the Champion Prize on consecutive ..
Gays In September at Curragh,
Jockey Notter. who will ride for the Vein: {
neTrs m Germany next year. handled I
sake winners this year whose earninKs
rampaign in New Orleans. where he won
some stakes including the City Park Derby;
w Jangary 20 he rode four winners and
Jockey Club tracks Sotter handled the
Winners Of forty-ei ght stakes. including