Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-20

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 it between the seams
You must not.use full swing, as when
you throw the curve. or even three
quarter motion of the arm. The splitter
must be thrown with smart, short mo-
ton of the shoulder and snap of the
wrist. The fact that the first two fingers
have really no Influence upon the pail
deprives it OF life" and spin. 1t goes
away with good speed. but, being without
spin. there is nothing in the ball itself
to help carry it along.
Every one who has thrown ball with
any degree of skill appreciates how much
a certain twist or spin helps it on It's
way. If you want to make a 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 upward spin to 1t. The
effect of this is that after the ball car
ries fifty feet or SO 1t will catch the
banked air and shoot up a bit. We call
this the raise shoot. A most valuable
pitching asset 1t is, too. Only the fast
est men can get it, and then it is mat
ter of luck with the best of them. Some
days they have 1t and some days they
do not.
Nichols, Young. Powell. Rusie and all
the great fast fellows of the decade had
this ball when at their best. IT is an
as l have previously remarked, hard to
get. You must have speed and a GER
tain doft touch to get it. II the wind
is behind you it will not work. But the
old splitter" is always with you.
An Inversion of the Raise.
The spit ball is almost an exact inver
sion of the old raise" Instead of the
fingers imparting a spin to the ball, they,
being fabricated, have no influence what
ever upon it. Therefore the ball leaves
your hand with absolutely no spin what
ever upon it.. AS soon as the initial We
locity impartel to it by your shoulder
dies il has nothing to carry it floating.
So it ducks rather than shoots. and no
living man can hit it.
l can truthfully say that 1 have never
vet had perfect spit ball hit on me.
Sometimes they make a foul of the one
or hit it down to the infe.d. generally to
the pitcher AS for driving spit ball
that breaks right. no man las ever done
it for me.
How hard It is to hit may be imagin-
ed when any catcher will tell you that it
is sometimes impossible to catch, and
that he is lucky 70 break it down with
his NIT. even though he has the advan-
tagc OF the batter on knowing what is
coming.
When your spit bail fails to break it is
a mark II comes up with just enough
speed and without a semblance Of
curve Then you hit it.
AS for control of it, I cannot exactly
hit a dollar with it, but l can break it
in or out or down within a reasonable
distance of the desired spot. ] do this
by moving my fingers to the left for an
inShoOt or to the right for an Outshoot.
IN every case the downshoot or duck
accompanies the other.
] like the bah, though many people say
it hurts the arm. 1t never has hurt
mine, and ! use it as often as any man
pitching. Two-thirds of all balls |
throw are "spitters." Throwing the curve
hurts me much more.
A good many pitchers lose their curve
whom they go to throwing spit balls
This is due to the fact that they uncon-
SciOuslv cease TO use the first two fingers,
whereas the thumb develops and becomes
stronger I throw my curve without the
use of the thumb Mt all in the old school
boy way of graSping il between the ball
of the thumb and fingers. This gets the
thumb out of the way and makes the
fingers work. This is why | have never
lost my curve.
There is a lot of noise abont the in
jury done to pitchers by the spit ball.
Because Chesbro and a few others are
not in as good form as of old they say
the splitter did it. Not necessarily.
Pitchers will come and go. In the old
Baltimore days they used to say that
Robinson killed his pitchers making them
throw curves. If another man made them
use speed the same kick would be COM
ing. I can name many great pitcher
that has gone even though he never used
the spit ball. This is my third year with
it, and I do think I never was in such
good form with speed and curves as I am
today.