Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-04-22
PLAY BaN!' Is Now the Umpire's Cry:

Trick Plays to Be a Distinguish .
ing Feature of the Pres .
emf Campaign. .
oe0 o o 0 o Q 0 Q o o eeoe0
players. The baseball player has al
ways had vital grievances because OF
the ironbound contract he is forced to
sign and of the conditions not stated
in the contract to which he must bow.
All the leagues in organized ball recog-
nize the rulings of each other regard
ing the qualifications Of players, and
man who secures the Ill will of the
particular club that holds his contract
can be actually driven out of the fol
lowing of his business in the United
States by form of cunningly devised
blacklist. BY holding promising minor
league players on what Is known as
the reserve list the major leaguers fire.
quently prevent men from following a
course of action that will materially
advance themselves. And the clubs
auction off their players like so much
barley or straw. They sell the players
contract, and he must play for the
buyer or join the so called and gener-
ally unstable OUTLAWS" or leave the
game for the joys of peddling shoes or
selling cookbooks
King Bee of theu Game.
The interest Of organized ball centers
in the omnipotent national commission,
and its chairman, Garry Hermann of
Cincinnati. is the big man of the game.
Yet it will always be recognized that
the players are the llfeblood of the
game, and the magnates spend much
of their time trying to convince the
players that they are nothing OF the
sort Players like Hans Wagner,
Christy Mathewson, Napoleon Lajoie,
Tyrus Cobb. Mordecai Brown, Johnny
Evers. Sam Crawford, Fielder Jones,
Terry Turner. Cy Seymour, Roy Thom-
as, Miller Higgins, Bill Bradley, Fred
Clarke, etc, are as the stars In dra-
ma. The magnate is in sense their
business manager but the latter's pow
er has encroached beyond its natural
sphere because of his long standing
ability to secure high class legal advice
In the drawing Of contracts. For this
reason there will probably never be
another Brotherhood war; when the
players had the magnates beaten, but
they didn't know 1t. and somebody
else did. And this particular somebody
worked successfully the most sizable
bluff in baseball history. The Brother
hood laid down its hand.
When McGraw Gives an Order.
But the players vocation has seldom
been one that went hand in hand with
business ability. The excitement and
uncertainty Of their careers have n
marked effect on their temperaments.
For this reason but few of them mako
a success rs team managers. The sue
cessful manager must lose his heart
and cultivate his head. He must see
that his orders are obeyed. A clew TO
the managerial success of John Nc
Graw of the New York Nationals is
had in the following true story:
The New York team was one rrn be-
hind in the ninth-a man on first and
none out
LAY it down" said "Muggsy" to the
batter.
The man stepped up to the plate,
saw a STRAIGHT one coming over. swung
Mt 1t and lifted the ball over the fence.
As he trotted in To the bench at the
end of his home run. proud because he
had won the day. the manager harked
at him:
you're fined fifty. When say bunt
! mean hunt."
And the fine was paid into the club
wasn't.
McGraw and Chance OF Chicago and
Jennings Of Detroit want their orders
obeyed. They themselves will take the
responsibility for the failure of their
plan of action. They have small time
TO bother with players who worry over
the wisdom of the managers advice.
Trick Plays to Ee Sprung.
Every baseball season has at least
predominating or distinguishing fea-
lures. Indications are that the present
campaign will prove one essentially of
u II pay hpi n at lhV liS Nlsilh-
ing camps OF the big teams showed
this. The squeeze play, essentially a
trick, has variations in application to
other bases than third. where it has
been invariably used; new base run
ming devices are claimed to have been
worked by one manager: a distinctly
new curve has been originated. accord
ing to two or three well known pitch
erS, etc.
Also the "knuckle ball" successor to
the famous spit ball" curve. will, it is
believed. be perfected by several twirl-
ers of an experimental turn of mind
The knuckle bah was discovered last
year. Jack c'TaX'D Neuer. the New
York American recruit of n year ago,
is said to have mastered three styles
of delivery of the "foolerS."
One Of these. which we VIII term the
'singir kuuckle" because only the in
deX finger is bent down on the palm.
with the ball resting on the first joint
takes the place of thc'drop. 1t ilOatS
up much like q slow splitter. hangs for
moment and falls away abruptly
downward Ono pf tho otharS or ssInI,-