The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-01-03
M RIPE FOR
|sSI)D cATCHERS
.,.o department Of Ma
|ossI'C Game Is One That
w. s,.ds strengthening.
LARRY NELLY.

~ HARRY NELLY
II Won aspire TO a career
|oUa nal baseball player. learn
80, want TO get a good job,
tsis ! - get a mask and mitt
'en off behind the bat.
II - catching jobs and few
ere s,bsrs floating around loose
goo .ssr position on the dia-
- 8 Gun
FnA t-a5s Of Lou Criger for
me Ger and 5000 in real
Ups .sizes the lack Of really
bney s. Here is Criger, an old
sly st-s.l goes. not overly strong,
~ q - that he appears in i'm
InaB 80 of breaking in two every
> neni - to second base, a man
be D - than three or four years
n p y ssrvice I'm him at the most
9as & 900 and a live young
~ 4 trade Why. BECAUSE 'ie -
pa ai s.a club in either major
Ever a. least one top-noteh pitch
gue - NOW down the opposition
SIC 55srahle ease. and whose ser
70 III III command many dollars If
: :. mt Oh the market. How
- eatehers are there? That Is
=, 49, without any reference To
..sS > base running abilities.
Classy Men Scarce.
,.-s has Criger, Chicago has
y s-givan and Washington has
ne M Street, a youth so far as
- sggue experience goes, LOOK
= n Isl of catchers owned by the
tnsdcan league clubs and see
/ r,ry eatchers there are in G rela-
4 - win Young, Walsh, White,
A. Joss. Rhoades, Tom Hughes,
wsr Donovan and a half dozen other
-Be.A pitchers.
r. asssy catcher is p rare bird.
/ ~ 6oks as though the magnates
nj 10 much time and money try
n 70 brnd up q great pitching staff
Esbor weking good receivers OF
nrss tnsss same good receivers are few
fu bstween. Probably the chances
/ i1iuD and the thauklessneSs of the
Il maze youthful baseball aspirants
per csar OF the catching position. Go
Il ani catch a good game and you
! credited with doing what you are
d foE Have a few passed balls and
BIKE a Wild throw or two and the pop
ace rises up and howls that it's a
ams such a good pitcher can't get a
,s support.
Catcher Is tn. handspring.
Ths catcher. rather than the pitcher,
EeFer. is the handspring Of the base
lifmachine. Being stationed behind
E batsmen he has greater opportuni-
IS than the pitcher for observing what
esrisin batter can or cannot hi5
lowing the man with whom he works
can tell If his curves are breaking
TIT, and make him work slowly when
'iiRed 20 hurry. and can make him
site when inclined 10 slowness. The
tcher is the chief watcher of the bases
TN occupied. passes the signals for
z pitcher throwing to catch the run
IS too far from the bags. and signals
E proper time for the delivering of the
NJ to the bat.
ASIDE from all this mental effort. he
ust snatch off any sort Of curve the
teher lets loose, must dig up Wild
tches that 90 into the ground, and
usl chase the elusive foul fly. He
pst book runners who slide into the
aie ana must take his turn at the
~ These few things are calculated
keep man Of average intellect and
hysical ability quite busy.
Is Difficult Job.
iet he catcher. 50 the fanatic thinks
mere machine To StOp the curves
l. PITCHER throws and the bate;
Uses Catching is a difficult JOB IN
orc ways than one. and good catcher.
= soarce. How often has it been OBJ
!. " uial many Young pitchers e
ol's as only ordinary performers uni
''iIe smooth, heady catcher commence.
VIVA With them. and then suddenI,
,Ss oiossom out as stars.
', ,'isf Billy Sullivan ana I'D Walsh fol
= Slu IT'S dollars 10 little green pea.
- e4os would break for Sullivan
- o17 Would 90 for Walsh. TIL.
-. -. would be q good man with am
80. VINO could hold him. but tn,
80. colid take a lot OF ordinar1
''''''s ana get good work out of them