Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-05-03
P N almost every walk of life, it's the
man behind who is the big man."

N almost every walk of life, it's the
man behind who is the big man.
The man behind the gun is the
man who kills the foe: the mar
behind the business concern is the mar
who makes it go: and the man behind
the bat is the one who does most IL
making a baseball team success or q
failure. Ask any ball-player what
position he considers the hardest tC
play. and ninetynine times out of d
hundred. he will declare that his owJ1
particular one is the most critical am
important Some will say that OF
course they have not as much to do as
the players in some other place, but
their work. when it does come, is diff
ficult. and can only be accomplished by
d man who is especially adapted for it
Admitting this to be true, it is still my
belief that the catcher is the most i'm
portant man on a baseball team. On
him falls the burden of the work. And
his work is always important. He car
never afford to take it easy or to be
caught mapping. for he is the pilot OF
the baseball craft. His are the eyes
that must always look for the rocks
and see that his ship keeps to her
course and avoids the reels and shoa,s
At the present time the pitcher is the
hero of the baseball lover. You hear
the fans talking about the number OF
strike outs this one had. and about
the grand way that cnother kept his
opponents from hitting the ball. Every
day you hear some such remark as
this: IF they didn't have him pitching.
for them, they'd be nowhere in tho
race"
Now l am not attempting to take
away any Of the pitchers glory. The
man in the box is deserving of great
praise for the work that he does. bit
it is my claim that he should not get
all the credit. The catcher should get
some of it, for the good pitchers them
selves, when questioned, will invariably
admit that their catchers should be
praised as much as they should. when
credit is being given for victories on
the diamond. Just stop and think for a
moment. Where would a twirler. nc
matter what his ability. be, if he did
not have someone catching him. w!1
could help him in matching his brains
against those of the batter encourage
him when things were breaking badly
and talk to him when perhaps a little
hard luck had discouraged him and
put him in the air? 1t is the catcners
brains ofttimes that wiz the victories
The pitcher of course has the curves
that will deceive the batsman, but the
man on the receiving end tells him how
to use his curves in such a way that
the hitters may be fooled. The catcher
owing to the fact that he works in al
most every game, knows the weak
nesses of the various batters. and the
pitchers set great store in this very
thing, and are ever looking to the
catcher to tell them what to do.
On the playing field, the man behind
the bat is. in reality. the manager of
the team. He, before all others. can
know when his pitcher is beginning 10
weaken, and he communicates his
knowledge to the manager on the
bench. who sees to it that another man
is warmed up, so that, when the crash
comes, the team will not be left in the
lurch.
Another part of the backStops work
is the coaching of the young pitchers