Norwich bulletin., 1909-12-09
CAN'T ABOLISH SPIKES.
A Big Asset of the Ball Players, Says Evans-Leather Cleats Wouldn't Do.

To my way of thinking, says Umpire Billy Evans, all this talk about abol- ishing a spike is foolish. The spike is one of the big assets of the ball play CT. He must have his shoes so equip ped that he can make a quick start as well as stop, and I can see no substf- tute that offers the same possibilities as the steel spike.
 To anybody who has ever played football all this talk of leather cleats Is a joke. More speed is the demand of every baseball manager and owner. A man with bad feet suffers a severe handicap in baseball Nothing would more quickly ruin the feet of ball players than the constant use of baseball shoe with leather cleats.
 In the first place. the leather cleat would cause the player to suffer from callousness on the ball of his foot. The steel spike, while sinking into the ground, often causes a player to slow up from a callous. Contrast the leather cleats which do not give a fraction of an inch and one can readily imagine the result. Players would be suffering from many ailments which are at pres ent unknown to the baseball player, and the average manager who has bumped into his share of hard luck will readily tell you that there are enough things that can happen to a player without advancing any new pos abilities
 To ask a ball player to work on a grass infield or outfield with leather cleats as his only means of reinforce ment would be foolhardy. On skim ned diamond it wouldn't be so bad, but on grass diamond such as many mi nor and major league clubs now own it would simply be out of the question. Incidentally 1t would tend to greatly slow up the work of the men, as they wouldn't take so many chances or be so certain on their feet.
 No Chance for Abolition of Spikes.
 I can't see any chance in thousand for the abolition of the spike. The steel chain in the shape of a triangle that was tried last year utterly failed that the present spike can be so changed as to make 1t less dangerous and still just as valuable to the player. That the spikes used by players throughout the country are too long goes without saying. I have heard players complain and complain about this very feature, and not until near the close of the season, when the spike had worn down considerably, did they really feel comfortable.
 Many players express the belief that spikes half the length of the present ones would be just as serviceable. Many claim that they always get bet ter results out of the second year of a pair of shoes, especially the outfelders. who have little chance of being cut down. The rounding of the corners on the spikes also ought to help consid- erably. It stands to reason that spikes about half the length of the present ones, with rounded corners, would be much less dangerous than the ones now used.
 Should Runners Slide Head First?
 It has been suggested that base run ners be only allowed to slide head first to eliminate the danger of spiking. This suggestion has some redeeming fea- lures as well as quite few bad ones. If players were compelled to slide head first, the advantage would be as great ly in favor of the baseman as 1t is now in favor of the base runner.
 Realizing that there was little chance of his being injured by a head first slide, the baseman would invari- ably block off the base runner While the possibility of injury to the man playing the bag would be slight, it would be rather dangerous to the run ner Twisted necks and broken and cut fingers and arms would not be un- common.
 Then again there are few men who slide head first, most of them prefer ring the feet first slide, as they con- tend it is the more natural way. If the feet first slide was enforced 1t would necessitate the changing of their style by many players, and as a result one of the brightest features of the sport, base running, would be com pelled to suffer