The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1909-05-18
CHANCE TELLS
HOW TO CATCH

Frank LA Chance, manager OF tne
champion Cubs, was once catcher
himself, having joined the Chicago
team in 1898 in that capacity, and
therefore knows through personal ex-
perience the qualities demanded of q
great backstop in championship race.
By Frank Chance.
"Young catchers would do well to
study carefully the way the great
backstops in the game today handle
themselves says Chance. "Catchers
are, believe, the hardest men to find
when you are going out after a really
great player, and more depends on
them than any single cog in the base
ball machine. 1t is easy enough to find
mechanical catchers. There are plenty
of them both in and out of the big
leagues; the truly great ones can be
counted on the fingers of one hand.
''Too many youngsters getting their
first tryout in the big league display
weaknesses that are almost impossible
to overcome. For instance, if a man
is so built that he is afraid of getting
spiked by base runner coming in from
third, who is making desperate effort
to score, and who is going to jump in
come the disposition to back up from
| the plate to take the ball and attempt
| to tag the runner as he slides by,
rather than block him off the rubber
| and put the bali on him. Many and
many game has been won and lost
ON exactly this kind of play, the
base-runner Succeeding in eluding the
catcher, though the latter may have
10 bn Lan IN, Ill nf ti,na IN ant
| it on him. The demand, which is be-
coming more and more insistent, that
| the catcher stand directly in the path
of the base-runner and block him off
from the plate, is what has led to the
use of shin-guards to protect the back
stop from injury resulting from the
| spikes of the runner
! "There are many catchers in the
business with great throwing arms and
still they are not regarded as particu-
larly dangerous; certainly not as great
backstops. The chief reason is that
they do not use the proper judgment
in the use of this ability. Base-runners
soon come to know how well any
catcher throws and what liberties can
be taken with him, how big a lead can
be taken off any base and whether the
catcher is hkely TO take cnahee Oh
nipping hlm OIL second at crltlcal mo
ments. Great eatchers seldom thro"
to bases promiscuously. ihey go aftel
a base-runner only when he becomes TOO
bold and gets too far OIL the bag, max
ing the play practically sure OF sue
cess. Base-runners soon come to fea'
such a man more than the one VINO II
continually heaving to the infielders
The catcher who is constantly throw
ing to get base-runners stands just tina
much more chance OF making bad AM
costly throws than the one who is con
servative. ., -,
The greatest illustration OF I'M
value OF the conservative throwihl
catcher was IN the tourth game OF I'M
world series Played IN Detrolt Ia dMs
ran between Inc Gups ana Tigers. IN
tourth inning OF that gahe was one .
the greatest, II noc ine grea.est, eve
prayed On any pan iiTiu. we hau a lea'
OF TWO runs, tne Tigers NOT haVinI
scored mat inning oLeaiy ieu VI
win pase MI over ilnher' anu yin"
l fofd shot ahother between snort an
thlrd. topD was up ana lhe siluatio
0 was dangerous. Every one remember