The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-20
QUALITIES OF GOOD CATCHER Fielding and Batting h.
 cidentals. MUST HAVE A GOOD ARM Some Have Knack of Piloting Team to Victory.
 There Are Many Qualities Necessary in the Man Who Make. Good in the Big Leagues.


 Again. Is it the catcher who pilots his team to the largest per centage of victories during season who is enti- tied to the crown of premie. backstop? ter into the makeup of a really classy catcher that it would indeed be a dIffi- cult matter to pick the oh oicest of them all, unless one delves for a month or two In the dope of the game.
 Good fielding Is one essential. Good batting is another. combination of the two will assure any baekstop reg ular berth at a fat salary says writ CT in The Detroit News Then there is good generalship. which is as import ant. If not more so. than either or both owners and fans alike take to the catcher who has the happy faculty of pilotlng his team to victory day after day. the one who has a winning per centage that equals or surpaSses the nifty mark of the teams best twirler.
 However this is not all. The catch CT who has few passed balls is always considered to have a little something on his more unfortunate rival who per mits the sphere to leak through his mitts with a frequency that IS dis
 Good Arms in Demand
 Last, but not least the catcher with good throwing arm Is always Tn de- mand. If opposing teams pilfer any on a catcher day after day, that back stops days In the major leagues are numbered He will soon learn that he is not wanted. In addition to being fair batter and good fielder a good field general, having a fair winning per centage, having few passed balls. the really successful catcher of today must also be able to keep the would-be pur- loiners of sacks from trespassing on his rights. else he will ind another man forging to the front and bidding
 f fieiding alone were considered. Billy Sullivan. of Chicago would have clear sailing, as he had the nifty mark of 1885 the last season. Suliy caught more games than any other man In the American League. Spencer. of St. Louis, helded .98S, but caught in only SIS games to ls1 for Sullivan: The vsa,nsr 0ther $50 (S4j; schreck, Philadel phia -Chica- go. ..S7S (7D; Smith. PhiIadeiphia- St. Ss'S !sss tl&ss2; & Tkonas. TSs1 Detroit. .s7s sss1; Clarke. Cleveland. .sss (soj; Powers, Philadelphia. .ss7 tso!; Blue. St. Louis Philadelphia, .ss7 dD; Kleinow. New bona bon1ahue. n Boston. .sss es25; Blair. New York. .s6s (60); Carrigan. Boston ;s55 Payne, Detroit. 1854 d61; shaw. Chiea, fH ss, sSs whSs s schmid %srxse of the winning Tigers tra.ied the bunch With Thomas, of Detroit. would be the whirl- ing noise. as he clouted at ;Soa cilp, stick work were: Blue. .2sS, schmidt, .255; N Clarke, .241; Warner, .241; Car rlgan, .2s5; Bemis .224. and Schreck.
 Right here it can be seen that Schmidt, of Detroit. made up his de hciency in fielding, as compared 10 Sui- livan and Criger two of the four held- ing leaders. by batting more than 70 int II. Sully's stick mark was .l5l and Orig CTS one point less. Schmidts 34 points to the bad In fielding would have look catchers who are generally conceded to be the best in the American League. if this one department was consldered alone However. Schmidt's equal. when his 74 excess points in batting are con- ''1' Crigers Passed Ball Record.
 Coming down to passed balls. we ma that CriSer had more than any other catcher. l4 in number. Others %no ran ,a into double figures were Clarke. t9' spancer. l2: Bemis. 10, and street. dg: ": Schmidt again looms up strong, haylnS only 5. In this respect Schmldt ie1 -aIl catchers, his average or passed oaaIs per game being less than that or al! Other back stops. with the possible ex- ceDtion of Warner, who had put l in 4i games. Schmidt could also be term ed the nominal 6attins iesder e, ainohs ,.,hs topned him, were in but 40 and IT games, respectively. ,, .r Coming down 10 the winning per c.nraRe of catchers. we find that Kahoe | caught 4 victories and defeat Tor " ash : l inKton. and Schreck like number TOT | Chicago, Land. of Cleveland, made II
 Of Of the catchers who worked in more than one-uuarter of the scheduled 1 eames. little Stephens, of the Browns. Fed with the winning per centage or hA ElCtO- 1 rIes and Is defeats Charley Schih "a :, | of Detroit. again looms up as the classy y l article, with u mark of sos, catchins m 70 Victories and 46 defeats, sullivan l rode in the same wagon with him. l catching in 76 victories and DO losing | games Thomass figures were lS ana ana Clarke 47 and 35. for .5l$; Criger, 4O l b24, Schreck, for Philadelpnia 29 and 27. for .5ls. and Blue, for PhiladelpHi"
 Thus Thu again 1t will be seen that 1 schmidt, of Detroit. runs neck and | neck with Sullivan and outoiasses Cfis- CT. True the claim can be made that l Criger was at a disadvantage in being T.tt1 q losing team. while Schmidt was with a pennant winner. However, tnls same clam cannot he a1yanceu m tit case of the Cleveland. Chicago and St. l Louls catchers, as these teams were III ! he light rigbt up to the finish There- l fore, another credit mark Tor the leu Charlie schmdts Weakness.
 Tn presenting base stealing by oppos- ,ng players however Schmidt was not so successful as his rivals. His aver age was almost one for each game ne Caught. To be exact. ll3 pa.%es were stolen while schmidt mad his nose be- 1ind the mask. Sullivan and Street were next in order, each about tWeh!y behind the Tiger backstop. Sehreck ! powers and Blair also got theirs. al rnost AS many stolen bases being re- corded against them as the Snx premref and National star, Bemis, Sid Smita
 K4einuw, Spencer and Criger to!l" wed in order Mig Clarke, of the Nap9 ap 70 peared 10 have the boats of the oppos Ing runners, and' of the catchers Whf ] ohiciated in seventy or more gamef \ held the. runners closer to the bag tha an any of t4em. The stolen bases chalk
 ed up against the husky little backstoI average only slightly over one -haf tf each of ninety games in which ne l worked
 Cleveland players made merry with the supposed crack CatChers of the
 league, once they got on a base, They
 worried lilly sullivan to death. while
 they stole tVenty seven bases. They a,so Lad < on Lou Crigec to the extent
 of nineteen bases, w0'!" schmidt, ol
 Detroit, was easy enough for them dne
 they pilfered eigN teen bases. Johr
 Clarke was the chief source of worry
 ta crIger and Sullivan. pilferinG sever
 and i've bases respectively RrminE
 nam also worried the White SoX aei.
 general. coping i've bases Clarke
 pilfered against Sullivan on three sue
 catching and throwing to his lik ng
 DetrSft'e marks were, Sullivan Street BIa!r, ppwers Sch-eck an(