The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-06-29
DEVELOPING INTO
DANGEROUS GAME
UNLESS SOME METHOD OF DOING
AWAY WITH SPIKES is
FOUND, WILL BE BAD
Manager Aroused to Necessity of Some
Better understanding Re-
garding Practice.

That baseball will soon be the most
dangerous of games unless means is
found to do away with spikes is the
opinion of many experts
Hardly a day passes that some player
in the big leagues is not put out of the
game as a result OF being gashed by
the sharp steel plates worn on the ball
players shoes to keep him from slip
ping and sliding over the grass.
Both base runner and guardian of the
making close plays. The runner dares
not slew up for fear of being put out
and losing a chance to score run that
will perhaps spell victory, and for his
part the guardian of the bag mus: be
collision. Consequently they are slrash
ing together all the time, ankles, feet
'and legs are cut, bones are broken and
injuries sustained that take valuable
men out of their teams.
Managers have come to so thoroughly
understand the perIs that go with put
ting a tag on a base runner that almost
the first question they ask when they
are inquiring into the abilities Of a
newcomer is:
"Can he touch out base runners?"
This looks easy. l; might be expect
ed to be simple feature of an infi.ald-
er's work, but as a matter OF fac. il
is the hardest
IT is a play whose difficulties IS -are
the average spectator. He can see ard
thrill when a long hit is made, diff :
cult running catc1 completed, one
hand stop ar.i accurate throw puf
through, but tbs c,lill and nerve neces-
sary to escape the spikes and touch or
b1se runner are features of the g1r1n
lightly esteemed by the man with d
knowledge Of the inside
A close play is never made, but that
the baseman is put in imminent peril.
Tn his eagerness to reach the bag the
base runner has no time to be careful.
If he showed any undue caution he
would be voted a gutter and would
soon find himself out of a job. He
s-lx% or
thinking of consequences either to him
self or to the man he is seeking to
elude.
In fact a large percentage of run
ners now slide even to first base on
hunts or slow grounders whenever there
is chance of beating them out.
Therefore not even the first baseman
is immune from the peril of getting
mixed up with the spikes.
Cases of intentional spiking are rare.
Not many ball players will intention
ally main a fellow player. Yet, in the
anger and excitement Of the game men
lose IQelr nedQS anQ OIIcH iDdhe az
cusations that in their sober senses
they regret
The disgraceful scene in Brooklyn
few weeks ago, when Lennox, Gleason
and Knabe engaged in a bout of fisti-
cuffs on the field grew out of a spiking
incident.
Knabe of the Philadelphia club came
hard into third base and his spikes
gashed Lennox. Lennox struck Knabe,
and in the resulting argument Gleason,
coach of the Philadelphia club, became
involved, the crowd got mixed up, and
there was a virtual riot with resulting
penalties imposed by the president of
the National league.
Yet probably Knabe was guiltless of
intentional damage to Lennox. The
best of feeling prevails among most
players, and the exception who is dirty
finds himself in disrepute among his
fellows and must soon either mend his
way or contend with uninterrupted un-
popularity.