Norwich bulletin., 1910-09-02
DEARTH OF CATCHERS.
Donovan of Boston Americans Won
ders Where Future Backstops vii
Come From.

Manager Patsy Donovan of the Bos-
ton Americans wonders where the
catchers will come from in a few
years. Says he:
Where on earth are we going to get
real catchers, genuine marksmen of
the kind the old time fans used to see
parading with big chests and the jov-
ial grin? When King, Sullivan and
Criser give up the game, where will
there be men to fill their places2 Right
now the visible supply of catchers in
the two best leagues is so short and so
inferior that it is the best possible an
sWer to the eager youngsters who in
sist that modern baseball is so much
better than the sort of game we fos-
sis used to play. The history of the
catchers and a comparison between
thoes of today and those of long ago
shaw things up in light that is vastly
plasing to the old timers. The modern
catcher, as a rule, is run down in size,
strength and all around value when
compared to the men who starred be-
hinr the plate in 1888 and 1889. King,
Carrigan and Archer are among the
few catchers I can mention in the pres
ent company who can travel the gait
at the pace maintained by the old tim
ers. These men can hit, throw, back
stop perfectly and handle a game with
intelligence and skill. Sullivan and
Criger, old a 6 they are, can still out
catch a. regiment of the latter day
youngsters, but neither of them ever
cut any ice as a hitter, and they are
both due for the gong.
Take the big ca tchers of the long
ago, and whet a body of men they
We're! They We're giants, as a rule, in
size. Doggy Miller. Kid Baldwin, and
Billy Earle were among the few of the
old time catchers who We're small men,
and they were cunky, agile and endur-
ing. Such men as Flint, Kelly, Ewing,
Buckley Daley, Boyle and Bennett
were big fellows, burly and impressive.
So were Farrell and Mcclure, and more
vet, whose names l can't recall. These
big men We're grand batsmen, as a
rule, and some of them were among
the finest base runners of their day.
Can you imagine a modern catcher be-
ing one of the liveliest men on the
team when it comes to the base run
ming stunts? Nowadays a catcher is
supposed to be simply a catcher-a
sort of privileged character, like the
pitcher. He is there to catch, and not
to hit, run bases or stir up the game
like red tailed demon. Can you i'm
agine Buck Ewing or Mike Kelley be
ing simply an automatic factor, just
catching and throwing, striking out
when going to the plate in the pinches.
and having never a hard word to say?
And, on the other hand can you mag
inc the modern chtcherS mlV1ng into
the game till they were the whole front
of the performance, as Kelley and Ew-
ing always We're? Those old time
catchers often took the roles now play
ed by Cobb and Wagner-such a thing
as being minor figures of the game
never occurred to them.
THE man who compares the records
will. OF course. remark that the old
time catchers had Il great many passed.
balls, three times as many as the mod
ern baci.stap, and will base Judgment,
perhaps, on that. Remember, though,
that those old boys were taking. the
hot shot Of the fastest pitchers the
game has ever known, from a shorter
distance than today, and with little,
thin gloves that the modern shortstop
would hesitate to wear. AS soon
the big gloves came in the passed balls
suddenly dwindled in numb Der. AS to
fielding the position, chasing the foul
flies. throwing to stop the runners, and
leading the defensive piay-Well. where
are there any modern catcflers who