The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1910-07-22
TOUCHING
SECOND
By Johnny Evers and Hugh Fullerton
CONTINUED from last weekly
By Johnny Evers and Hugh Fullerton
Continued from last weekly

proper positions were In many in
stances men taken from one position
and placed in another Immediately
showed remarkable Improvement.
Frank Chance, the Peerless Leader
Of the Chicago Cubs, was a catcher.
He declared he could not play first
base and refused to play there, threat
ening to retire from baseball when
Manager Selee ordered him to that
position. Even then he baked until
Selee offered him an increased salary,
when he reluctantly consented to
make the attempt. Roger Bresnahan
imagined he was a pitcher, tried the
infield, failed at both places, but then
developed into of the greatest Of
catchers. Fred Parent, after a bril-.
liant career az a short stop and a fair
showing as q second baseman, late in
his career discovered that he was Q
better player in the outfeld than in
the infield. Joe Tinker refused to
play short stop, insisting that he wat
q third baseman, and was persuaded
with difficulty to try the position at
which he became famous.
Sometimes this specialization by
players is Imagination on the part of
players who fail to study their own
physical shortcomings and advantages
In order to fit themselves into the
proper place. A third baseman, for In.
stance, does not need the speed re-
quired to play short stop, but he must
have weight, be able to start forward
quickly, and have the strength and
the ce~a to block hard line drives.
.Besif IS IS things he must be able
to u s..ther underhand or over
hand & =. and be a hard, fast thrower.
A. short stop must be able to move
toward his right rapidly, start forward
quickly, and at the same time must
be able to move to his left, toward or
back Of second base, and recover
quickly after making stops in a neces-
sarily awkward position. Above all
things, he must be able to throw eth.
er underhead or overhead from any
position. An example Of the possibi!i.
ties in short stop acrobatics was .
nents by players. Many of the most
Ubiquitous laws in force resulted from
defensive action by the owners to
+ prevent the repetition of d~isgraceful
acts by players.
r Legally, the baseball player is a
slave held in bondage, but he is the
best treated, most pampered slave
of history, and while there are many
cases of oppression, the majority OF
the players received just and eGuit-
able treatment.
An expert in civil law, taking SO
decisions Of the national commission
as recorded in their W reports and
examining them, reported that, in his
Judgment, the national commission
had no Jurisdiction in %, exceeded its
powers in nine, made the law fit the
ease in six. while in three the com
mission decided against its own laws,
as set forth in the agreement. The
man who studied the cases knew moth
ing Of baseball except what appeared
in the commissions reports, and on
sidered the case from a legal stand
point.
The vast majority Of decisions, how
ever, were accepted without question
and recorded as final in baseball.
Players either submitted to the ruiz
ings or found other employment.
The National commission, while
laughable from a standpoint of civil
law, has proved effective, has safe
guarded the game in many ways, and
hoe corroctod many evils.
The national agreement. which is
the constitution of baseball, is one
of the most remarkable Of existing
legal codes. The first : remarkable
phase Of the constitution is found in
rule 20, which provides: These rules
may be changed at any time BY q ma
iority vote of the commission"
That one rule gave the national
commission the most absolute power
in all cases, without referendum even
to the club owners, made two men
supreme to enact laws to punish all
~offenses and to create ohenses for
which punishment might be inflicted.
The chief objection of players to the
high court of the game is that they
OolleVe TOO muCu pVWCl Aoo 0SS~
given to two men, both naturally In
fuenced in favor Of the employers.
Nor in baseball laws is it necessary
even for q player to sign 2 contract.
81 enter into any agreement to be-
Z come an asset Of 9 club. In the case
OF "A. AZ. O'Brien, Of the 1lion IN. "
club, the supreme court of baseball
ruled on the subject. O'Brien played
with Ilion, but refused to accept any
contract and, after playing for 2
time, left the club to attend to more.
profitable business. In spite Of that
fact, Ilion placed him under reserva-
ton, and accepted the draft price
from the Philadelphia Athletics =
payment for the player. The nation
al commission decided o'Brien be-
slonged to Ilion, that Philadelphia; had
the right to draft him. and barred
aosBrien from any voice in the matter.
n M "a Far az the records