The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-15
CHANCE AWARDS MATHEWSON
TITLE OF BEST TWIRLER
BY {. T.. VAN LOAN

New York, May 14-There are about
20 young men who put in a busy spring
and summer with an eye toward horning
into Mr. spalding's excellent little en-
cyciopaedia with something like 800
against their names in the column set
apart for the batting averages.
Opposed to this bunch we have 100
equally strong and earnest young athletes
who work fully as hard to bump the hit
tiers down as close othe 900 mark as
possible. These are the pitchers of the
two big leagues
The baseball pitcher is an important
cog in the baseball machine, considering
him from any angle you like. A crack
ing good pitcher is worth his weight in
gold to a big league team. How much
money would it take to buy Christy
Mathewson from the Giants? What il
the market quotation of Mordecai Brown
J. Pierpont Morgan might buy these men,
but no pikers need apply; they are abb
solutely and literally worth their weight
in gold
Nearly every team in the big league
has a star pitcher; of these stars a few
and on the baseball skyline there is one
young blonde gentleman, freely admitted
to be the best in the business.
| asked Frank Chance one day to name
the best pitcher of the present day. l was
prepared to hear him mention Mordecai
Brown.
THAT big Mathewson" said Frank,
without an instant's hesitation. He s
the best what is
Christy Mathewson is indeed a remark
able athlete He had the luck to fill
when he drew to physique and brains.
There are few pitchers in the big leagues
who haven't the speed and the curves
they used to have, but they retain their
control of the ball and they have, as a
stock in trade, an intimate knowledge OF
the weakness of every hitter who faces
them. They get away with it, because
they mix brains with their limited ability
and win over younger men who have
speed and curves to burn.
Once in long, long time there comes
ptcher who has everything speed,
curves, control and knowledge of his op
ponents. Mathewson is such a pitcher
He has great physical strength, fine
assortment of curves, including tina
heart-breaker, the "fadeaway" for which
there seems to be no antdote, and with
all this a knowledge of the weak spot.
of hitters which enables him to feed
man the very thing which he cannot use
Mathewson has been up there a Ions
time. He was a great pitcher before thu
Illness which came near putting him gu
of baseball for good. While he was re
I cuperating from that Illness he expert
4 simented with new series of curves which
J might be delivered with as slight ia,
I on his strength as possible. He discov
cred the "fadeaway." and he is the onl!
man in the world who can make use o
this peculiar drop 1t is now his trad
mark. Lots of fellows know how h,
throws 1t; they know how to go through
the motions, but when it comes to whip
ping the tips of their fingers over tn
cover of the ball in order to make it foa
up and fall dead in front of the plate
they have to pass out. The "fadeaway'
belongs to Mathewson and he will neve
have to have that delivery patented
Matty is the big gun of the Giant bat
terry They shoot him in when they nee
q game and the confidence which this b
chap inspires sends the New Workers GU
{ like champions. Last year the Giant
did not hit save in streaks Mathewso
pitched just as we'll as though his team
mates were tearing the cover off the ba