The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-09-20
PUNISH PITCHERS
WHO HIT BATTER I
Penalty Should Be Imposed on Twirler
for Such an 0ffense-Give Bats
men Three Bases.

men Three Bases.
Many close students OF baseball are
Of the opinion that the penalty impos-
ed on pitchers for hitting batsmen is
altogether too light 1t Is suggested
that the batter who Is hit by a pitcher
should be allowed to take more than
one base. Some suggest that IL tine
or suspension was imposed on a pitch
er every time he hit batter there
would probably be a decided decrease
In the hit by pitcher" part OF the
tabulated scores.
Ii Is argued there Is no satisfaction
/ IN awarding first base when a team
may lose the services for weeks 81 one
! were allowed to take second or thru
base instead Of FIRST there would be
fewer wild inshoots and fewer men
struck. Pitchers then would be com
PEELED TO use a little more discretion
and so many balls would not shoot by
within sixteenth Of an inch Of a
players head II the pitcher found
that by hitting a man he gave that
player third base and stood IN jeop-
ardy Of giving the opposing team a
score be would soon change his tac-
tics.
Some may argue that certain play
ers would walk into the BAH and take
chance Of getting hit II third base
were the penalty. but the umpire usu-
ally can decide this point. No man is
going to walk into a swiftly thrown
bah If he can help himself. and those
who tried TO bump into a foater would
not be able to get their point.
Pitchers. as a rule, do not Intention
ally try 70 bit or cripple a batsman.
although there have been cases where
strong suspicion was raised by twirl-
er's wild heaves. A case In point
arose during the first game Of dou-
Bile header played ID New York last
June between the Highlanders and the
Athletics. Russell Ford was pitching
for New York and Cy Morgan for the
Quakers. Twice Morgan pitched the
ball directly at Ford's head The sec
ond effort grazed the peak of Fcrd'a
cap. He was allowed to take FIRST
base, but be was so completely I'M
neryed that the Athletics knocked him
out Of the box in the next inning.
II was said at the time, after the
awful howl Connie Mack set up last
fall when ny Cobb spiked Jack Barry,
that the manager Of the Athletes was
somewhat inconsistent in allowing such
tactics.
Through being bit by pitched baIla
some of the best batsmen In the game
fell Off in their stick work for months.
and some never got back to their orig
inal form. Hughey jennings and Billy
Lauder are In the list. Freddie Parent
was never again as good as before he
was hit by a pitched ball. Danny
Hoffman was winged by Jesse Tenne-
hill, almost killed, and has never since
been able to face with any confidence
a left hand pitcher. Birdie Cree Of the
New York Americans was put on the |
injured list for a long time through |
the same cause.
Walter Johnson. the speed merchant
Of the washington club. has a record
for this seeming wildness that some
times looks Intentional He put Harry
Lord, the Boston captain, out OF husi-
ness for awhile.
Big league pitchers admit that they
use beam on dangerous batsmen IN
order to drive them away from the
plate. Fans can see for themselves
that often when the pitcher is in hole
and good batter up the twirler viii
send the bah as close TO the batsman
as Is possible TO deliver It. His fnten-
tion is to shake the confidence Of the
hitter and make him back away. He
figures that the next couple of balls be
can curve over and get the batsman IN
a hole. Sometimes the FIRST ball comes
too fast for the batsman to get out OF
the way aud be il laid ont.