Perth Amboy evening news., 1910-09-01
BATTERY MOST
ESSENTIAL NOW
Seems TO Be the Greatest
Factor In the Game
of Baseball.
RECORDS INDICATE THIS

When the original designers of a
baseball diamond made the distance
between the bases ninety feet they
put<a problem up to the coming gen
erations that for forty years has pug
zled the brains of the greatest stu
dents of the national game. And IT
appears that these men have about
reached the limit of their genius,
despite the fact that Charles Ebbets
says the game Is still In its infancy.
The pioneers In the game OF base
ball little knew on what fine lines
they were figuring when they fixed
the distance between the bases. The
distance was based on their calcula-
tons as to how long 1t would take a
batted ball to be 1eIded and thrown
to first bese> The speed Of the run
ner was also taken into constdera-
ton, The accuracy Of their ~calcula-
tons Ia proved by the fact that they
the first game was played by the old
Kntckerbockers on the greens
around New York.
AS the unners developed in speed
the fielding developed with them,
and the bone OF contentton-ninety
feet-is yet beyond the possession
OF either party to the struggle.
Every year some inventive genius
discovers a move by which either
! distance or speed can be oercome,
but as fast as they execute their plan
the other side formuiates a plan of
defense and Offsets it. While first
base Is the initial objective point Of
all baseball endeavor, it is merely
the basis for future calculations.
The showing Of men around the
bases is what tangles the brains of
the thinkers The sacrifice hit was
first invented to advance a man even
ct the cost Of putting a mar out. but
the defensive side Of the game came
right back with schemes TO kill the
sacrifice.
The players have become so accu-
rate in making everyday plays that
the thinker can calculate accuracy on
Just what they are going to do I'M
der ordinary circumstances. He
then sets about to create an extraor-
binary circumstance, which as a rule
Is effective until 1t becomes no long
err extraordinary through familiarity
with its workings.
During the last twenty years the
game has brought out many beniuses
Those who stand out prominently are
John McGraw, Johnny Evers. Fred
Clarke. Frank Chance, Tommy
Leach. Hughes Jennings. Ty Cobb.
Connie Mack, Joe McGtnnity, Jack
Dunn and Sammy Strang.
The latter three ar eout Of the big
leagues now, but SONS OF the plays
they palnned and executed will be
remembered foS many years to come.
Sammy Strang is generally credited
with having originated the delayed
steal" which is NE OF the prettiest
! plays In the game. The delayed
steal, when once worked by a single
, base runner. opened the way for
many variations.
McGtnnity and Dunn invented the
| play for killing a sacrifice from sec
ond. That was many years ago, but
it Ia still used with good results
As a matter OF fact. there have
beer very few new plays during the
lest ten years. most OF them being
| merely variations OF an old one. StIll.
1t Is interesting to watch the gradual
| development to what now looks to US
like perfection.
After all. the scientific perfection
OF base running Will only lead to
one thing. The teams Will become
so evenly balanced In the art that
the winning strength viii fall back
on the old proposition as to which
has the best batters. Batting is the
milk Of the baseball cocoanut.