The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-09
SECOND
$50 By John ]. Evers Hugh S. Fullerton All rights .

as good a man as Hamilton, Lnnce,
keeler or Harry Stovey: that Cbance
Fred Clarke, Wagner, Bush or Collins
could run bases with the best of the
old-timers. Yet Stovey stole 1856 bases
one season, Hamilton 1l5 in one wear
1o2 another and nearly 100 two oother, oIhn,
seasons, while Cobb stole rs during
1909 and was considered wonderful.
There are reasons for the elimination
of base. stealing from the run.pettino
tactics of modern teams; more reasons
than one. In the old days the motto
OF every manager was "run and keep
running; make the other fellow throw. :,
II was baseball adage in those times
that any team that could keen the
opposing team throwing the ball around
would win. As a matter of fact, the
modern manager recognizes the same
thing. He knows that if lac can make
he other. team throw. it is only oues.
tlon of time until they throw away the
game, Why, then, does he not carry
out his theoryG
The first and greatest cause for the
degeneration of the art of sprintine
and hitting the dirt' is that in modern
baseball, moro and more every wear.
individual effort is being sacrificed to
team work. Team work, in many re.
spects, has been overdone, and there
Rre scores of players today who will
X
or attempt steal unless signaled so
to do from the bench or by the bat.
ter. The modern ball player has been
so trained to team work that only a
few with brain and daring pull off the
brilliant individual feats that are neccs.
sary. to win pennants, no matter how
much team work there is.
A player reaches first base, looks at
the batter for a hit-and-run signal,
lnnL
to see If signal 20 steal has been
flashed from the bench, takes his lead,
watches the batter. and anchors him.
self. Two balls and 70 strikes are
pitched; he looks again for the signals
Failing to get Shem, he knows the bat
Ter is going to take a strike, and an
chors himself again-afraid TO risk the
displeassure. of the manager by stealing.
Even should the pitcher carelessly per
nit him to get big running start, he
trots back to first base, perhaps slides
back az hard rs he would have had to
slide to second, He catches hit.and-
run signal on the next ball. takes his
lead, gets his start The pitcher and
catcher know as well as he does that
the stage of the game calls for an at
tempt to run and hit; the pitcher
pitches fast and out; the catcher takes
the ball perfectly, throws, and even
If the runner is speedy man he is
out by at least three feet. The pitcher
and catcher did the thinking, the base
runner used stereotyped "team ball'
and was caught.
Another cause for the decline in base
running is the vast improvement of
age pitcher of today holds the runners
10 the bases much more carefully than
did those of fifteen years ago. There
are exceptions on both sides. Kilroy,
Griffith, O Day, Red Ehret. Brieten-
stein and others of the old school held
them close, while today there are some
who allow running start. The ball6
rule handicaps the modern pitcher
somewhat. but the chief Improvement
jim watching runners is the result of
constant training and practicing
Still there are few pitchers who do
not give the runner at least one good
chance to steal. At least once in every
five pitched balls, no matter how close
ly pitcher may watch, his mind is
diverted and he leaves an opening
which a quick thinking runner may use
TO gain flying start.
The hit-and.run and the bunt.and-
run games, of course, reduce the mum
ber of opportunities to steal. Ty Cobb
was on first base about 80 times in
1909 and stole only 76 bases. He had
SO chances to steal second, perhaps
200 chances to steal third and nearly
$50 chances TO steal home, as he scored
80 times. The records show he stole
second 80 times, third q time and
home three times. Yet he is the most
daring base runner OF modern times,
How often attempted hltand-run plays
or third outs prevented an effort to
steal is not recorded.
Cobb is one Of the rare players who
can play "inside ball and individual
ball at the same time He is brilliant,