New-York tribune., 1910-12-27
TIMELY BITS OF SPORT
Bench Batter for the Pitcher
Once More Brought Up.
A WAY TO IMPROVE HITTING
Few Twirlers Will Take Chances,
Says Elmer Bates, When
at the Bat.

!
Among the various suggestions which
have been made to improve batting in base
ball, the proposition to have a bench bats
man hit for the pitcher has been brought
| forward again by Elmer Bates. who writes
for THE Cleveland Leader He says:
There never was, IS not now and never
will be one bona fide legitimate argument
against the bench batsman; there are q
| dozen sound arguments In its favor.
| Now, It X well known that there are a
good many pitchers who freely admit that
| they do not try for long hits, as they dc
not wish to tire themselves out by running
| around the bases. The advent OF the bench
| batsman would put a quick stop to this
kind of performance.
Few twirlers can hit the ball with any
| effect even II they disposed. Few
more sorry spectacles are offered than that
of a pitcher at bat with the bases full, all
| the fans clamoring for hit, and some
great big healthy extra man sitting idly
on the bench.
| Almost every baseball team big and
| little, carries a lot of extra men nowadays.
i Many of them never get crack at the ball
except once In long while in the ninth
| inning Of game when they are sent up TO
! bat for somebody or other in the hope that
| they will produce the needed base hit.
with all these extra men on the bench
why should the pitcher bat at all? Ii base
: : hits are what the people want, why not
provide them in the easiest possioie way
by the adoption of this simple plan, that
involves no revolution in the game, such as
the three-balr or four-strike scheme
would necessarily bring about?
Another convincing argument In laVor
of the bench batsnlan rule is that It's adop-
ton would provide places for men not able
to go the pace on the bases or In the feid
hut still able to hit the ball There are
many such players in the land. to whom
the rule would be a veritable boon
.The club owners and rule makers are
struggling with a whole lot OF Visionary
schemes that If adopted, are likely 10 pro-
long the game, increase the nurlper Vi
bases on balls. give the batter back his
chance to foul Off fair balls ana Drins
about other undesirable results. Inc pehch
batsman and the modified foul strike RUE
would be sure to increase the hitting an
liyen up the game.
The nainless operation performed by the
majority of the owners of the American
League In separating the ST. Louis Browns
from their owner, Robert E. Hedges, has
brought to mind similar operation Which
was attempted on Andrew Freedman when
he owned the Giants some years ago. IL
seems that Freedmen was the one dis
cordant element in the National League,
and plans were formed to pry him loose
from the Giants. Uncle Az Spauid1n2
was the vessel chosen to do the dynamlt-
ing. Accordingly the latter announced to
the press one night that at 10 o'clock the
next morning he would be able to say that
Andy Freedman had retired from the Ma
tional League. About $50 o'clock on the
morning of the fatal day the lobby of the
Broadway Hotel, where the owners were
stopping was thrown into an uproar by
the appearance of Freedman, fanked by a
retinue, of legal luminaries and Tammany
politicians.
'Show him to me, Let me see him.
Where Is the man who is going to take my
club from me? Show him to me- yelled
Freedman
Spau1ding had discreetly retired, and the
other owners hastened to assure Andy that
no one had fell designs upon his beloved
Giants.
When the season of 1911 opens 1t is likely
that Billy Sullivan. of Chicago. will be the
only catcher of the American League who
has been in harness In the circuit since 1902
At the opening of last season only three
catchers We're among the crop of 1902 They
were Billy Sullivan, of Chicago: Harry
Bemis, of the Maps, and Lou Criger. of
New York. Sullivan had played continu-
ously with the White Sox, as Bemis had
with Cleveland, but Criger had shifted
from Boston to ST Louis to the Yankees
Bemis has already been released to Co
lumbus. while the bell is about to ring for
Criger
President John T. Taylor intends to do his
best by the Red Sox when he takes them
on their long journey across the continent
for the extensive schedule of preliminary
games which has been arranged.
The party is expected to number nearly
one hundred, the squad being supplemented
by number of Bostons most rabid fans
and some baseball writer's. The Twentieth
Century Limited will be good enough far
as Chicago. where the Red Sox special will
be made up. The team will travel in lux
urious private cars for the rest of their
journey, which will cover thousands of
miles before it arrives back in Boston.
Owen Moran of England. announced In
Pittsburg yesterday that he had received
by telegraph an offer of si5,00O from Hugh
Mcintosh, the Australian fight promoter
for fight. between him and Ad Wolgast,
the lightweight champion. In London at a
ate in the near future. Moran expressed
his acceptance to the proposal.
Wolgast's attitude is not known here, but
he has promised to meet Moran under con-
ditions that will give him at least s12, 500
Of the purse offered.
Packey Mcfarland. the Chicago light
weight. has sent word that he will meet the
winner of the Charley Griffin Young Ahearn
tout, when he comes TO this city the first
week of the new year. Mcfarland proba-
bly, will engage in three bouts here and
either Ahearn or Griffin will be his first
opponent.
Griffin and Ahearn clash in ten-round
bout at the Brooklyn Bench Athletic Club |
in Brooklyn. on Thursday night. Both boys
have been boxing with great success OF
late. Ahearn has yet to be beaten while |
Griffin only last week outpointed Wilt. |
Beecher
Jesse Remer Westagaard, OF Dss Moines, |
has signed agreement to wrestle a sec |
ond match with George Hackenschmdt at |
Omaha, on January 8. The Russian lion
agrees TO throw Westagaard twice within |