The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1910-07-28

makers from the first have found II
necessary to legislate to handicap the
pitcher to prevent him from becoming
absolute master of the game. In spite
Of the rules the pitchers have by per
sistent work and thought kept in ad.
vance Of the progress of the national
sport.
Involving the study Of wind pres
sures. dynamics, physics, and mathe-
matics, In addition to the principles
of the game itself, pitching is an art
demanding closest attention at every
instant, the concentration of every en-.
ergy upon the game, so much so that
in almost every game the pitchers lose
all track OF the number of innings
played. of the score itself, forget the
crowd, and neither hear the cheers
nor Kisses, because their minds are
so focused on the batters.
Pitchers use, primarily. two kinds Of
pitches, the straight one" and the
curve. They are the basis Of all pitch.
ing, but there are all kinds OF
straight" balls and as many varieties
of curve as there are pitchers. The ma
jority OF pitchers begin their careers
with no other varieties than speed and
a curve, and the strength Of youthful
arms to win success. The straight"
ball is a misnomer, for there is only
one kind of a ball pitcher cannot
throw and that is a straight" one. az
every ball curves. regardless Of the
will Of the pitcher. 1t Is the study
and development of these curves that
makes great pitchers.
The fast ball is sheer speed, its sue
cess depending entirely upon Its We
locity and the control the pitcher has
Of It. II is pitched with the sphere
gripped with the thumb underneath
and the first two fingers on top, and
Is thrown either underhand or over
hand with full force. Pitched directly
overland, with the fingers held direct
ly on top, the ball goes as straight to
the plate as It is possible to make 1t
60. the speed and the downward angle
unless II comes In "the groove" which
is the natural angle. Pitched with the
hand held sideways, the ball, taking
friction from the finger tips, swerves
slightly from It's course and breaks in
toward right handed batter. If the
ball is gripped tightly with the finger
tips at the moment It is released from
air in front of 1t, and at some point be-
fore crossing the plate, the air re-
sistance becomes so great that the
ball Jumps" an inch or more upward
or in the direction the greatest
amount Of pressure of the fingers was
applied.
The curve is a ball held exactly in
is gripped, but the ball is released over
the side and end of the first finger.
The amount OF curve or shoot depends
upon the manner and strength Of the
hand and the way in which the wrist
is turned at the moment of release, as
well as upon the amount of power ap-
piled by the pitcher.
These are the elementary principles
of pitching so well understood
that every school boy knows them.
They are the beginning of the won
ders Of baseball pitching. After them
come the change Of pace. the slow
ball, the spit ball." the "knuckle
ball." the "fade-away," score Of
curves and varieties of curves, and
to tell how these things are done 1t is
necessary to tell who does them, and
how.
Cy Young and kid" Nichols were
the leading pitchers of fast balls. al
though both used curves while de-
pending upon the straight" one for
their greatest success. They pitched
the ball alike, throwing directly over
hand, with the hand held as straight
as possible and. at the instant of re-
leasing the ball each gripped II tight
ly with the finger tips and loosely
with the thumb. The finger pressure
increased the speed of the natural
revolution of the ball and caused 1t to
Jump more.
The curve pitchers are a host. Ev-
cry one has different curve, faster,
sharper, slower. with heavier twist, or
some individual popularity to distin.
gush II. The first curves pitched were
of the variety now known as the
barrel hoop" 1t was a slow curve
pitched underhand. with the hand
swung nearly to the level of the knee
fingers downward and hand held al
most at right angles with the wrist
AS the hand was swung the wrist was
1erked sharply and the ball, sliding
OFF the first finger, revolved rapidly
and the air pressure on one side OF
the sphere and the partial vacuum on
the other caused by the rotation
forced the ball to move in slow wide
arc. All curves are developments OF
the barrel hoop" the same principle
entering into each, whether 1t Is Nor
decai Browns marvellous "hook'
curve. George Mullins meteoric shoot
or the wonderful curves of Camnitz
Overall. Wiltse, Krause. Adams. Fer
guson and others.
Browns hook" curve is the high
est present development of the fas
overland curve pitch which breaks
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