The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-04-22
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WOULD RESTRICT PITCHER
FOR SAKE OF The BATTER
Sporting Writer Believes Game
Would be Improved for
Fans Thereby
HE MUST EXERCISE JUDGMENT

1t might be well to go back to the
old pitching rule in baseball, COM
nents the Detroit Journal.
baseball rules need doctoring so
that IT can never be possible for the
pitcher To gain n complete mastery
over the batsman. No-hit games &c
games in which there is very little
hitting are not the ones that excite
enthusiasm i'm the rank and file IF
baseball patrons, even when 1t Is the
hcmc pitcher that is so exceptionally
effective, and almost every spectator
bcmoans the fact when IL Ia the
pitcher Of the opposing team that Is
moving down the batsmen. OF
course, il will not do to go back TO
the days of straight pitching,
when scores of cricket-lke proper
TONS were common. or TO do any
thing that Is very radical, for base
ball is too good a game to endanger
by unwlse legislation. But some
thing should be done To relieve the
present situation and decrease the
or VINO can go through a full nine
inning game without having so much
as one safe hit made off his delivery
is enjoying entirely too many privi-
icges, and some of his advantages
should be taken away flom HIM
Give the batsmen n show. for batting
is the life of the game. Lack of
batting means less and possibly no
brilliant fielding and ~ turally less
daring base running. I'm fact every
thing that makes baseball the fascir'
a,ing game 1t is disappears when
the players fail to hit the ball. The
spectators cannot enthuse, no matt
how willing they ,fe to do So W.
less there Is a fair amount of stick
work.
1t will take some experimenting in
order to decide upon the best method
OF handicapping the pitcher without
destroying his effectiveness, but there
is no doubt that the proper thing to
be done can be worked out once at
tention is turned in that direction.
Some think that a slight increase
in the size of the ball would brine
about the desired results. Others
suggest an increase i'm the pitching
distance. while giving n batsman his
base on three instead of four called
balls is another ihandicap suggestion
the theory being that pitchers In or
der to avoid giving bases on balls
would pitch more straight ones. How
ever. all Of these suggestions seem
more radical than the plan of COM
pelling pitchers to return to the old
rule of delivering n high or low BAH
at the request OF the batsman. Some
batsmen who cannot hit high ball
can "kill" low one and vice versa
The successful pitchers soon learn
peculiarities of each individual bats
man and act accordingly, pitching
high balls to the men who like low
ores and low ones to the high ball
hitters. Were they compelled to give
the batsman the sort OF ball he asks
for the hitting would be increased ma
terially and shut-out and no-hl'
games would he less frequent. Nat
uraly such a change would entai'
more work for the umpire. for the
exact height of fast drop ball close
TO the waist line might often be diff
cult to judge. but the verict OF the
umpire would settle the matter SO
far az the batsman goes, inst as 90 al
his decisions now. and with strict
enforcement Of the "no-kicking" rule
the hieh and low ball proposition
would make no difference in the an
.pearance Of the game. A high bali
would have to pass over the plate no
higher than the shoulder and no low
or than the waist of the batsman, while
the limit of the low ball territory
would be between the waist and the
knee. When pitchers worked under
these rules they had a greater leeway
in the matter Of called balls than
now, but they seem to be skiiltui
enough these days to be made to i've
up to present rules with this one ad-
dit,onal handicap. The "hingers'
would still have their drops, curves
and shoots to work at will, ana IL
is probable that In some instances
their effectiveness would be as mark
ed as under the present rules. But
taken all the way through. the bats
man would fare better than now. and
as n result there would be more hit
TING. The high and low ball idea
seems worth n trial at least.