Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-07-16
CHANCES FE W Err
Batsmen Nowadays Less IN
Danger of Being Winged
by Pitcher.
HAVE FOUND BETTER WAY
Work the Edge of the Plate Oftener
still Danger to Players Is
Great.

When Frank Chance, manager OF the
Chicago Nationals, was struck on the
head by a ball hurled by Pitcher Gas
per OF Cincinnati recently it recalled
the fact that many star baseball play
ers have lost their effectiveness through
being hit by thrown balls.
That more batsmen are not injured
by being hit by pitched balls speaks
well for the skill of the present day
pitcher. II the old days the pitcher
would not infreQuently let one go
straight at the batter's head in order
to drive him away from the plate.
Such a proceeding is rare nowadays.
Working the edges of the plate seems
TO have proved more effective. Never
theless the fire the batter faces is dam
gerous.
One OF the worst cases OF head hit
ting was that OF Hugh Jennings, now
manager of the Detroit club, by Amos
Rusie. Jennings, with Baltimore then,
was noted for his close hugging of
the plate and his willingness to &C
cept a base by being hit by the pitch
er. He relied upon his Quickness of
eye to minimize the effect of the blow.
Rusie had a wide, jumping curve ball.
Jennings was willing to turn his
shoulder, accept a DETECTING blow or
let 1t hit his shirt front or the slack
OF his knickerbockers. He could do
this with pitchers of average curve,
but Rusie's curve was too sharp in the
break and too fast for him to avoid.
Jennings stood close and got one full
In the head. He fell fat. For four
days his life was despaired of, but a
powerful constitution pulled him
through, though he never was the
same nervy man again at the plate,
and it was months before he could
play.
Marvel of vitality.
Jennings, by the way. is an extreme
~ durable person. While at Cornell
he dived face first against the concrete
bottom of an empty. swimming tank.
The man is a marvel OF vitality and
energy. He sustained two shocks that
would have killed the average man.
yet he is as full of energy today as
dynamo.
Roderick Wallace. the famous infeld-
er of the Browns. had his batting eff
cheney seriously and permanently i'm
paired twelve years ago when he was
hit IN the head by q ball thrown by
Chick Fraser, who was then with
the Louisville club. Wallace was
knocked fat, and it was many days
before he went to bat again. A con
stitutiOn Of iron enabled him to with
stand the shock, but he never was
quite the same hitter afterward.
Dan Hoffman, the center fielder of
the Browns. was the victim Of a fear
full blow at the hands Of Jesse Tame
hill, then with Boston. some years
ago. Hoffman was at the time deemed |
the most promising young player in |
the American league. He was having |
his first season. and a brilliant one 1t |
was. One day he made triple, dou- |
Bile and a single against Tannehill in |
three trips to the plate. The fourth |
time up Tannehill hit him a terrific |
blow over the right eye. It almost |
killed the trained and muscular young |
athlete. Hoffman lay as If dead, and |
It was four days before he recovered |
Then his nerves were
ruined. From ITO pounds he declined |
to 12S. He could not sleep or eat for
six months, and the following season
1e had to get along as best he could
with only one eye. Hoffman says that
{ has taken him six years to get back
MS full strength. He has never been
lble to hit left handed pitchers since
he day he was hurt Now, six years