The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-12-12
BY GEORGE IT DEWITT.
Editor who's Who IN Baseball

In proportion as batting has declined
through the Improvement of pitching,
base stealing has grown in the esteem Of
both players and fans" When scores
were up IN the hundreds, as they often
were in the early days, there was no need
10 steal bases. The batter made all the
base running for the players that any OF
them wanted. and then some. Just think
Of the score Of 202 to 26, which stands as
the highest score ever made The Niagara
Club, Of Buffalo. in 1851, took visiting
nine into camp one day and did that to
them. In making the 202 runs. the win
ming team ran a total distance Of thirteen
and three-duarter miles of scoHed runs.
Under such conditions. no one thought
of stealing any when about as many as
any player cared TO run in a game were
forced on him by the sluggers Of the day.
Fine Art in the SOS.
batter, and the pitcher came to be more
favored. scores grew steadily lower, and
then base stealing and fast base running
rapidly developed. Il was in 1883 that
Harry Stovey stole the greatest number
OF bases ever purloined by any player IN
the major leagues That number is re-
corded as 156 while he was playing with
the Athletics OF the old American Asso-
citation. These were made against pitch
ers like Terry Foutz MuIlane. Elmer
Smith. Kilroy, Chamberlain, and Hecker.
while Carruthers. Holbert, BushOng, Sny-
der, thinner, KEENAN,. Baldwin, Boyle.
and Cook We're behind the bat. The next
year Billy Hamilton began his great
base-stealing career. and led with III,
while StOvey led in runs, with I54 Tier
nan. in the National League, led in runs,
with l46, in 1889, and Fogarty stole 80 a
figure Hamilton just equaIed as the lead
ing steaIer in the National League in
1855. John. NJ. Ward led in the league in
1893. with =.
Early Stealers and Base Runners.
From 1882. for three or four years.
always managed to acquire between O.
and so a season In these years Gore.
with 80 runs; Hornung, with los, and old
king Kel. or Nj. J. Kelly, in 1855 scored
the dig record of making 196 runs from
l24 base hits. Kelly was with Chicago
that year. and his s. steals helped him
TO make that record. Chicago had many
good base stealeTs that year, fOT there
were Arson, with s. only second TO
Brouthers, who led with "a; Kelly, with
s.: Gore with 63; Williams, with 40;
Pfefer. with 80, and DalrympIe, with a.
That was six out of the leading ten steal
ers for 1885.
Later Day Fast Men on Bases.
During several seasons in the sos base
stealing declined, because the balk rule
was not well enforced. Many years saw
this regulation flagrantly violated by the
pitcher and unnotieed by the umpire It
was no doubt hard for the umpires from
his station to detect violations at all
times, but the howl that went up soon
brought about greater vigilance that was
followed by some high figures, though
they have never reached the old-time
It was in 1894 that Billy" Hamilton
made his big record of f193 runs and 80
steals. Hughie Duhie had led in 1898 with
l4s runs, and ]. NJ Ward with Y steals
In 1885 Hamilton led in runs with 1866 and
steals with So He was a great example
of the fact that base stealing means run
getting The same has been proved down
through the last ten years by both Wag-
ner and Cobb. In 1909 Cobb led both
stealers and run getters in the American
League, with 11e runs and &c steals. Wag-
ner has always been a big base stealer,
for he has led the National League steal |
ers four times-l90l with As, 1902 with 4S.
1907 with 81. and 1908 with IS, and the
years in which he did not lead he was
wei up. He has been among the first
ten in every year of his connection with
league bali. He has not only led run
getters twice, but has been among the
first ten always. He has never made |
fewer than ninety runs in any of the last
ten years, and on FIVE Of these he was
100 or better.
The Base SteHIer Is the Run Gefter.
1t is not alone among the leaders in
run getting that the great effect of base
stealing on the score is to be seen. II is
much more conspicuous among some of
the lower players. All the way down
he list there appears the truth of the
maxim; Take care OF the stolen bases
and the runs viii take care of them
selves" The value of base stealing is
well seen in the case of Laiole, who has
never been a stealer Since 1904 he has
never been among the first ten, and 81
vas his highest before that. With his |
high batting record. ne might reasonably |
be expected TO be the foremost run get
Ter. There Is no doubt that he would be
Z he could steal bases. In the past ten
years. including 1870 iI.ajoie made SO4
runs, while Wagner made 996. almost 200
more than T,9fo and the figtrrcc include