The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-11
Anecdotes and Incidents Of
Decisive Struggles on the
Diamond; Signs and Systems
Used by Championship Teams.

toward third base and threw TO the
bascman. The base runner diyed back
TO third. but the third basemaD threw
to the second baseman and the runner
going from first TO second was caught
| twenty feet.
:Well, by George calculated Cal
lahon and went on his way thinking
That afternoon Callahan worked the
| boy S trick against pair Of experienced
base-runners. and within week half
| the teams in America were using it,
and driving umpires TO distraction try
ing 10 decide whether the motion was
balk or not.
| Pittsburg. about 1894, used a play
something like that 10 stop the double
steal. and also with runners on second
and third bases. The pitcher delivered
the ball to the catcher who apparently
tried to catch the runner off third by
throwing sharply to Leach. who in turn
would relay the ball to Ritchey at sec
ond as soon as it touched his hands.
Many times the unsuspecting runner
was caught at second, standing still, in
tent]y watching the play at third. Tho
play has been made from the catcher
TO the first baseman to the shortstor
with some success.
In 1895 clubs worked the double steal
against the Chicago Nationals so often
that a meeting Of the iuficlders was
held to devise a scheme to stop 1t. So
when runners were on first md second
and a steal was suspected, King threw
| TO second instead OF TO third. and half
the time the runner who was trailing
was caught watching the play at third
Tinker and Evers plotted a play g
few years ago that caught many mer
and furnished the spectators much Joy
When hit-and-run play is attempted
and the batter hits a fy to the out
field, the base runner hearing the cracl
of the bat, must Judge from action:
of the felders in front of him what ha:
happened. When such a situation came
mp Tinker and Evers went through al
the motions of trying 10 stop a ground
er, or diving after hit. The runner
would fear being forced out at seconc
and tear along under the impression
the ball had gone through the infield
Sometimes he would be nearly TO thir(
base before the outfeder, catching thu
ball, would toss it to the first basemaI
and complcte the double play Sher
wood Magee was CAUGHT three times il
one season on the play. and finally IL
Philadelphia the Cubs tried it again
Mlageei, not to be caught again. ,gays,
first, whereupon Schultz dropped th,
ball. threw it to second. and Tinke
fred it back TO first, completing th
double play.
The "blufr bunt.'' aimed to pull de
/; fensive in6elders out of position, ba
resulted in variety of plays, all basec
on the same principle. Possibly tn
cleverest variation is the "bluff bunt
used as a substitute for the sacrifc
) hit to advance runners, especially from
second to third base. The play wa
used sporadically for a number Of sea
sons, but it remained for the Chicag
Cubs to add it to their repertoire an
use it scientifically After they ha
, demonstrated its possibilities it sud
/ denly came into general use. The mos
, successful use of the play is when til
, situation seems to call for a sacriic
: bunt under all the accepted rules Of tn
: game. With runners on second an
, first, or on second with none out, tn