Omaha daily bee., 1910-07-03
BASE STEALING ON DECLINE
It IL Well Known Fact and Good Rea.
sons Are Offered.
STEALING EASIER OF OLD
Players Were Credited with steal
Even when Dsll Was nit In old
Days and Absence of tho
BiE lIitt Helped.

NEW YORK. July 2--The decline az
base running in base bali has been much
bemoaned Base running has been do
Dcribed as a rapidly vanishing are and all
that That ball players nowadays dJnt
steal a. many bases as they used to
twenty years ago is a plain. bald fact,
but that doesn't necessarily mean that
base running has suffered to the detri-
ment OF the game. On the contrary, base
ball h a moro scientific and interesting
game now than when many more bases
were stolen The high development OF
team work-whioh IL one reason why so
many bases aren't stolen; the hit ard
run play, for instance--has improved the
game as q game. even II doing away with
some individuality and initiative by In
dlvidual players on the bases.
Base runners are as fast as they ever
were; there are Just as many OF them
and they run with Just as good judgment
Aren't Cobb and Collins and Bescher fully
as good as were hamilton. stovey and
Fogarty? Or to put It in another way,
wouldn't they steal just az many bases
II the same conditions obtained9
Aside from the subordination Of the in
dividual to the team there are excellent
tchhOn1 why LeWoI uh5tb aNO bNOACh IA
the present era OF the national game. For
one thing. there IL a big difference in the
way stolen bases are scored. Once upon
a. time all player had to do was 10
start for the next base with the pitch and
he got credit for steal. II he got there,
no matter what happened to the pitched
ball. II the ball was hit he got his steal
just the same The present rules prohibit
crediting q man with a steal II he gets
TO the next base aided by q batted ball,
and that Ia itself makes a difference
But q potent influence in reducing the
number OF stolen bases, and one often
overlooked In discussing the question, Is
the advent Of the big catcher's mitt Prior
TO 1880 there were many more stolen bases
thanslater. The big mitt began to be used
first In 1883, but was not generally adopted
Until later Arthur Irwin was the man
who originated It and his first experiment
consisted of putting a single piece OF
leather over the palm of an ordinary
fielder's glove. Out of this grew the
present big glove. Irwin experimental
with the glove through the medium of
Tom Daily. then with Washington. and
Pat Murphy. then with the Giants and
now policeman In Worcester.
Influence of Mitt.
And what difference did the big mitt
make on base stealing7 Just this: 1t saves
valuable time In the catcher getting his
throw away. When catchers used the
small fingered glove their hands had to
give when taking pitch. The yield of the
hands to swiftly pitched balls meant that
just SO much time was lost In launching
the throw, valuable time and big help
to the base runner. Also there were more
passed balls then. But with the huge thick
padded glove there Is practically no give.
The big cushion held out in front serves
as a pocket In which the pitched ball stops
dead. and the catcher simply picks out the
ball with his other hand and makes his
throw. The fraction of time thus saved
has been the main reason why base steal
ing has fallen OFF,
In 1887, Ward stole Ill bases, Fogarty 1O2
and Kelly elghty-four. and there were five
others who stole over fifty bases, all in
fewer games that now constitute a season.
an 1889 stovey stole Ills bases, OBrien 1903.
Hamilton III. Long ninty-one. Welch 90,
and thirteen others stole over fifty each
Records of the present show such whole
sale quantities of steals. The record for
1908 shows that Cobb stole forty and Con-
roy and Flick forty-one each. In 1907, Wag-
ner stole fifty-three. Chance fifty-seyen
Devlln fifty-four and Magee fifty-five, they
being the leaders But in 1909 there seems
to have been an Improvement in the Ameri-
can league at least, Cobb stealing seventy
six, Collins sixty-seven and Bush fifty
three.
Present Rules stringent.
The 1907 guide contains this brief rule for
stolen bases; "A stolen base shall be
Ao haa he
advances a base unaided by base hit, a
put out, q fielding OF a battery error" In
the last two seasons the rule has been
changed to permit runner getting credit
for steal on battery error provided he
makes his start prior to the battery error.
1t may be that Cobb and Collins have been
alert to take advantages OF that change,
but there has been no corresponding in
crease in steals In tho last two years by
National league base runners. One trouble
always has been lack OF uniformity In scor-
ing stolen bases.
1t was once the custom to give credit for
q steal whom q runner overran q base and
was put out. Tho rule provided steal In
such case. stir that play didn't happen
often and effects the point at issue but
little. Too much latitude on the part
OF some scorers always has existed. par
ticuiariy in crediting steal on palpabie
inuff by tho man taking the throw. The
chief reason. however. for fewer stolen
bases are these: The big glove, the wide
uso OF the hit and run play and. partly
In connection with the latter, not giving
a steal when tho runner Is aided by a
batted ball. Tho rule In vogue in $780,
allowed for q steal oven when the ball
was muffed by the fielder. There was
nothing IN that rule prohibiting the scor'
ing OF steal when aided by a batted ball.
The latitude allowed by that rule, more
or less laxity In scoring and the mat
tress mitt have cut down stolen oaseA