The Washington herald., 1910-12-04

Ringgold W. I.ardner, OF the Chicago
Tribune. one OF the best baseball writers
IN the Windy City, has resigned 10 accept
the place as editor Of Sporting News. in
ST. Louis. vacated by Joe Cummings. The
owners of Sporting News have made
ten-strike in securing Lardner Not only
Is he a prince of good fellows, but an au-
thoritv on baseball-safe. sane. and full
of ginger withaI Rims" ought to bright
en- up that sheet in splendid shape and
make il even more readable than
hitherto.
Socks" Seybold. the former bulky out
fielder of the Athletics, discovered Joe
Jackson, the coming star of the Cleve-
land outfield. Socks" unearthed the phe-
nom while he was scouting for a pitcher
in the South during the season when he
was carrying a broken ankle around as a
souvenir Connie Mack signed the new
man, but he would not stay. for he
jumped the team and went back home
because ne was afraid Of being run over
/ by the cars in the big cities
Larry Lejeune. first baseman for the
Evansville baseball team in the Central
League last season. and who was drafted
at the close of the season by the Brook
/ lyn team, says he does not Ike the terms
of the Brooklyn management and that he
WIFI probably not plav league ball next
/ year, Let's see. Where have We heard
this before?
Three propositions calculated to in
crease batting viii. so IL is said. be con-
] hFnff ion Al
League club owners at their winter meet
ings. soon TO be held They are:
/. Instead of calling the first two fouls
strikes. call but one strike. and permit
| the batter TO foul the ball as often as he
pleases after the first strike
. Limit the number of called balls to
| three.
3. Increase the number of strikes to
/ four. but retain the present rule which
provides that the first two fouls shall be
called strikes
There will surely he a lusty cutlery
against the proposed change in the foul
strike rule. Hughey Jennings said not
! long ago that the foul-strike rule had
/ stopped a lot Of fOolishness-- meaning. of
| course, the fouing off of balls not TO the
batter's liking-and that II was now the
J
"If any change Is TO be made i'm the
/ foul-strike regulation. Ii should be a
! modification of the rule, excluding from
its provisions foul drives to the 0utffeld
or over the fence that are, say, not more
1 than three yards outside OF fair terri
terry. said Jennings.
/ There is lot of sentiment in favor of
giving the proposed rule limiting the
number of called balls TO three a trial.
Nearly every baseball manager and play
! or with whom the Little Old Man talked
on this subject last season believed this
rule should be adopted. but Professionally.
Il think We should try the three-ball
plan" said Manager Mack, of the Ath-
/ letics, but there should he a string tied
| to the rule so that we can haul 1t in If.
as many people fear, il will result In a
great many bases on balls.
THE three-ball idea sounds more Ike
an answer to the cry for more hitting
1 than anything else that has been sug-
| gested," said Manager Duffy of the
/ White Sex. 1T will prove whether the
! pitchers can really get the ball across
/ the plate at certain times when they APP
pear to be wild. but when many believe
/ they are only trying TO work the bat
| ter
Increasing the number Of strikes to
-four is another rule with many advo-
Gates, for the reason that IL would give
| batters two swings at the ball after hav-
/ ing made tive foul strikes. Such a rule
would prevent a repetition OF play that
! has several times occurred under the
/ foul-strike rule. The batter would hit
the first two balls pitched to him over
the fence, just barely outside OF fair ter