The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-09

''Get on and rum was their motto
and they ran wild through the league
All the other players said they were
CRAZY complained that they were
not "playing the game, that they
were Ignoring all the science Of the hit
and,ruD, sacrifice and buntand-run,i but
the "speed boys" kent on running and
winning. Eventually, of course. the
pitchers and catchers let them run and
caught them by pitching out, but not
until Boston had come near winning the
pennant by persistent recklessness.
The kind of baseball played by the
Red Sox would not win consistently
yet neither will the studied, systematic
playing, exemplifed by the Chicago
Cubs. win always. That was proved
by the way some of the National league
clubs stopped Chances team and kept
them from winning their fourth straight
pennant Pittsburg blocked Chicago s
system of attack. because In three sea-
sons they had studied it and knew
every move TO expect, Gibson was
chiefly responsible, but the pitchers
did their part, The well developed
plan of attack was becoming stereo
typed, and this was proved by the fact
that Chance was compelled to alter
his campaign plans more frequently
than ever before. Pittsburg, during
the middle OF the season Of 1909, had
the most varied and resourceful attack
Of any team in the league, and mixed
up the base-running style successfully,
but before the finish the Pirates, too,
became stereotyped.
Base-runninp consists chiefly of do.
ing the unexpected, and the team that
refuses to run bases because strong
throwing catcher is pitted against II
is beaten. The strong throwing catch
ers, paradoxical as 1T may seem, have
the least throwing to do, proving some
teams surrender before they are beaten,
while the worse thrower catcher is
the more throws me has 10 make.
Myers. the Indian. with New York.
won game from Chicago in 1909 by
pretending ia have sore arm. He
complained that his arm was so bad he
did not want TO catch. The ChicaG'
players heard his complaint and de.
cided to run bases. They ran for three
innings, until four men had been
caught, then changed the style of the
ming during the entire game, they
probably would have won. as the
nocded only one run to get ahead in
The eighth inning, and had two chances
TO steal. either one of which would
havo meant victory The team that
stops running because one or TWO men
are thrown out is on n par with a man
who puts up three stock margins and
then quits.
In thirty-two games in 1909 scores
were kept to see how plays resulted
with reference 10 stealing and hitting
and running In those games 66 eff
forts TO steal were made and II were
successful. Steals which were palpa.
bic efforts 10 make other plays rs
we'll rs failures Of such steals were not
counted. The average Of successful
stealing was .621, In the same games
70 plain hit-and-run signals were de.
tected
Eleven Of the attempts G53 per
cent? resulted i'm clean hits, eight of
which (1l,l per cent? enabled the run
ner 10 take extra bases. Twenty-sevcn
of the attempts (nenrly 40 per cent?
advanced runners NJ the expense OF
retiring the batter at first base. Seven
{09,6 per cent? resulted in the bat.
ter striking out. and three of these
strilscouts (0i,2 per cent} resulted in
the runner being doubled with the bat
ter, while two of the strike outs zoe s
per cent resulted in the runner roach
ing second, anyhow, Seventeen run
ners (23.6 per cent? were forced at
second for no gain; three (04.2 per
cent? were doubled op line drives, and