The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-16
CHAPTER XVI.
FINE POINTS OF THE GAME*

Almost any spectator mt major
league game will tell you; "Oh, ] uu-
drcstand baseball yet in every game
hundreds of moves are made and orders
issued and obcyed, each with exact pur-
pose and scientific intent, that not ono
in thousand of tho onlookers sees
or recognizes. The game has made such
wonderful advances scientifically and
the generalsbip and team work has be-
como so involved and complicated, that
the lover Of the game, even one who
attends scores OF games each scnson,
or knows how, or why play is made
rarely sees or understands its hne points
even after it rs successfully completed.
Every catcher and pitcher in the big
leagues knows to an inch how far each
base runner may leave any base and get
back safely, Each inGelders knows just
how certain men VIII make a play, and
they turn their play accordingly. For
instance, each man must know wheth-
er Mike Mitchell "pulls' a fast ball
or not and whether he hits u curve
to right or 10 center. He must know
how hard Fred Clarke Will hit left
handler s curve, and a thousand other
points of similar nature, Of which the
spectator never thinks. Besides know
ing all those things the team must play,
aB whole, so ms TO cover every inch
Of ground possible, and, by moving
away and vacating parts Of the field
where batter is unlikely TO hit, they
greater success. A "rightfeld hitter
ono who swings late at the ball, or
pulls his body away from the plate,
seldom is a good batter. He may hit
the ball Just as sQnarelY and lust as
hard as q ''free hitter but the field
into which he hits the ball is much bet
ter covered and the likelihood of the
ball falling safe much lessencd.
Do you remember tho now famous
game between the New York and Chi
cago teams when the season ended with
tho teams tied, and they played OF one
game at the Polo Grounds to decide
the championship Of the National
league? Who lost that Gamc7 1T WAS
"Cy" Seym our but perhaps not a
messed the struggle know he did. New
York Ind the game won until the third
inning in which Tinker was Chicago Is
first batter. During the entire season
Tinker had been hitting Mathewson
hard, and the psychologist effect Of past
performances has much to do with
pitching and batting, Mathewsoh
mour TO play deep ia center field lie
was afraid that n long drive by Tinker
might turn tho tide of battle. Seymour
saw the signal, but disregarded it, hav-
ing an idea that Tinker would hit a
low line fly, so he crept n few steps
closer 10 the infeld. instead of moving
back. Matty dropped his famous "fadeI
away over the plate, and Tinker drove
n long, high, line fy to left center.
Seymour made desperate effort to
reach the ball. but fell few feet short,
and the ball rolled to the crowd in
the outdeld for a three-base hit, and
started rally that gave Chicago the
victory. If Seymour had played a
deep field, as he was commanded TO
do. the probabilities are that New York
would have won the pennant
Zach man in a major leagoe must
know not only tho strength but the |
weakness Of every opponent and the |
array Of facts and Information con-
cerning PLAYERS that each pitcher can
muster up is amazing to the laymau |
Late in 1908 Boston presented a. new
who never had played In n |
major league before, and no one on the |
Chicago club knew him OF ever had |
seen him play ball, yet they were per-
Reprinted from the American Maga- |
zine and copyrighted by II. Additions |
and corrections by Evers.
fectly familiar with him. his pecubari |
ties. batting habits, and disposition. !
On the way TO the grounds Brown and |
Reulbach, one Of whom was TO pitch, /
went minutely over that new man, ana.