The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-12

/ hlIlrlQSe cOu!u tag MIN Win tne b.li.
Kittrdgc whirling, saw Keelcr Bying
! towards the plate fle threw and as
the ball left his hand he saw the pitcher
standing on the slab the first base
man anchored 10 tho bag, and no fielder
near the plate. The ball went 10 the
stand two runs scored. and Washington
was beaten because the first baseman
and pitcher had taken too much for
! granted and failed 20 get into the com
! bination.
The story of combination plays is
best illustrated by the ones that went
wrong, The necessity of keeping think
ing all the time, moi only OF what IS
being done. hut of what possibly may
be done, is illustrated by a play that
cost the Chicago Cubs a game at ST.
Iouis in l00S. In that play half the
men on the two teams, and the umpire
himself, were caught mapping If there
had been two umpires instead of one
on the field that day, Chicago probably
would have won the game and ultimate
" the penuant, without the bitter strug-
gle they had TO do it.
Runners were on first and third bases.
one out, and ST. Louis needed a run to
win. it being in the ninth inning.
Chance called tho inheld close in or.
der TO cut Hoclskoetter off from the
plate. Billy Gilbert, who was the run
ncr on first base. is q quick thinker and
one who is likely to do unexpected and
unusual things in a ball game. Fromme,
the batter, hit sharply TO Evers who
scooped the bali on the first bound. and
made motion as if to hurl it to the
plate. The play WAS made so rapidly
Hoelskoetter turned tail and slid back
TO third base. seeing il was impossible
for him to reach the plate. Evers,
realizing instantly that a double play
and the end of the inning was possl.
Bile, leaped backward. touched Gilbert
as he was racing from first 10 second.
and started for first base 10 complete
the double play, pleased at having out"
witted Gilbert and made a brilliant
move. Gilbert, however, was doing
some rapid-fro thinking and seeing for
hlmsclf and his team. Leaping after
Evcrs he threw out foot and tripped
him, sending him sprawling. Evers, still
clutchlng the ball, rolled and crawled
then dived to first base and put his
hand on is before Fromme was within
ten feet OF The bag.
Hoelskoetter. meantime. SEEING the
mixup, dashed for the plate Imagine
the surprise of the Chicago team when
Umpire o Day was discovered stopping
and intently watching the plate, ex;
pectiug all the time Evers would throw
The ball there. 0 Day did not see Eyers
touch Gilbert, nor did he see Gilbert
trip the fielder, but when the play TO
the plate was delayed. he whirled in
Time to see Evers roll to the base and
beat Fromme. so he called F'romme ont,
but allowed the winning run to score.
1T was not o Day s fault, except in that
he did not think rapidly enough The
fault lay with the league for furnishing
only one umpire.
How often the best laid plans 10 work
a combination play gang aglee is known
only to the players themselves, and
perhaps no miscarriage of play is so
glarlng as that when some slow thinker
forgets TO cover the base, Billy Ber-
gen, catcher of the Brooklyn club, is
an excellent thrower TO bases, and he
is fond of throwing, which is a bad
fault, particularly when the combina-
ton is not IN working order. Chicago
was pIaying Brooklyn late in tbe sea
son of l9OS when games were precious.
The score was tied = to with one man
out and Holman on second base, when
Bergen signaled for pitch out in
tending 10 try TO catch Hoffman ofl
second base. The sign was so appar-
ent and the intent so plain that the
Chicago coaebers called warning to
Hoffman. The pitcher pitched out, Ber
gen threw. Neither the second base.
man nor the shortstop moved; and the
ball went on 10 the center fielder, al
lowing Hoffman 10 score and win a
game that enabled the Cubs TO tie New
York for the pennant. which perhaps
was the costlIest piece of miscarrying
combination in years,
a play went wrong in New York in
1909 because one man in the combna
ton mapped. his nap eventually costing
the game. With n runner on second
base the batsman hit to the right of
shortstop. Bridwell, seeing he could
not throw the batter out at first. shot
the ball to third. figuring on the man
ovcrrunning that base. The runner
made the turn and should have been
out by ten feet. but the third base.
man failed TO get into the play, and
the run scored. Often with men on
bases, a quick thinking infielder can
tumble ground balls and still catch the
runner who was on the bases if three
men are in the combination and all
thinking. In seven eases out of ten
TO look at the play at first base, and
can be trapped bY a fast throw.
Perhaps the, graudest exhibition Of
com binaflon playing ever seen in one
game was in an ighteen-inning pitch
ers' duel between Ed Reulbach OF Chi
cago and Jack Taylor of St Louis in
1907. In the extra innings of that
again by wonderful work and some
wonderful combination playing. No
fewer than six double plays were exc
cuted at all corners Of the infield, and
IN critical moments when a tenth OF
seconds forgetfulness or lettering
would have meant the loss of the game,
The remarkably feature Of the game
was that not one of Chicago S double
plays was made until the tenth in
ming. and the score of that game shows
the way the Cub combination was
working on that afternoon, and how
far the men had 10 90 10 get into the
PLAYS. The record follows:
Tinker TO Evers 10 Chance. Chance
TO King 10 Chance. Tinker to Chance,
| Tinker TO Evers Casey 10 King 10
! Chance. Chance 10 Tinker TO Chance.
THE Old Gag Il play christeued
and used bv Arson S inficld when Pfcf
fer and Burns and Williamson were
helping invent plays, was one which
taught the succeeding generations OF
| PLAYERS how a man caught between
bases should be run down. With the
| White Stockings never more than three
mon were allowed in the play. and 10
| the present time all managers direct
their men to play 1T that wav. one man
chasing the runner down near the man