The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1911-05-24
PILFERING A BASE
One of the Most Closely caIcu-
lated Plays In Baseball.
WORKING A DELAYED STEAL.

Ths Way This Clever Trick, That Was
Invented by Harry stOvey, Used to
Be Pulled or by "5is Bill" LANCE.
Anson's Wasted Sacrifice Bunt.
"Base stealing. the gentle art Of
sprinting aud hitting the dirt is the
finest drawn and most closely calcu-
lated play in baseball and the one that,
above all others. reveals the mathe-
NAUTICAL exactitude of the national
game" says Hugh s. Fullerton in the
American Magazine. "a player who
can run eighty-ive feet in three and
one-thlrd seconds from a fat footed
start ought to reach second base ex-
actly tied with the ball, nine times
out of ten starts, if the play is per-
feetly made by the runner. pitcher
catcher and baseman. The slightest
inaccuracy or hesitation decides the
play.
at seems a simple matter to run
ninety feet while a ball is being
thrown sixty-eight feet and caught
and thrown back approximately 1S2
feet. caught again and held in position
to touch the runner. Yet there are art
and science in the feat
There were great base runners In
the old days. This was chiefly because
in the early days stealing second base
was the chief aim of the game Mike
Kelly, Billy Hamilton. who in two
successive seasons stole over 100 bases,
and Big BIZ LANCE. who stole 100
times in one season, were ali great
runners who would be great under
present conditions. l recall wildly
Lange's one hundredth stolen base,
which established his record he was
on second base with no one out, and
Chicago needed one run to win the
game. Arson was at the bat, and,
after his stolid, businesslike style, be
poked down a perfect sacrifice bunt
and went numbering toward first base.
Lange started for third base, stopped
and trotted back to second Halfway
to the bench Arson discovered where
LANCE was and came near having a
stroke Of apOplexy. LANCE had de-
liberately permitted bis captain to sac
rifice without advancing. Then by a
wonderful dashing start Lange stole
third base, scored on a fly, and the
game was won. Because be won the
game Arson forgave him, but the mod
ern player who attempted such thing
would be suspended and fined
"The most effective steal ever devils
ed is the delayed steal, which, al
though used during the early develop
ment of the game, was neglected for
many years until revived by Manager
Chance of the Chicago Cubs. 1t was
used with great effect by Bill LANCE
and appears to have been invented by
Harry Stovey. wonderful base rum
ner of the early days. The theory OF
the steal Is 70 catch the catcher and
the infelder unprepared and out Of
position. and its success lies entirely in
its unexpectedness.
LANCE, the leading exponent Of the
delayed steal, made It after this fash
ion. As the ball would be pitched he
would leave first base at top speed
and sprint as hard as be could perhaps
twenty-eight to thlrty-6ve feet, then
stop short. hesitate and act as II he
had Numbered and intended to try to
regain first base. If be succeeded in
drawing the throw to first base be
proceeded to second at top speed But
in the great majority OF cases the
catcher would not attempt to throw to
either base, but would keep motioning
as if threatening to throw, and all
the time LANCE would be edging back,
inch by inch, toward lrst, Jockeying
with the catcher. The catcher, salts
fed that danger was past and that it
was useless TO throw to first, would
relax from throwing position, ease
down his arm and get ready to toss
the ball back to the pitcher. The
moment LANCE saw the arm drop and
the catcher change the position Of his
feet he would dash at top speed for
second pase. The catcher w~uld leap
back into throwing position, raise his
arm again and throw. provided the
shortstop and second baseman had not
deserted the base and walked back to-
ward their regular positions. If they
lost fraction OF second in recover
ing the base LANCE would beat the
ball The fatal hesitancy of the catch
er and baseman gave him his oppor-
tunity.
Stealing third base from second Is
much easier in reality than stealing
second from first. although 1t is at
tempted much less frequently. The
runner moving up with his arm can
take more than twice the lead from
second base than from first, and, be-
sides that, it is much easier to gain a
flying start 1t has, however, been
declared bad judgment to steal third
except in close games with one out
and the opposing pitcher going well
and preventing hitting. In such cases.
where one run win win OF tie, stealing
third is advised by many. It is more
difficult to see the pitchers movements
from behind him than from one side.
Still, the runner need not start as
quickly. but can start at top speed
when he sees the pitcher swinging his
arm. advance a third of the way to
third base and then retreat In safety
because she cateher's throw is much
longer Also ne Is In much better POI
sition to take advantage Of any slight
slip In the work of the battery"