The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-06-05
One of the Closely Calculated
Plays in Baseball.
WORKING DELAYED STEAL
The Way This Clever Trick, That Was
Invented by Harry Stevey, Used to
Be Pulled OFF by "Big Bill'
Lange.


finest drawn and most closely calcu-
lated play in baseball and the one that,
above all others. reveals the mathe-
matical exactitude OF the national
game" says Hugh S. Fullerton In the
American Magazine. "A player who
can run eighty-fye feet In three ana
one-third seconds from fiat footed
start ought to reach second base ex.
actly tied with the ball, nine times
out of ten starts. II the play is per-
fectly made by the runner, pitcher,
catcher and baseman. The slightest
lnaccuracy or hesitation decides the
play.
1T seems a simple matter to run
ninety feet while ball Is being
thrown sixty-eight feet and caught
and thrown back approximately lS2
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 tive
successive seasons stole over 100 bases
and Big Bill LANCE. who stole loo
times In one season. were all great
runners who would be great under
present conditions ! recall wildly
Lange's one hundredth stolen base,
which established bis 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, buslnesslike style, be
poked down a perfect sacrifice bunt
and went numbering toward first base.
LANCE started for third base, stopped
and trotted back to second. Halfway
| 10 the bench Arson discovered where
LANCE was and came near having a
stroke of apoplexy. LANCE had de-
/ liberately permitted his captain TO sac
rihce without advancing. Then by
wonderful dashing start LANCE stole
third base, scored on hy. and the
game was won. Because he 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 BIZ LANCE
and appears to have been invented by
Harry Stovey. wonderful base run
ner of the early days. The theory OF
the steal is to catch the catcher and
the inhelder unprepared and out OF
position. and Its success lies entirely In
It's unexpectedness.
"I4ange, the leading exponent OF the
delayed steal, made 1t after this fash.
Ion. AS the ball would be pitched he
would leave first base at top speed
and sprint as hard as he could perhaps
twenty-eight TO thirty-hve feet, then
stop short. hesitate and act as II he
had Numbered and intended TO try to
regain first base. II he 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 motoning
as II threatening 10 throw. and all
the time LANCE would be edging back.
inch by inch. toward first. jockeying
with the catcher. The catcher. salts
fed that danger was past and that II
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 Lange saw the arm drop and
the catcher change the position OF his
feet he would dash at top speed Tor
second pase. The catcher would 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. II they
lost a fraction of a 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
dying start. It has, however, been
declared bad judgment to<rteal third
except In close games with one out
and the opposing pitcher going wei
and preventing hitting. In such cases
where one run win win or tie. stealing
third is advised by many. II is more
dificult to see the pitchers movements
from behind him than from one side
still, the runner need not start as
quickly. but can start ut top speed
when he sees the pitcher swinging his
arm. advance a third of the way tc
third base and then retreat In safety
because the catcher's throw Is muef
longer. Also he Is in much better 20
sition to take advantage OF any sish'
slip in the work of the battery"
Wife's Mother. OF Course.
Mabel-If your grandma has lost al
her teeth. how does she eat7 Willie