The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-21
IRIS SPEAKER ON
 HOW THE OUTF|ELD
 SHOULD BE PLAYED
BY R. w. LARDNER

it has been repeated, with variations. by
 some baseman. shortshop. pitcher or
 catcher. at least once every month of
 every season since, to the deep disgust
 of the various outhelders to whom it has
 been addressed The infielders and the battery men who say such unkind things know that they are stretching point, but there actually are folks who believe that good hitter
 makes good outfielder, and that all there | is to the defensive end of the job is
 catching fly balls and throwing them l after they are caught. When 1t comes right down to facts there are probably fewer outfielders of
 real class than there are infelders, catch CTS or pitchers. One of the reasons for
 the shortage Is the fact that the pitchers
 who have proved they couldn't pitch but
 who have demonstrated that they could | hit have crowded out men who might
 have become capable outfielders, but
 whoes batting ability was joke.
 | team must have some hitters; hence
 men who can't do much else have been given outfield positions because there are
 less fielding chances out there than any
 where else. But placing good hitter In
 the outfield doesn't convert him into a
 good outfielder. Some of the men sta toned in the gardens, for their batting | strength have become proficient felders, | but they are in the small minority.
 I Outfieders are born, not made, as a general rule A manager or club owner | Is ta m xyb ho who can play the outfeld well and bat, too. Among the clubs in the two big
 leagues who count themselves lucky in | such possessions are Detorit, with Cobb, Crawford and Davy Jones; Chicago with
 Schulte Sheckard and Hofman Philadel-
 phia with Magee, Titus and Pasker, and
 the Boston Red Sox, with Speaker, Lew is and Hooper.
 Manager Pat Donovan, who was once classy outfielder himself, probably
 gloats internally every time he thinks of the three who are playing regularly In the outfied for him. And 1t is enough
 to warm the heart of any manager to
 watch daily the work of a man like the peerless Iris Speaker who is entering on
 his third season as a center fielder for
 the Sox, and who will remain their center fielder until his hair has turned to silver gray.
 Right at the start. Iris has the desir- able combination of efficiency in fielding and efficiency in batting. In addition to that he has something that is possessed by the chosen few-ability to Ego back on fly ball. This is really just about the
 most valuable asset an outfie1der can have, and it is one of the things that mark the difference between a good one and a weak one. You can almost count on your fingers it's possessors. Among them, besides Speaker, are Milan. Fred Clarke Schulte, Tommy Leach. Sheckard, Titus, Josh Clarke, Goode, Crawford and Artie Hoffman. It doesn't look like such d valuable accomplishment to the casual observer, but one has only to study it closely to realize how much it means.
 An outfielder who can't Ego back" is an outfielder who can't use Judgment In playing his position. He must play deep field all the while, for he is constantly afraid that ball will be hit over his head, and that he will make show of himself in it's pursuit
 With a good pitcher working re- marked This Speaker the other day, "a pitcher possessed of control, playing cen ter field, or any outfield position, is a oinch compared to playing it when you have no confidence in the man in the box.
 You can't play a batter intelligently un- ,ess your pitcher is doing his part ntelli- gently. pitcher who knows where hls deliveries are going helps an outfeder immeasurably.
 ''The fact that Frank Baker. for in- stance. hits to right field most of the
 time doesn't signify that he is going to hit
 there all the time. He's going to hit to
 left or right center if the ball is pitched outside to him.. and the knowledge of his habits won't help me a particle unless I
 know what my pitcher is going to hand him. Signs are practically worthles unless
 the pitcher is able to carry out his part An outfielder is up in the air when he feels that pitcher isn't sure whether he | is going to give batter ball on the | inside or outside or high or low. But if | the pitcher has control and knows what 1 he is about the outfielder can move around with some degree of intelligence
 and play his position as it should be | played.
 l For example, suppose that Larry La- joie, whose hardest drives are to center and left, is at bat. It won't get me any thing to play deep center or move to the | left if the pitcher is going to serve up | one on the outside. For Larry is likely | to hit that kind of ball two or three miles into right or fight center. If the pitcher hands him one inside. the chances l are he will hit it to left field. If the pitcher doesn't know where he is going | to pitch I might as we'll plant myself where the ground is hardest and, just
 wait for the crack of the bat. M l .It certainly Is a fact that some bat | ters are easier to play for than others. Why, it's next to impossible to lay for | some of them, Take Ty Cobb. You've seen him hit like a shot down the third | base line, pull. a ball mile minute into right, or lift 1t away over the center | flelder.s head In cases such as his. you might as we'll play one place as another
 You can't tell where or how far Tyis apt 10 send bal. t s.tAe 5itl "One of the most discouraying parts of an outflelder's work is chasing. With one. two or three men on bases. and the sore close, some one hits a ball past me, on the ground or on the fly I turn my back to the diamond and start running as fast as I can go. My one Idea Is to
 recover that ball and get 1t back to the, infieids before everybody has scored. I
 know that everything depends on my
 speed, but still I don't know just how far