The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-11-18

Just as long as the |'ff'' is in base
ball just that long will fans have their
own ideas as to the relative merits of
the rival clubs. and perhaps in no Sc
ries was this more forcibly illustrated
than in the one we just finished with
the Giants.
The if in baseball caused to be
held one of the most important meet
bench a full month before the worlds
series started and that IF" was
"Christy" Mathewson. We realized
that Mathewson was the backbone of
the Giants, and we held a meeting to
plan our attack on him.
knew Matty Was Tough Came.
The bravest member of the Athletics
team must have realized what a tough
proposition it was to beat Mathewson,
and Connie Mack realized it and made
his plans a month before the series
opened. 1t was at this meeting that
every weakness in Mathewson was dis
cussed, and before the meeting was
over every member of our team knew
just what Mathewson would pitch.
We first decided to analyze Mathew
son. and We decided on the following:
That Mathewson had a curve ball
That Mathewson had a fast ball.
That MatheWson had a "fadeaWay."
We had batted against the best curve
balls in the land and we hit them, and
we had batted against the best fast
balls in both leagues and we hit them,
but we were rather unacquainted with
this "fadeaway.
They Don't Go Over
We disposed of the curve and the
fast one, and concentrated our efforts
on solving the "fadeaway." Just how
we discovered the secret of "Matty's''
''fadeaway' will perhaps never be
known outside of the Athletics bench;
but this much I can tell, and that is
that by watching "Matty'' closely we
l,
made that he would pitch this famous
ball That movement was almost min
ute, and I daresay even 'Matty'' did
not know he made it, but every time
he pitched his "fadeaway' he made
that one little step that warned US OF
what was coming 1t took a long time
to discover this, but when We learned
it we knew that We had accomplished
a whole lot toward solving this prob
lem Then we watched him every time
he pitched his "fadeaway," and we dis
covered something remarkable Only
once in ten pitches was ''Matty" able
to put his ''fadeaway'' over the plate
Having learned this much about
Matty we decided not to hit at the
'-fadeaway'' at all. but to take it every
time he pitched it.
Just as soon as we learned how he
pitched this ball we studied him, and
deducted that as he had very little
speed on it there must be a great deal
of lost motion somewhere. We also
discovered that he threw it in such a
manner and that he gave his arm
such a peculiar twist that he couldn't
get much speed on it, and also that it
must be very wearing on his an.
Uses Curves in Pinches.
Then we learned that he used his
curve ball in the pinches and pitched
his "fade-away'' mostly to left-handed
batsmen, and for them it broke" or
faded" low, and on the outside of the
plate. There were many more things
we learned about this great pitcher /
that 1 cannot tell. but this much will
show to what pains we went and how
deeply we studied him to learn all We
could about him.
Then the all-important question
arose as to whom we would pitch
against "Matty'' in the opening game
on the Polo grounds. Some of the
players were eager to do what we in
baseball call waste a pitcher, fig
uring that if 'Matty'' were right no
one could beat him, and that if by
chance he were not right almost any
pitcher could beat him. 1t was not
an admission of fear on the part of
the Athletics but looking ahead more
than one game. If we pitched one OF
our second string men against him and |
he beat US we would have our first