The Cairo bulletin., 1911-05-19
PILFERINC A BASE
One of the Most Closely Calcu-
lated Plays In Baseball.
WORKING A DELAYED STEAL.
fhe Way This Clever Trick, That Was
Invented by Harry Stovey, Used to
Be Pulled OF by "Big Bill" lanse.
Anson's Wasted Sacrifice Bunt.

Base stealing, the gentle art of
sprinting and hitting the dirt, is the
finest drawn ana most closely calcu
lated play in baseball and the one that,
above all others, reveals the mathe-
NAUTICAL czactitude Of the national
game" says Hugh S. Fullerton in the
American Magazine. "A player who
can run eightyliye feet in three and
one-third seconds from fiat footed
start ought to reach second base ex
actly tied with the ball. nine times
out Of ten starts. If the play Is per-
fectIy made by the runner, pitcher,
catcher aud baseman The slightest
inaccuracy 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 1872
feet. caught again and held In position
TO touch the runner. Yet there are art
aud 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 Lnnge, who stole 100
times In one season, were all great
| runners who would be great under
present conditions. recall wildly
| Iauge'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 businessllke style, be
| poked down q 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
Lange was and came near having a
stroke of apoplexy. Langc had de-
liberately permitted his captain to sac
riGce without advancing, Then by a
wonderful dashIng start Lange stole
| third base, scored on a fly, 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.
| 1.-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 Stoyey, wonderful base run
ner OF the early days, The theory OF
| the steal Is to catch the catcher and
the inficlder unprepared and out Of
position. and its success lies entirely in
its unexpectedness.
| "Lange, 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 he could perhaps
| twenty-eight to thirty-five feet, then
stop short, hesitate and act as II he
had Numbered aud Intended to try to
regain first base. IL he succeeded In
drawing the throw to first base he
proceeded to second ut top speed. But
in the great majority of cases the
catcher would not attempt to throw to
either base. but would keep motionlng
as If threatening to throw. and all
the time LANCE would be edging back.
inlb by inch. toward first jockeyinE