The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-06-03
PILfERiNG A BASE..
One of the Most Closely Cai3u-
lated Plays In Baseball.
WORKING A DELAYED STEAs.
The Way This Clever Trick, That Waa
Invented by Harry Stovey, Used to
Be Pulled of by big Bill" LANCE.
Anson's Wastce, Sacrifice Bunt.


Base stealing. the gentle art of
sprinting and hitting The dirt is the
lated play IN baseball and the one that,
above all others, reveals the mathe-
NAUTICAL exacttudc Of the national
game" says Hugh s. Fullerton in the
American Magazine. a player who
can run eighty-tye feet in three and
One-third seconds from a 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-
fectly made by the runner. pitcher
catcher and bascman, The slightest
inaccuracy or hesitation decides the
play.
st seems simple matter to run
ninety feet while bah is being
thrown sizty-eight feet and caught
and thrown back approximately 1872
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 hases
and Big Bill LANCE. who stole 100
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 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, he
poked down perfect sacrifice bunt
and went numbering toward first base.
LANCE 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, Lange had de-
liberately permitted his captain to sac
rifice without advancing. Then by a
wonderful dashing start LANCE 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 Stovey, wonderful base run
ner of the early days. The theory OF
the steal is to catch the catcher and
the infielder unprepared and out OF
; position. and its success lies entirely in
; its uneXpectedness.
3 "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 mt top speed
. and sprint as hard as he could perhaps
7 twenty eight to thirty Eve feet. theI
8 stop short hesitate and act as If hi
had blundered and intended to try t.
regain first base If he succeeded il
dra wing the THROW TO first base h
proceeded to second at top speed. Blu
in the great majority of cases tn
catcher would not attempt to throw t
either base, but would keep motionin.
as If threatening to throw, and a
the tine Lange would be edging back
inch by inch, toward first, jockeyin
with the catcher The catcher, salts
fed that danger was past and that
was useless to throw to first, woul
relax from throwing position, cas-
down his arm and get ready to tos
the ball back to the pitcher. Th
moment Lange saw the arm drop an
the catcher change the position of b
4 feet he would dash at top speed fo
II second pase. The catcher would lea
w. back into throwing position, raise b
IN arm again and throw, provided tn
shortstop and second baseman had NJ
- deserted the base and walked back t
rs ward their regular positions. If the
lost fraction of a second In recove
IN, ing the base I.ange would beat tt
g. ball. The fatal hesitancy of the cate
nd or and baseman gave him his oppo
tunlty.
:, stealing third base from second
~ much easier In reality than stealth
~ second from first. although 1t is a
ell tempted much less frequently. II
runner moving up with his arm cs
ial take more than twice the lead fro
In second base than from first. and. b
ir- sides that. it Is much easier to gain
Il, flying start. It has. however, be-
declared bad judgment to steal thi
except In close games with one o
n.y. and the opposing pitcher going WI
ap- and preventing hitting. In such case
]. where one rNn will win or tie. stealth
third Is advised by many. 1t Is mo
on. difficult to see the pitchers movement
N. from behind him than from one sic
Still. the runner need not start
quickly but can start at top spe
when he sees the pitcher swinging
arm. advance a third of the way
third base and then retreat in safe