The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1911-10-21
RIGHTS OF A RUNNER
Cobb Declares Spikings Are Re-
suits OF Attempt to Block.
Greatest Of Baseball Players Says He
Would Not Intentionally lnJure
Fellow Player-Footbaii Tao
tics Are Used.

Il hate TO be referred to as "A
brute" says TyrvI Cobb. greatest OF
ball players. and now In the zenith OF
his grand career. 1T isn't very pleas
ant Tor a fellow TO be called a rough
performer and a deliberate crippier OF
his fellowmen. wouldn't Intentional.
ly hurt another player tor twice my
salary. and yet. whenever somebody
bumps up against these spikes OF
mine, they all say I do It intention
ally. and discuss which would be the
better way-to eliminate the spike or
to eliminate 7, Raymond Cobb.
Let's have a little understanding
about this thing and. also. lets 20
back into baseball history n little way.
Long ago there were players. some OF
them much slower and heavier h
myself. 20 | am told by veterans VINO
knew them. players who. despite this
bulk and slowness. stole more bases
TO the season than | do nowadays.
find from the old guides that there
were dozens OF men who made good
~baseranning records, say from thirty
10 seventy 4 season. and that this
wasn't considered at all remarkable.
And yet | fail TO find In the old ews
papers mention OF many collisions. or
many cases where basemen were
spiked by the sliding runners.
What does all that mean? Simply
this: that In those days everybody
recognized the right OF the base run.
ner TO n clear field and a fair chance
10 steal the next cushion II he had the
speed and SIKH. Nowadays the In.
fielders think that the way to stop a
rune is to use football tactics; to
step way over on the side OF the base
nearest 10 the approaching stealer and
block him on from reaching the bag
They receive you on their shins or
feet, they strive TO check your slide
80 that II will be u physical impos.
sibility Tor you 10 arrive at the base.
and then they bring down the bail for
the putout
IT'S worst OF all at the nome plate,
for there the armoTcd catcher, with "A
big body protector and s~hinguards.
meets you as you come In and squats
on you or on the base path, 30 that
you cant butt through or sQulrm past
his huge bulk As a result OF these
tactics nobody darcs % slide head.
first nowadays, Dun n Mccarthy.
who were great base runuers N the
olden times. have told the that In
their day the acme OF perfection was
the head.tirst slide. twisting the body
30 n side and reaching out q hand
to touch the base The man VINO tried
that now would get his hand spiked or
his neck broken
Nov, under All baseball law and
the logic ct Cpmmou sense. the base
runner has a right 70 try Tor his base
with a clear Held and no football
blocking believe that, and insist
upon n Furthermore. don't want to
play hog Hail that base Is mine. ana
! claim that hail Whenever ! 20 alter
Il.
! don't slide past the bag. nor even
over the boundary OF the hail that's
mine. II the baseman stands whore
he belongs, on tho hali.basc that Is
his, or IN the farther side. ne won't
get spiked. and he has q iair. even
chance, II he h active with his hands.
TO touch me out That's square enough.
isn't Il?
III the baseman deliberately comes
over the base, standing In the road so
that have no nance 10 slide In ex.
cept By violent contact with him.
whose inult Is It II be gets the spikesY
Think It all over and then decide: am
a brute, a butcher or a rcform-r?
think that I'm a real reIormer. cor.
recting abuses and trying To bring
back certain phases OF the game to
their condition In the earlier days"