The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1911-05-25
PILFERINC 4 BASE
One of the Most Closely CaIcu-
lated Plays In Baseball.
WORKING A DELAYED STEAL.

The Way This Clever Trick, That Wa,
Invented by Harry stovey, Used to
Be Pulled of by "Bie Bill" Lanae.
Anson's Wasted Sacrifice Blunt.
"Base stealing, the gentle art of
sprinting and hitting the dirt is the
finest drawn and most closely calcu-
lated play in baseball and the one that,
| above all others, reveals the mathe-
| NAUTICAL exactitude of the national
game,' says Hugh s. Fullerton in the
American Magazine. "A player who
can run eighty-fve feet in three and
one-third seconds from a fat 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 baseman. The slightest
| inaccuracy or hesitation decides the
play.
| 1T seems a simple matter to run
ninety feet while a 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
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 bases,
and Big Bill LANCE, who stole 100
| times In one season, were all great
! runners who would be great under
present conditions. l 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 a 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
r1fice 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 infelder unprepared and out of
position, and its success lies entirely il
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 If he
had blundered and intended to try to
regain first base. If he succeeded in
drawing the throw to first base he
proceeded to second at top speed. But
in the great majority of cases the
catcher would not attempt to throw to
either base, but would keep motioning
as If threatening to throw, and all
the time LANCE would be edging back,
inch by inch, toward first, jockeying
with the catcher. The catcher, salts
fed that danger was past and that it
was useless to throw to first, would
relax from throwing position, ease
down his arm and get ready to toss
the ball back to the pitcher. The
moment LANCE saw the arm drop and
the catcher change the position of his
feet he would dash at top speed for
second pase. The catcher would leap
back into throwing position, raise his
arm again and throw, provided the
shortstop and second baseman had not
deserted the base and walked back to-
ward their regular positions. If they
lost fraction Of second in recover
ing the base LANCE would beat the
ball. The fatal hesitancy of the catch
er and baseman gave him his oppor-
tunity.
"Stealing third base from second is
much easier in reality than stealing
second from first, although it is at
tempted much less frequently. The
runner moving up with his arm can
take more than twice the lead from
second base than from first, and, be-
sides that. It is much easier to gain a
flying start It has, however, been
declared bad judgment to steal third
except in close games with one out
and the opposing pitcher going well
and preventing hitting. In such cases,
where one run will win or tie, stealing
third Is advised by many. It is more
difficult to see the pitchers movements
| from behind him than from ono sido