Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-04-28

IL is IullS LndC count III baseball. O1Len IN
trying to score from second on single,
gain of few feet by cutting base means
safety. The attention of man working
alone was often directed to some other point
Of play. Players were quick to take advan-
tage of those things by cutting off several
feet of their journey. The opposition al
way objected; but the umpire, not having
seen the play, was unable to render de-
csion, and trouble invariably resulted.
IN the old days foxy third basenlan was
able to do lot of things that often had
direct bearing on the score. With two men
in charge, his chances to do something out
of the ordinary are very few: With man
on third, waiting for a fly ball to be caught
before trying to score, it was not unusual
for the third basenan to put finger through
one of his belt straps and detain him for a.
fraction of second just as he started to
score This slight delay often resulted in his
being thrown out at the plate. The umpire,
being in front of the play, was in no position
to see such procedure. With two umpires
working, the base umpire is always right on
top of such play, and there is no chance to
turn the trick
When base runner is rounding third on
his way to the plate, it is to the advantage
of the team in the field to make him cover
as much ground as possible. The rules give
the baseman the right to part of the base,
and under such conditions he always takes
advantage of what the rules offer. Although
there is often no chance for play at third,
he stands with his foot on the inside OF the
base. Thus for the base runner to touch the
bag he must hit the outside corner, making a
wide turn, and taking much more time than
would be necessary if the basenan gave him
fall cuaxy often he runner touches the
base the baseman jars him slightly with a
movement of the hip, throwing him off his
stride, and causing his retirement at the
plate. This practice was common with one
man in charge of the game, and it IS worked
every now and then on the two officials; al
though the culprit is usually caught in the
act and the run allowed, no matter how far
from the base the runner is tagged
A FEW years ago well known manager
devised scheme that caused visiting
teams all kinds of trouble until they discov-
cred it. He had his ground keeper mix soap
stone with the soil of the batters and pitch
er's box This caused the soil to become
greasy and slippery. It is always customary
for the player to rub his hand IN the soil OF
the batter's box, especially on warm days
when he is perspiring freely, in order to dry
grip on the bat He obtained anything but
the desired result with the soapstone mixture.
1t was all the more difficult to grip the bat,
and his hitting ability was impaired in conse-
quence.
Pitchers rub their hands on the soil of the
pitchers box hundreds of times during every
game Often they rub some on the ball in
order to make it easier to grip. The effect of
the soapstone soil was just the opposite. It
tended to make the ball more slippery, and
consequently harder to grip. AS result
the control of the pitcher was usually much
affected. The home players Of course knew
of the conditions. Whenever they desired
to rub their hands in the soil they took dirt
from outside the pitchers or batter's box.
The practice was finally discovered and dis
continued
THE hidden ball trick and the ringing in
l of rabbit ball" are of 1776 vintage;
yet the former is still turned quite frequently.
1t is fact that two managers came near
losing their positions because of these two
deceptive practices; one for having the trick
worked on him, and the other for insisting
upon working it on Others.
Recently promising youngster joined a
major league club. While not hard hitter,
he was very fair fielder, and mighty fleet
of foot The manager thought his speed on
tho hocac would maize him oOod man f0