Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-06
CATCHERS TAB FEET
Veteran Backstops Rely on
This Meth0d,t0 Aid Them.
REASON FOR BEANlNG MEN
Few Are Hit by Pitched Balls Be-
cause of the Wildness of
Opposing Hurlers.

CHICAGO, December g. Veteran
catchers like Stanage of the Tigers, Sui
livan of the White Sox. Archer of the
Cubs and Gibson of the Pirates watch
the batter's feet closely. They pay more
attention to the foot work of the hitter
than any other motions. The reason for
this is obvious.
Take the prize fight game for example
Battling Nelson once told the writer ne
could tell from the position of his oppon-
ents' feet what he was intending to do.
II never watch his eyes," said the for
mer lightweight champion His feet be-
trayed every motion: he planned. This
never once failed. Persons often chided
me for looking down all the time instead
of watching the eyes. But there was
method in my madness"
The game goes for batters. Young
backstops naturally cant be expected to
be as crafty as the older heads. They
generally have enough keeping track Of
the base runners and what the pitcher
is throwing. They lack the GOODNESS as
rule, and all around generalship.
Among the first catchers who discov-
cred the value of watching a batter
feet were Charles Bennett OF Detroit,
Buck Ewing and King Kelly. All three
were experts and seldom were oatguess-
ed. Johnny King also was a wonder in
deciphering what the batter's intentions
were and so was Roger Bresnahan, the
deposed manager of the Cardinals.
Feet Tell the Tale.
The batter generally takes a certain
natural position when he plans the nit
and run game with man on first. He
usually takes a different stance-as they
say in golf-when a sacrifice bunt Is his
intention Some have a way of moving
around that betrays their purpose. Zim-
norman is one of the easiest batters in
the country to watch. It's only his nat
ural swatting ability, his knack OF slug
ging almost wild pitches. that enables
him to break even with the crafty catch
ers.
This leads to another discussion-that
of outguessing pitchers. 1t Is more dan
gerous to try to outguess a pitcher than
block slider off base The risk is more
serious Only the younger batters. those
who are anxious to make a reputation as
sluggers, try to put one over on the
twirlers.
Why Players Get "Beaned."
AS a rule few pitchers bean" hitter
because of wildness. Occasionally man
like Reulbach of the Cubs loses his con-
troll and the ball is liable to crack a bat
ter on the head. But the bad hurts come
from trying to outguess the finger, and
here's the way it works:
A young fellow comes to bat with a
man on second. He is keen for a long hit
and, having got away with the stunt In
the minor leagues. Immediately proceeds
to call the turn. He imagines the pitcher
Is going to hand him a straight. fast ball
and steps into it. Instead a sharp break
ing curve comes into him and, before he
can get away. 1t catches him on the side
of the head and lays him out Temporal
rily.
Many promising youngster has been
made bat shy" because of this. The old
confidence Is gone-perhaps forever. When
Coran came to the SOx a year ago he
was a wonderful shortstop. one OF the
fastest in the business. He also had the
makings of a heavy hitter. But during