Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-11

the ball At the crack Of the bat, how
ever, he tore down the first base line at
his top speed. 1t looked SO easy the
crowd started to cheer and prepared to
swarm on the grounds and give Walsh an
ovation. Walsh set for the grounder, but
just as it was about to enter his hands it
took a nasty little bound, struck his foot
and caromed off to the side. Before
Walsh could recover it and make the
throw to first Stanase had passed over
the bag, and the wonderful performance
of eight and two-thirds innings went for
naught, as the scorers could see no other
way to score the chance except as a hit
Walshs performance against Boston,
however. was clean cut. Nothing that
looked like a hit was sarnered off his
delivery. In fact. Walsh came mighty
close to entering the select ranks of -Cy
Young and the late Addie Joss of work
ing a no-hit game in which not a batter
reached first base. In the fourth inning
Clyde Engle received pass, and he was
the only Bostonian to get acquainted with
first base.
1t is always in these record-breaking
games that the honesty of base ball is
made manifest. It would have been an
easy matter for Oscar Stanage to have
run to first at ordinary speed on his little
grounder yet / don't believe 1 ever saw
Stanage get down to first in quicker time.
| 1t would have been an easy matter for
the Chicago scorers to have registered
the chance as an error instead of a hit.
play as they saw it, although fandom as
a rule would have preferred no-hit
affair.
| 1 happened to work the plate in Walsh
no-hit game at Chicago last year. L cam
| not remember who hit last for Boston in
that game, but ] do remember that Chi
! cago fans implored him to strike out so
as not to spoil WalSl'S record. The fans
remembered how fate a few weeks pre-
vious had robbed Walsh of much glory.
| and they We're pulling for him., Chicago
| had a commanding lead. and a hit meant
lnothing to the Boston batter. \ strike
out >or hit meant little either. way. yet
1 don't believe 1 ever saw a batter try
harder. He met a fast one on the nose
and sent it on the ground to right field
| 1t looked like certain hit. The base
man saw he had no chance to make a
! play, so he rushed to the bag to be ready
| for q throw. Walsh stood like a statue
in tie center of the diamond Mcconnell.
! who was playing second, dashed over in
the direction of the ball, made a one
! handed stab and retired the batter at first
| on a hair-line play. 1t was remarkable
! finish to a wonderful contest, in which
Walsh had finally topped off his career
| with a no-hit game.
No-hit games are rare, but to appre-
ciate' what it means to retire twenty
seven consecutive batters without allow
! ing man to reach first, just glance be-
low at the possibilities that may spoil such
/; a record. There are ten of them, as
follows: Y hit, a base on balls. all error.
a third strike, missed by the catcher his
! throw to first failing to beat the runner,
! fair ball hitting the umpire, giving the
batter a hit: a batter hit by pitched
| ball. batter interfered with by catcher in
| striking at pitched ball. thus emitting
! him to first; throwing glove or cap at
F, batted ball or throwing glove at thrown
| ball. and last. but not least an adverse
decision by the umpire. Perhaps you
| now agree it is some feat to pitch no.
nit game in which not batter reaches
first.