Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-07-30
By John ("Chief'') Meyers
VX7HO is the biggest man in the
w game of baseball from the
pODular viawDoint9

POpuldI view point
The pitcher.
Whom do the fans talk about
when they're reading their papers
on the way home from business at
night, or on their way downtown in
the morning?
The pitcher-the man who had
them swinging like gates" the man
who stood them on their heads"
the man who fooled them so that,
as the saying goes, they couldn't
hit the ground with their bats"
Working behind the plate, as l
have, for a few years, l have been
able to study few of these pitch
ers and to become pretty familiar
with the pitching game as a gen
eral proposition. And now I'm go
ing to try and tell a little bit about
some of the pitchers l have worked
with, and how they work.
I don't want to get too eloquent;
but l would like to say that if you
take all the pitchers in the world,
and all the stuff they've got, and
roll up all their careers into one
and then look the product over
you'll find one man-and one name
sticking out.
l don't think I need to mention it.
I can hear a chorus Of fans all over
the country friendly or hostile
speaking it:
Christy Mathewson.
There's no comparison between
Matty and any pitcher that ever
tossed a ball, or in my opinion,
that ever will toss a ball. He's
the old master, the perfect artist.
I think that every person who ever
saw him start will agree with me
that when he takes the box it must
be realized that the finished prod
uct. the best ever is at work.
In the club I've often said to the
boys: why, I could catch Matty
sitting in a rocking chair" That
might sound to an outsider like
loose talk. But it's true l could.
I'd do it on a bet Here's the rea-
son: He has perfect control
When I'm working with Matty l
know that there's to be no bag
Cling over batters. I mean, no sig
mailing by me, then negative shak-
ing of the head by him, then an
other sign from me, and perhaps
another mix" from him. He knows
just what he's doing all the time
He knows the weaknesses of oppos-
ing batters better than his catcher
does He's the boss of the battery.
and vet a chummy boss a pal all
through the game.
Curve Ball His Mainstay.
The best thing that Mathewson
has-which may be a surprise to
the casual baseball reader-fs his
curve ball The way Matty works
is to spring his curve-a big curve
which starts to carve all of a sud
demon a batter as soon as our
club is in any kind of a hole He
let's the batter know that he has
something" And having fooled the
batter once, he generally fools him
again.
In some cases. where. for in
stance, very clever fellow will ex-
pect Matty to switch to another
ball. he'll send the same one over
again or, with fellow not so
clever and who's looking for a re-
peater, hen switch to a straight
fast one.
And. once the sort of ball is de-
cided upon between Matty and my
self know it's going to be right
where it's marked for. | won't have
to dig down in the dirt or go up in
an aeroplane after it. think Mat
ty could put up a silver dollar on
barn door and bling it every time
from the regulation distance.
There has been lot of talk
about Matty's "fadeaway" ball. I'll
tell little inside stuff" about that.
The "fadeaway" is, in plain words,
an indrop curve. II is a ball that
comes up TO the plate straight, and,
just as the batter swings. slowly