Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-04-17
Levine, C.

vest in these signal-tipping scandals.
The profitable results do not come u
of the signals they really secure. but
from the effect it has on the pitcher.
Philadelphia has a number of good
hitters, more real pinch batsmen than
any club in either league. They were
liable to start a batting rally any time
against any kind of pitching. The Ath-
letics hit in streaks. Whenever they
make two or three hits in a row off an
average pitcher the hurler immediately
delphias are getting his signals. He
loses his control and beating him Is an
easy matter,
Connie Mack's men have won few
games on actual signal grabbing, but
they have landed many contests because
two or three of them happened to hit
in succession and the opposing pitcher
Immediately imagined that they were
coping his sign" and lost all control.
The majority of catchers lay them
selves open in some way or another to
the watchful eyes of the opposing play
ers. There is probably no catcher in
the American League whose signs were
not caught and i~nterpreted at some
ea few times caught Stanage's signs.
Stanage worked until he had the sys-
lem tina came within the slightest
traction of an inch of costing young
Amos Strunk's life in one Detroit
Philadelphia game last year.
Mack's men always try to secure
the eatcher's signs from second base.
- 1870 - AihL BhCh Ho
looks to the catcher and il he gets the
signal he interprets it to the batter.
In the game referred to Bender was
on second with Strunk at the bat.
Stanage thought that Bender had his
signs. The Indian was tipping them
to Strunk. Stanage gave a move to
continued using the same signs. but
they called for the opposite kind of
ball that they were meant for a few
moments preyiously-that is. the same
sign InHt" called InIs "a fnGt 1on nh
Strunk came to pat meant IA curve when
Stanage discovered that Bender was
tipping the batter.
Stanage gave his old curve sign and
Bender told Strunk a curve was COM
ing, Strunls stepped in to meet the
curve, but Donovan had cut loose a
Strunks head. Strunk yelled to Ben
der:
Keep EN-, keep 'eml l don't want
There was one catcher who worked
along time before anyone caught his
signals, That was Wilbert Robinson.
lie backstopped twenty years without
ever hayins, an opposing. player dis
cover what he was signaling for. One
day st. Louis was playing Baltimore.
Hoplnso3 was catching for the Orioles.
Harry Kane, a st. Louis pitcher, was
lying on the bench while his team was
az pat. Sane suddenly sat up. He said
ne could see Robinson's sign. Joe
Sugden, now coaching the Tiger pitch
ers and catchers, was with ST. Louis
at that time. Sugden happened to- be
on the bench. He crawled over TO
where Kane had been. Sugden could
plainly see Robinson's signs. He in
terpreted the system in a few mo-
ments and put the st. Louis coacher
wise.
Sugden, lying on the bench. used a
program for a fan. When Robinson
slsnaled Tor a fast bali Sugden waved
coaching line yelled: Come onp' 10
the batter. Any time Robinson asked
and the coacher yelled. Nail itr, 10
the batter.
Robinson knew they were getting
the signs, but he could not guess how.
in twenty years.
And the funny part of 1t was that
~ Louis, after getting Robinson's
Signs after every other club he played
against had failed to get them. was
beaten by Baltimore in this game.