Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-02-04
ABILITY WILL
NOT SAVE RECRUIT PITCHER
Veteran Catcher With Brains Is Essential to
the Youngsters Success in Nine Cases
Out of Ten in the Big Leagues,

Some who looked promising have come
through. others who appeared to have
al! Kinds of ability. have, fallen by the.
wayside. The one thing that has troubled
the young pitchers most is the base
running Major league players make 1t {.
point to run wild. on q younsster if pos
slbie. Usually the pitcher has a deliver
tnat enables the base runner to get Il
big lead, making it all but. impossible
For the catcher TO throw him. out, no
matter how perfect or fast the threw.
RMS running wild on the bases has
bad effect OH the tWirer, usually result
ing III ascension. enough runs gener-
ally being scored 10 settle the game be-
fore he safely reaches terra tirma. Nine
times out of zen the bush league twirler.
Is compelled to learn new delivery for
use when men arc on the bases Prob
ably he has been accustomed to taking
a big long swing and getting away with
il. That swing. must be curtailed.
Shortening the swing often causes the
curves until he becomes thoroughly IA
miiiar With the new way of delivering
the ball. ,
Witness is common fault with the re-
cruit twirfer. The learning of q new
delivery generally tends to Increase the
lack of control. Perhaps the players
/, record in the bushes did NOT show him
as wild pitcher. His supporters are
surprised to learn that lack of control
has kept him from getting thorough
trial Very often a desire to make good
right off the reel has proved to be the
undong of a pitcher. Knowing that he
is facing higher grade of batsmen, the
pitcher gets the impression that he must
get additional speed and curve on his
pail with that end in view, he gets too
much on the ball. resulting in loss of
control and consequent trouble all around.
The batters also seek TO take advantage
of the recruit. They know il is only
natural that he should be more or less
nervous. When they step to- the plate
they decide to wait him out. Usually he.
he knows it he has several men on the
bases. Perhaps the catcher goes out to
the box and whispers for him to ease up.
ana get IL over at any cost The next
ball perhaps cuts the plate in two. The
batter sees that the pitcher is aiming
them over and has let up considerably in
his speed. He decides to get a toe hold
and swing on the next one. The batter,
never let's the next one get by, hitting
for couple of bases, while several runs
canter over the plate. The next thing
we see OF the young pitcher he is on his
way to the bench.
Woe be to the pitcher who has a fault
in his. fielding If he shows a tendency
to be weak on handling hunts it is a cinch
that he will get plenty. of opportunities to
show his ability. in that line. Very often;
a recruit will have an excellent fast ball,
but his curve will be little more than a.
fast ball. take d toe hold and try to.
figure on the curve.
Happy is the manager who has a
couple of star catcherS on his pay roll.
1t Is almost impossible TO estimate the
part a brainy catcher plays in the devel-
opment of a young pitcher. In the last
few years the Chicago White Sox have
tried out Il number of young pitchers.
recall several who Dot away to fly
ing start. were heralded as sure-enough
phenoms. only to be dropped, by the way,
side in very short time. Nine times
out of ten BiHy~-SHIlivan, the veteran
star, had been the big factor in the sue
cess OF the youngster. Sullivan, through
his knowledge of the. batsmen. his Won
derful throwing, arm, his coaching Of bat
ter and pitcher, has guided many a re-
cruit twirler to a victory when the
youngster seemed to lack the stuff.
When a clever receiver can get an or
binary pitcher away for time it is very
easy to figure what big part he can
play in the development of twirler who
has all kinds of stuff. The Cleveland
club has been mighty unfortunate in not
having star veteran catcher on its pay
roll for the last two or three years
When Fred Handing, Willie Mitchell,
Crum Kaler and Gene Knapp joined the
Maps all of them looked to have the
real stuff. Unfortunately for these young
sters, Cleveland did not have a veteran
catcher TO put them throuel the PAGES.
They knew just as much about the big
league batters as the men who ve-. re-
ceiving them. Consequently, desp te the
great ability all four youngsters are
known to possess. they have not improv-
ed as they should. I look for Paddy Liv-
ingston to help these twirlers a great
deal With his sunny disposition, his
known ability to handle all kinds OF
pitching. his knowledge of the batsmen
and the use of his brain. Paddy should
prove OF much value to the Cleveland
club this year.
A great many pitchers come to the ma
jors with wonderful strike-out records.
Nine times out Of ten they fail to live
up to the feats they performed in the
minors. In answer to this feature prac-
ticaliy every twirler will tell the same
story as did Vean Gregg-the batters in
the big show are more particular about
what they strike at. They wait out the
pitcher, which, of course, makes his du-
ties. all the harder. Inability to hold
the men on the bases is another feature
that puts a dent In the ambitions of
many a minor league star. Once the
young pitcher gets q move that makes
the base runner hug the sacks his chances
to succeed have been improved so per
cent. Perhaps the very best way to ex-
plain the failure Of so many phenoms
Is to cite the fact that no sideshow was
ever 90 good az the three-Ting circuA