The Washington herald., 1913-07-27
Gossip and Comment

"Suminer baseball may be criminal in
the eyes Of the college professors.
menace to pure. Immaculate amateur ath-
letics. and all that sort of thing. but the
varsity star who has won his letter and
passed muster before the big league scout
need not worry over his future" said
Frank Chance, manager Of the New York
Yankees. recently In discussing the moot
ed question. THE publicity given Jim
Thorpe. the Carlisle Indian and cham
pion all-around athlete of. the world. by
virtue of his achievements at the last
Olympic games. has revived the old IA
miliar agitation anent professionali1ing
college ball players.
zone look at the baseball records suf-
fee to show that many major league
stars now in the spotlight at some time
or other played with a varsity nine.
Perhaps would have blossomed into a
major league dentist but for the fact that
loved the game of baseball l attended
Cooper Dental College and Washington
University, at Irvington, Cal. and the
chances are I might have gone along
with my nose to the grindstone utterly
unmindful of the good things to be had
once success was achieved in baseball
toys
in the National and American Leagues
former college men-I am pleased to
learn that Americas institutions Of
learning have supported major league
baseball with enough stars to stock an
entire team.
Pause a moment to consider the talent
available for the pitching department.
There's Christy Mathewson of the Giants.
once the slab idol of Buckneli fans,
Doc White. the veteran southpaw of
the Chicago White Sox, who came up
from Georgetown; Jack Coombs, iron
man right-hander Of the Athletics, who
treated: the Chicago Cubs to three success
sive beatings during the worlds series
of 1910. Jack broke in after attending
Colby.
Two of his pals on Connie Mack's won
derful machine, Chief Fender and
Eddie Plank. must be labeled ex-colle-
sisns.. Bender learned his lesson at Car
Isle and Plank won his while twirlins
for Gettysburg.
+ Many great players have come ont of
the University Of Notre Dame. including
Big Ed Ruelbach. of the Cubs. Z.
Jimmy Lavender. of the Cubs, a right
handler, Is from Georgia Tech. Ray Col
Inns. southpaw, Of the Boston Red Sox.
started his career at the University Of
Vermont. Here We have a slab stan of
eight admitted world heaters.
Back Of the plate I might name as
two foremost receivers Bill Carrigan. of
the Boston Red Sox. who got his start
at Holy Cross. and John Meyers. of the
New York Giants. a good Indian. who
studied at Dartmouth. Thus the bat
teries are accounted for.
President Lynch. of the National
League. in promulgating his latest rule
on the balk motion, has become spon-
sor for a bad precedent in the playing
code of baseball The new rule permits
a player to advance a base when the
ball has accidentally slipped from the
hand of the pitcher.
This rule may often penalize
pitcher unjustly and might be the cause
of a club losing a worlds series on
the worst kind of a fiuke-
1t is bad enough to drop worlds
championship on a legitimate balk,
but to lose a post-season series on
fuke of the most pronouSced type
would be the limit.
The American League method Of re-
quirng the base runners to go back when
the ball has slipped from the hand Of
the pitcher is also faulty. How are the
officials to determine whether this was
by design or accident?
The new National League rule will
often penalizs the pitcher unjustly, and
the present American League method OF
handling a similar play often works a
hardship with the base runner and does
him manifest injustice
A better rule than that in effect In
either league. and one that eventually
may be adopted, would be a compromise
between the two, permitting the base
runner to advance at his peril when the
bali had slipped from the pitchers hand.
leaving the ball in play. II the pitcher
dropped the ball purposely, he would do
so at his own peril.
Such a rule, II passed, would be an
exception to rule 81. section l, defining
the commonest kind of a balk.
The new rule which President Lynch
has instructed his umpires to enforce,
reads as follows:
If with one or more runners on the
bases the pitcher (either by accident or
intent drops the ball while IN the act OF
delivering same to batsman, or in throw
ing to first when occupied by a base