The Detroit times., 1913-12-26
Old-Timers Could Pitch Oftener
When "Hit-the- Ball-and-Run
Was The Army Game
--AHH-AR9EAD PLAYER
ALL AROUND PLAYER
Even The Best One Must Take
Plenty of Rest; One Game
In Four Days Enough

Good pitchers are almost priceless
The big prices paid Tor pitchers show
how eager the big league magnates
are to get good pitchers and how Will
ing they are to part with their money
II they think they are getting win
ner.
Almost invariably. after Mir. Base
hall Rooter asks, who won?" aud the
unestion is answered, he adds:
"Who pitched
The late Addie, Joss, famed hurier
or the Cleveland club, during his en-
DIRE career in the big show box artist
or wonderful ability and as clean-cu'
"a soul as ever was identified with base
ball. had It figured just about right
when he remarked during the training
srFip OF 1911:
4 pitching is so per cent OF the
game"
Yes. the baseball winner must have
4 good. brainy catcher. Also good
active infield. Also, good, speedy
dutfeld. And be led by clever, crai'
u pilot.
And witbal the good pitching must
be there-must be there regardless oi
low well the team is directed, no"
brilliant its fielders, how narsh les
7 hitters or how speedy Its base runners.
loss little statement was backed
mn nv about so out of every 100 men
whose opiaions count. So Addie prop
ably hit the nail squarely on the head
xhen he did his figuring and gave OUT
his example. !.
I Practically every winter, the time Oh
ne year when the magnates 20 TO pat'
he pitching legislation comes IN TOT
argument Honestly. baseball. asloe
from the pitching end of it, has expe-
Y3enced very few important changes
dnce the old "one-old-cat game" was
Elaborated on and the game PROBES
alonaIized and placed first in Amer
has list OF sports.
The pitcher used to be allowed as
xany as eight bells. Now he gets Du'
our. and annually OF late years GER
tAin club owners have striven hard 10
Have the limit cut TO three. Ihen, IL
II not so many years since the pltch-
ikp distance was changed from 40 feet
to so feet five inches.
Furthermore, the pitcher is no
onger allowed 10 make any Diun
arrows to first. Nor to soil the new
Eall--rub II in the dirt, as formerly,
% as to take off the gloss and thus
H. able TO gain a firm hold. The
rntcher is also allowed but FIVE warm
ing-up balls before each inning,
~ "a 1N,,t Ga c1Y IN
then he could not only rub the ball
&ound In the dirt, but could take as
many warming.up balls as he wanted
TO and also pull bluff throws TO the
first baseman.
Then, into the game has come
bunting and the hit-and-run. Inc
old-time pitcher did nothing but
pitch. Rather, he was nothing Ike
the infielder of the modern day huri-
er. Then, pitchouts-wide balls sig
nailed for by the catcher when ne
and Mr.. Base Runner are in the midst
OF q guessing match-have only re-
Gently come into baseball They. too,
20 to make the work OF the pitcher
all the harder.
The big league teams or 20 years
ago scarcely carried over three pitch
ers. There was the famous ST. Louis
Browns. champions of the old Ameri-
can association of 1885, 1886, 1887 and
1883. baseball's lone four-time win
ners, the team directed by splendid
Charley Comiskey, owner of the Chi
cago White Sox. Bobby Carrthers,
who died recently in an Illinois town,
and Dave Foutz did the lions share
of the pitching and bringing the four
championships to the Mound City.
They alternated practically on the
slab. especially in the Browns i'm
portant series,Eas Comiskey never
had third-string pitcher of much
consequence until he landed Silver
King In 1887.
Then. on such afternoons as Car
ruthers did not pitch, he performed
in the outfeld. Foutz gave his club
like service--pitching one day and
keeping the smuggling Tip O'Neill and
the speedy Curt WEIGH company In
the pastu$es the next. Not until
Tommy Mccarthy. now engaged in
the bowling alley and saloon business
in Boston, Joined the old Browns did
Comiskey ever have third outfelder
OF any ability, and, as the records
Will BLOW anu de- TIC tctrtoh puoN-
ballgoers know, the Old Roman relied
upon Carruthers and Foutz, his two
premier pitchers, to complete the
gardening work with O'Neill and
WEIGH.
The old pitchers could perform on
those lines--pitch one day and cavort
in the outfeld the next. Why? Pri-
marily. OF course. because the game
was different. Just as the old heroes
Of the prize ring did nothing else but
fight. until Jim Curbett-rewrote the
ring sport and brought science into
it--feinting. jabbing, shifts. footworlt
land all---eur old diamond stars did
nothing but hit 'er out, run wild and
play individual ball.
For the old-time pitchers there
we're no hunts TO handle: no pitch
outs to give. He did nothing but
.pitch--serye up the ball as swiftly as
~ knew how, go after the strike-outs
~ trust 70 Providence for the ball
~ And inside OF fhe yard and to be
& hoo6led By his feIders
- those days the pitcher was but
0mnnlnfh Of the game The scores