The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1913-05-30

Detroit lost a worlds championship
by doing one little thing wrong. Chi
cago threw away two by wrong Sc
lecting. Pittsburgh, with the highest
honor within grasp, chose wrong just
once and was beaten. Philadelphia's
great Athletics came near defeat at
the hands of much weaker team by
two bits Of faulty play. Not one Of
these vital things that affected great
series was an error that showed in
the scores. They were examples Of
how the wisest of players and man
ayers will make the wrong choice
when one of two things must be done.
The plays considered here are those
that are played over and over when
the III club" is in session. For, given
situation and the stage Of the game,
ninety-nine out of hundred major
league players can tell you exactly
how that play should be made. It is
the purpose of this article not So
much to show how plays should be
made, as when. A perfectly executed
play may be correct at one time, and
entirely wrong moment later. | am
going on the assumption that every
boy in America knows how to play
baseball, and understands the rules,
which are the baseball primer. This
tells how the primer is interpreted
and applied by major league players.
AS regards offensive baseball, the
making Of runs. There are two great
types of teams; the teams that play
for one run at a time Ca class now
heavily handicapped), and those that
play for runs in punches. Inside the
last two years q change in conditions
has forced revolution in play and
has brought q period Of systematic
attack with view Of making bunch
Of runs at one time. Roughly speak
Ing it may be said that for five years
the American league has been devel-
0ping this system while most of the
National league teams were zone run
ut q time" clubs. The exceptions
were the New York Giants in the Ma
tional, which played the punched
runs game, and the Chicago White
Sox. a team that, being strong in
pitchers and weak in hitters, played
for one run.
The team that plays for one run at
time must have supreme confidence
In Its pitchers. The entire system is
based on the supposition that the
pitcher is strong enough to hold the
opposing team to q low score.
have seen Connie Mack's Athlet-
les, three runs behind, perhaps in the
fourth or fifth inning, supreme in their
confidence in their pitcher, make the
one run safe, and crawling up run by
run, tie and then win cut. The Chi
cago White Sox, under Fielder Jones,
and the Chicago Cubs during the time
that Chance possessed pitchers upon
whom he could rely, played the same
style Of ball and won. But as condi-
tions Of the game change, the style
Of play to meet them must also
change.
There are three ways of reaching
first base: A base on balls, by being
hit by pitched ball, by hitting the
ball. The first two methods are so
closely allied as to be one, and they
form by far the most important part
Of the system Of attack of any club
No team ever won pennant that was
not a waiting team"-that is, one
that could compel the opposing pitch
er to put 'em over in the groove 1t
does not necessarily follow that tosbe
good waiting team" team must
draw many free passes to first. The
object Is not SO much to force the
pitcher to serve four wide pitches as