New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-12

| ball PLAYER. Latham, on the payroll OF the
Giants. Followers Of the team wondered
why: but McGraw kept him for one reason:
! Iatham's antics on the coaching lines were
ridiculous. They would hold the attention
Of a crowd il no point in the game occupied
! them. II was Iatham's duty 50 10 distract
| hostile audiences, those in parks outside Of
| New York. that attention would be diverted
| from the individual Giants % him. Latham
would be ioshci and jccrcd while the Giants
would play unmolcstcd. So were they
shielded from the psychological forces Of a
crowd. Latham was the buffer.
/ For some reason Manager Jennings Of
| Detroit acts clownishly. So does Schacicr
Of Washington. Every manager knows the
value Of q reused crowd, provided It IS the
home team crowd; for, as McGaw says,
| The crowds action is needed TO charge
the air with lic-and when YOU have that
YOU can ovcrturn any game.
| And NlcGrlw knows. Time and again,
urging on the stands with his crafty pan
tomimc have seen him work up the most
Ihstlcss gathering TO q pitch Of frenzy, a
roaring. throbbing clamor, the mir surchargcd
| with il. that broke the strongest teams.
! Once. with St. Louis commanding a game,
! four runs 10 none, at the beginning OF the
ninth inning. McGraw hustled out to the
coaching lines, set deliberately to work,
! tearing down the St. Louis dcicnScS-and
succeeded, won!
Becoming careless Sallcc, the st. Louis
pitcher, permitted two Giants 10 reach base.
| Instantly McGraw assumed command,
snapped ont orders, encouraged his players,
| looScncd the emotions OF an apathetic crowd,
picked out Sallcc, and began haunting him;
as the phrase has it, got on his nerves, on
| the nerves Of the entire st. Louis team.
| CollapSing suddenly, they let New York
| burst through and score the five runs that
won. McGraw had dominated the game.
| have seen him So affect some OF the
strongest pitchers in the National League
that they vowed To retire every Giant on
strikes. And pitching wildly they lost con-
troll went to pieces have seen another
manager, Mcclure, formerly OF Cleveland,
so upset Walsh, one of the best pitchers in
the American League that close game be-
came a rout. \ score OF such incidents
come to mind; but there is another phase.
| Sometimes the clash is between the players
direct. The manager has no part in 1t.
T HAVE in mind day when Griffith
then with Chicago was pitching against
W dSlllngtOil. At Il CRUCIAL iuOlllCuI VIC DlS
| Sclbach. the best hitter Of the Washington
team, came to bat. Griffith looked at him
coldly.
"lcre you clumsy OK" he called sud-
denly, hit this"
Then he pitched quickly to the plate.
Sclbach swung heavily, missed, and heard
Griffith laugh. Scowling, he frightened his
grip on the bat. Griffith was grinning now,
and it annoyed him. Suddenly another
ball shot past him. and another strike had
been called. Setback was furious. He
shouted something.
Griffith thought a long while before
pitching the next ball. If Setback hit safely,
Washington would win. And then Griffith
dared that which no pitcher had dared be
fore him. He threw the game on turn of
the wheel, on psychological attack against
Sclbach.
"Now, you great big baby he cried,
there's one you can HIT
And stepping forward Griffith deliber-
atcly made an undcrhand toss TO the plate,
threw the ball as does a girl playing bean
bag, a weak little toss that sailed slowly
toward Sebach's bat. But Setback, red
with anger, excited, eager, swung too soon,
lost his balance, and tripping sat down IN
the dirt as Griifith's toss arched by for the
third strike.