Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-08-01

luNTrED PRESS LnAsHD wmn.l
New York, August l.--Hitting abil
ity, declares the baseball sage, cover
a multitude of sins. No one in the
game will attempt to deny this logic
But in baseball, sas in other walks Of
life, there are a favored few exempt
from the usual regulations.
In our profession the pitcher is not
looked upon as necessary part Of the
heavy artillery, provided he can con
troll with reasonable success the can
nOnading Of the enemy. A pitcher of
sufficient cunning to minimize hits
need not worry over his ability to
manufacture that article.
would like to apply to my partie.
ular trade warped form Of the open.
ing epigram. / would then say that
speed covers a multitude Of pitching
sins. am going to tell what know
of the value Of speed in pitching, be-
cause am constantly besieged with
letters imploring advice as to the best
way of becoming great pitcher.
1t seems strange that the youth of
the land are all bent upon the subject
of pitching. wonder If II can be that
old human trait Of wishing to get the
very most with the least effort1 Act.
ually some baseball players believe
that pitcher has cinch because he
has to work only once every four or
five days. They forget to calculate
ratio, to figure reaction and the time
necessary for recuperation.
Speed a Wonderful Asset
Naturally enough, most of the com.
munications | receive bear inquiry
upon the necessary qualifications for
effectiveness in left.handed pitching.
must have heard by this time from
every fork-side boy in the Empire
state. To them hore, however, give
this answers Glow about your
speodS"
Speed is wonderful asset, either
to n right.hander or a southpaw By
speed ! do not mean the bare ability
to propel a ball swiftly through the
air but to propel it with some fashion
of accuracy
II goes without saying that speed
misapplied is a curse to any boxman.
A batter In such circumstances does
not have to hit; no is sure of his
base by waiting. The catcher is put
in the air The confidence of tho
supporting cast, largely necessary for
good results, is absolutely DESTROYED.
Controlled speed, however, is the
acme of pitching success, This, at
least, know goes for lcft,handed
pitching, Run over the list of tho
great southpaws Of the game and you
will find invariably that the chief
stock in trade has been pure, unmiti.
lated speed,
Consider "Rubc" waddcll, for years
tho hero Of the American League.
They used to compare his speed with
that Of tho great Amos Rusic. Eddie
Flank, Connie Mack 5 wonderful vet.
cran southpaw, has n "smoko" ball
that he cuts loose at times which is
Just about as wicked as anything that
his stable mate, Bender can show.
Rueker Has Great Speed.
Nap Rucker OF Brooklyn, is also pos.
sessed of tremendous speed, Both these
renowned portsideu are wise in OK.
pcrience aud do not oyerwork their
arms in developing smoke, They uso
curves and slow balls iudiciously, but
when II comes to n pinch they can
turn loose with the next one,
Speed, Of course, counts as much to
the advantage of a righthandcd pitch.
or as 1t does TO that of left.handcr,
but do not think It Is so absolutely
essential II stands to reason that A
good Fielding pitcher is OF wonderful
defensive strength, In his presence
the manager has five mficldcrs instead
OF four Vet a lcfthpnded pitcher isl
by his very nature handicapped much
more severely than a righthaudcd one,
ms a strictly defensive instrument.
The great majority Of mgield plays
are made at first basG A Hghthand,
'cr no matter what part OF the mfield
he may be in when ho fields the ball
Ican so arrange to handle Il a. To have
fivst base before him, The lcft,handed
.tosser must turn completely around be.
fore starting his throw That frac.
tional second oftcn decides the issue
of the game.
Now here is whore speed comes to
the rescue Of the southpaw By It he
San checkmatc most effectively all
serious attempts at consecutive bunting
toward his territory, which, OF course,
undor ordinary Nircumstances might