Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-21
BY BILLY EVANS.

Ease ball is a game of many angles
Most of them are impossible of explana-
ton. MI involve the element of un-
certainty The dope counts for little II,
the national pastime. You can't depend
whole lot on past performances.
Every fan has attended some ball game
in his career in which a star pitcher has
been perhaps Knocked out of the box In
side of an inning or two. The result OF
the game was bitter disappointment to
the many admirers of the crack pitcher.
The star twirier appeared very much of
FORM had little speed and a very ordinary
curve. You wondered what allied him.
Perhaps on the very next day the same
twirler would come back and face the
same team, and reverse conditions OF
the previous .day. Instead of being hit
to all corners of the lot the opposition
appeared lucky to make foul II seems
impossible that there could be Such q
decided reversal of form on the part OF
the pitcher and the batters, yet such
things are an everyday occurrence in base
ball.
At certain games you no doubt have
seen the hard hitters on the CLUB held
helpless by some very ordinary pitcher.
while the day previous these players
ciouted the offerings OF star 10 all
corners of the lot. At other games you
no doubt have seen some crack pitcner
hold the best hitters on the team nelp-
less only to lose his game because the
supposedly weak end of the batting order
took all kinds of liberties with him. You
have seen some pitchers get MT nard
when their speed seemed terrific and the
curves sharp breaking. Pernaps tne
pitcher who opposed him didn't seem to
have enough speed to break arpane Of
glass, yet the batters didn't seem able to
get the ball out of the infield
Johnson Is Always Puzzle.
The average player will tell you that
Walter johnson is quite a proposition
To hit on a nice bright day; that any
time a club beats him any kind of
a day it has turned a bit of a trick
When the day is dark and Johnson is
announced as the pitcher for Washing
ton opposing managers. rs rule, select
some recruit to do the pitching, they
practically regard the game as lost I'M
der such conditions. A dark day is sup
posed to be made to order for Walter
Johnson, as it renders his speed all the
more difficult to follow. Yet / saw Wal
ter Johnson clouted all over the field one
day last summer with just such condi-
tons prevailing. After the game heard
a lot of people say that Johnson WASH t
right, but | don't believe | ever saw
one on the field was more disturbed than
Johnson, for he knew that he was at his
very best. To me base ball could offer
no problem more difficult of solution than
this one.
Ray Collins is one of the most success
| full southpaws in the American League.
He always stands well up in the rating
of the pitchers and always gives the OPP
position a tough argument Last year
Collins was at his best when opposed to
Walter Johnson. Perhaps no two pitchers
-ould offer a more striking contrast.
Johnson has the terrific speed with the
fast-breaking curve, while Collins has
the very ordinary speed with a loop.the-
loop curve, and a slow ball that Is de-
cidedly puzzling. TO the man in the
stand and to the player Johnson looks
extremely hard to hit, while Collins looks
equally easy, yet the repertory of Collins
is almost hard to beat as Johnson's.
| if one is to place any faith in the rec
ords.