The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-10-03
PITCHING FEATS
OF PAST SEASON
Walter Johnson Has Best Record
for Consecutive Wins

inc consecutive winning pitching
performances of the year have pro-
vided some of the most interesting
angles of gossip that ever cropped up
in the trail of the national game
With the 19-straight record of Rube
Marquard, set last year, as new
mark to shoot at, all the star Fingers
of both big league circuits have been
blazing away in their effort To forge
up into a special notch OF glory. one
after another. they have run the string
Up to roint where they began to look
dangerous, only to have the cord snap
ped and the other brilliant performs
ances set at naught so far as the rec
ord IS concerned. One little defeat ana
they fall back clear To the bottom,
where they have to begin their climb
all over again, through the weary
stages of one, two, three. six, eight
straight. etc.
~ the very start of the season sew
cral hurlers began nursing winning
streaks, Fred Falkenbcr--long Cy. OF
ihe Cleveland Naps--was the first to
attract notice in this respect He tool;
10 in IL row, Grover Cleveland Alexan-
Ger OF the Phillies duplicated the feat
and his mate--Scaton--put nine to-
gether. Eddie Plank. the great old vet
cram of the Athletics, southpawed his
way into 10 also and so did Walter
Johnson of the Senators. Lefty Rus
sell of the White Sox clustered eight.
Then every body began TO look Wash
ngton way again when n boy. Joe
Boehling, accumulated a starter and
the youth kept on until he set the
years record up to that time Of II.
\ Few days later-all within four
days-Christy Mathewson ana Rubc
Marquard, the pacemaker, both had
strings Of nine severed and Al DEM
aree, another Giant, has his cut at
eight
Now We have Walter Johnson with
us again. Not only did he take 10 in
II row in the early weeks bat after a
few vicissitudCs he launched another
string. His 18th straight was the most
impressive of his bunch for he beat
Cleveland one of the hardest nuts In
the American league to craclxH The
achievement of johnson is unparallel
cd in baseball annals Many pitchers
have gone along for u goodly number
of games without being beaten and
several besides Marquard have sur
passed the Ii straight mark but not
one Of them has been able to build
up two such strings in IL single sea-
son. The mental strain of nursing
al. Of ri.t,. al
which so much has been said. is ter
rifle with pitchers of certain sorts Of
temperament.
Take Marquard, for instance in the
case OF his great dash of 1912. The
"tubc' began to worry after he had
taken n dozen games and wondered
whether he would reach the record
made by Kcefc !n the oldcn days. The
worry caused him to lose weight and
when the Cubs finally checked him In
his Goth STRAIT ne was only a shadow
OF the "Rube" that began the season.
He kept on in his moruscness and
thought: III | only had won that 10th
game | would have possessed the rec
ord all alone" Also the enthusiasm
was gone out on making mark that
would stand for years and here he
was down at the bottom, forced to
start all over again. He lost the next
six he pitched and after that only
broke even on the remainder OF his
games to the end Of the season. lie
didn't pitch another really good game
until the worlds series.
After Plank won his 10th straight
this year hc lost his next three. At
the end of the strings of Seaton and
Alexander of the Phillies. both Of them
dropped several I'm bunch at the time
when the Quakcrs fell down out OF the
leadership Of the league and the Giants
took their place. Falkenbcrg. after his
10th. lost four straight and has only
been a fair performer since. Boehling
lost four in sequence after "a long run.
But Johnson--what docs Johnson
do? The great Walter. after bcing
ahlted after his first 10, suffers only
a temporary slump. In tho between
period he lost three and won four, the
three defeats being the only ones he
had suffered, excepting two In the
early season, Even In his slump, he