The Springfield herald., 1913-07-04

ond. About 30 feet from first he stops
quickly and turns as II to go back II
the catcher relaxes from the throw
ing position. he starts for second at
top speed and, as the ball is thrown,
the runner at third starts for the
plate. The success of the play de-
pends upon the element of surprise
and except against experienced and
cool-headed catchers it is likely to be
more effective than the double steal
made In the ordinary manner.
Fadeaway-A slow curve ball that
loses speed suddenly as 1t approaches
the batter and falls. or fades" away
at an unnatural angle. The fadeaway
Is accomplished by a jerking and hold
ing motion of the fingers upon the
ball at the moment OF releasing 1t
from the hand. Christy Mathewson
developed the 'fader" into its high
est state of perfection.
Groove-An imaginary passage from
| the pitchers hand over the center OF
the home plate. When ball Gomez
down the groove" 1t Is pitched At
the natural angle (that is. without
anything on it, over the plate and
therefore is easy to hit Grooves also
are the spaces between the flelders and
between the felders and the foul lines
| through which batted balls usually
pass out of the possible reach of the
! players.
Hit and Run-One of the most effec-
tive styles of attack devised in base
ball The object Is concerted action
on the part of the batter and base
runner, and the runner on the bases
may take two bases instead of one
on a hit, or reach the next base be-
fore he can be forced.
Hold Up-Perhaps the most impor-
tant part of the inside work Of the
pitcher, catcher and batsmen is to
hold up" runners, or prevent them
from getting lead" of the bases.
Hole (In the)-In difhculties; in
dire straits. Either the pitcher or
batter may be "in the hole" as the bat
ter Is I'm the hole" with one or two
strikes and no balls called, and the
pitcher when he has pitched two or
three wide balls, and has none or one
strike on the batter. The object Of
every good batter is to get the pitcher
/
i giving a base on balls. will pitch q
straight fast ball over the plate. CIV
ing the batter much better chance Of
making a safe hit.
Hook-A fast overland curve that
breaks downward and outward at an
unusually sharp angle. The hook
curve is accomplished by sharp snap
OF the wrist at the finish of a wide
swing Of the arm. which accentuates
the sharpness Of the curve. The hook
curves of Brown and Overall. Joe Cor
bett. Tom Ramsey, Bill Donovan, Bill
Terry, Walter johnson. and others
have become famous for their width.
Hook Slide-Also called the Chi
cago slide'-A method of sliding to
bases which was perfected by Mike
Kelly of Anson's White Stockings. and
taught to all the Chicago players.
Inside-A pitched ball that passes
between the plate and the batter is
inside whether the batter is right
or left-handed. but the out corner
of the plate is the corner toward first
base, and vice versa, when there ia
no batter up.
Knuckle Ball-A slow ball pitched;
with the knuckles of the three middle
fingers turned under and pressed into
the ball, which is gripped with the
thumb and little finger only. The
knuckle ball is extremely deceptive, as
1t Is delivered with a show of great
speed and comes with extraordinary
slowness. Summers OF the Detroit
team, perhaps, Is its greatest mas
ter.
Lead-The distance from any base
that base runner can gain before the
ball is pitched. To "get a long lead''
Is the object Of every runner.
Liner-A hard driven ball that is hit
on straight line to or past the infield
before it touches the ground.
Mound-The pitchers foot plate. or
slab. Derived from the fact that on
most grounds the plate is higher than
the rest of the infield. to give the
pitcher an advantage through pitch
ing downward at the batter. The
mound is elevated or depressed by
some clubs. high plates being used
for tall overland pitchers while low
ones are preferred for sidearm or un-
derhand pitchers.
Outlaw-The club. league or player
who offends against baseball law Is
punished by being "outlawed'' or
blacklisted. The alleged benefits of
protection" are withdrawn as
punishment to offending leagues or
clubs while players are blacklisted.
There are several hundred players on
the blacklist at present who cannot
play in any club belonging to the ma
tional agreement until reinstated by
the commission.
Outside-The side of the home plate
opposite to that occupied by the bat
ter. II the term is used without re-
gard to the batter the first base side
OF the plate is outside.
Pass-A base on balls.
Pitchout The most effective
method of meeting and breaking up
the hit and run play. The ball is
pitched rather high and on the out
side of the plate. to prevent the bat
ter from hitting 1t and at the same
time to permit the catcher to re-
ceive 1t IN perfect position for
throw. When signal is detected,
or when the catcher and pitcher sus-
pect that either a steal or the hit and
run is to be attempted. the pitcher