Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-06
As DANGEROUS
COACHING ASIN
HuRLER'S BOX
His Keen Eye Caught Giants
Signs and Made EN- Look
Foolish in 1911 Series,
Bv J. ". McConaughy.
WHEN the Giants and the Ath-

WuYH Ne the GldnIS anu NHo <'''
NJ letics mingle in the opening
w battle of the big campaign
-,u will probably see a long, loose
hung dark-skinned athlete. with
yoo5 Datured smile and halr-curIlng
Snesd making things uncomIortapie
,o- the Giants by virtue OF MS
s,bgavsnepts in the pitchers box.
So, w other times you probably OBJ
ave him standing back of either
=. ~ third base. soft tongued and
.-,jiirg as usual, but none the less
U,Jrg things uncomfortable for the
Gents only In this case his work
lid he visible to anyone but NC
4 CIV and his battery. They Will be
Il urrorn Portable enough to make up for
/ srv naace of mind that you may pre-
ssrve Of the situation.
We viii not keep up the suspense
any longer. This is portrait OF
charles Albert Bender-'Chief' Ben
5sr-one Of the greatest pitchers that
ever lived and unquestionably the
greatest signal thief in the history
4 NJ baseball, where he Is more danger
ors IN the box than on the coaching
lines The Cleveland outfit maintain
.har they would rather have him in
the box than camping out around the
hasss with his keen, black eyes
watching watching, watching every
H move and every ball.
Indian a tripping Bureau"
They roared an almighty roar after
the ouenlng series this spring. The
Cleveland players charged that Con-
n ME Mack had a tipping bureau"
that he was corruptly posse ssing him
self OF the stra tegy of other clubs
and so on. But it was only the
smiling Indian with his keen eyes and
N Viick mind.
You know there are not many
things 10 signal about in ball game
and consequently the number of sig
mails required is small. For instance,
N the catcher signals the pitcher only
Tor fast BALI or curve, with an
. occasional signal for a wide pitch
. when there is a prospect Of an at
. tempted steal.
But these signals are all impor-
tant Batting is a good deal guess
work The pitchers mix fast balls
and curves in such manner that the
constant change of pace on the ball
4 Is exceedingly battling when the bat
ter must depend entirely on his eye.
lou CAL Ntt " HAT a u tliAVlAhpAS shN
4 vantage over the pitcher 1t gives him
Il the man on the coaching line iE
signaling to him before each delivery
just what sort of ball he can ex-
peCt
So managers are very careful to
make these signals as unobtrusive
and hard 10 detect as possible. They
must all be changed whenever
player leaves to go to another club,
and in the American League they
have to be changed frequently on
account Of Chief Bender. The Chicago
White Sox, for his especial benefit
nave developed a complicated double
system OF signaling between pitcher
and catcher which requires a double
confirmation before any given signal
becomes effective Thus, while the
catcher may signal for a curve, the
pitcher disregards it until the sec
ond signal confirms or switches the
order. So far they believe they have
headed Bender off.
Stopped Giants Stealing.
Those who saw the last worlds
series between the Athletics and the
Giants will never forget how the
Philadelphia defense made a farce OF
me Giants speedy and tricky work
On the bases. The few times they
@Sayed a double steal Collins cut OFF
me throw and nailed the man either
az the plate or back at third by
oozen feet or so. They might also
remember II they had been watching
slosely, how Collins edged in long be-
,oTe the pitcher began his wind-up
rIooao.y Bender had something to do
j with that, too
rv4~r Il
oe worth any amount of salary TO any
club without his uncannv ability TO
-hFaVe. signals. When he is at the
\ ,oP Of his form there is no right
handed pitcher in the country who
an spot him anything in a game of
baseball Matty beat him in the
.petAhs game two years ago, but in
w We ANALYSIS of the pure pitching work
SS.ally did not come of with any
cc9.oTS After that Bender beat the
S 5iaL,s lWlce, In 1905 he gave the
g r,aH,s their only lacing in the
ne has tremendous speed and a
pt NO, P- 'Feaklng curve, nerves of steel
a Ia ana heart Of ice. Nothing
- nm He Is impervious to
4 ~ t- rom the coaching line and
~. '-iongued conversation and de-
~. 7le movements have shaken the
\ w. ~ many an experienced batter
',,5ls Of big game
~, Chief Loves a Crowd.
,i, - Dhl"f IS different from many
4 H. IN that he loves a crowd
VIZ, o,sser the crowd and the more
~ NE game, the happier he is, and
lr.a- better he pitches. He frankly
bas,r- pause He likes to get out
an. "9,ooO fans and tie world
M ~ oatsmen in half bitches for
--s g,s@slre Of the populace And il
Or Two appears in New York
s.,s 1t doesn't make any differ
rtoI-' me Chief. He smiles and
ss,..- and in equal parts. and
s.a- a, me smile nor the pitching is
9-. tel me- you can hit speed.
d.: fen marked to Snodgrass, with
Over f,E smile, then he put three
rars 'u ne groove that hit Thomas's
,.st-,N WIN a sound like caressing a
r., oed With a plank.
a., mere Is whisper through the
ysF,. nat the Giants NAV get re-
Is Yer llls fall The Chief has not
~ going good" as bali PLAYERS
o las. ne doesn't seem to be able
Ia IA 'l' the nine innings with
.ars 10 strength and certainty. But
sin 7ese students Of affairs are