The Hawaiian gazette., 1913-08-15
GOOD BACKSTOPS
EVER IN DEMAND
Pitchers, Infielders and 0utfeld-
ers Easy to Get But Classy
Catchers Are Scarce.

Is the crop of good catchers running
shorti Are the requirements behind
the bat greater than a decade ago, or
has the demand increased more rapidly
than the supplyi
These are questions that compare
lively few of the managers will at
tempt to answer.
There is an oversupply Of infelders,
an abundance OF outhelders and pitch.
ers plenty, but when scout hits the
trail in search of backstop who can
! deliver satisfactorily in the major or
faster minors, he generally has a long
and frequently fuitless hunt ahead.
1t may be that the general average
of catchers of today is higher than for
merly and that the requirements have
grown greater.
However. the really &, eat catchers of
the past decade can almost be mum
hered on the fingers of your south paw.
Buck Ewing remains the standard of
comparison behind the bat, but there
is little doubt that the game has be-
come more complex since the days of
the Hon. Buck.
Ewing Was Good.
Ewing doubtless would be as great
today as he was then, for he was of
the stuff from which great cutchers are
made.
But there is little doubt that 1t is
harder for the average young catcher
to make good in fast company than it
was a generation ago. This is state
ment which naturally win be disputed
by many of the old.timers.
For one thing they will point to the
better protection afforded the modern
backstop in the way of mattress.like
gloves, pneumatic shock absorbers, shin
guards, ear muils and other upholster-
ing.
Admittedly, the .pampered player Of
today has softer thing, physically than
did his forefathers. Z, @
Undoubtedly the old-timcrs were n
more hardy lot, and usually sportcd n
pair Of food grabbers chat looked as il
they had been, rpn through a rock
Fcrnsher n couple Of times, gN,.
There is an Increasing demand for
men who catch with their heads as well
~ their hands, Brains backed up with
Drawn is the ideal combinations, But
Of the two, grhy matter is the more
desirable, In short, the science Of
catching has reached n point where it
is more mental than physical.
The ability to stand up Under a
heavy battering day after day and
throw with the deadly accuracy of n
rifle got a man but s. little Unless he
tops these things of with'a hair-tHgger
intelligence, amounting almost to in
stinct or intuition, ag aA aaiW uit
TIE catcher is the cerebellum of dhe
elub--the center from which radiate the
signals op manageable, defensive plays.
AS a rule he is more familiar with
the weak aud strong points of the man
4 at the bat, than the pitcher, and the
latter is generally guided by his adj
vice.
catcher can make or unmake a
pitcher. Many man has been credited
with twirling great game, when the
credit should have gone to the squat,
sweating figure crouched behind the
bat.
Sullivan and King Best.
Fielder Jones always has contended
that the winning of the world s cham.
rionship by the Chicago White Sox in
1906 was due more to Billy Sullivan s
head than to Ed Walsh Is arm.
The decline of Sullivan marked the
passing of one of the smartest eatchers
that ever buckled on u harness. 1t was
n pleasure to watch him outguess the
opposing club Sharing the front rank
with Sullivan was King The question
of superiority between them never was
settled.
Then there was George Gibson, who
has never been quite the same since he
made his record of 40 consecutive
games in 1909.
Probably, in the minds of the ma.
jority, King ranked first. The fact
that he was generally with cham
pionship club may explain this, in a
measure. However, those who place
Sullivan as Kings peer are legion.
The decline of these, undoubtedly the
greatest of their time, threatened to
leave the game without backstops of
equal caliber Archer and Meyers
helped to relieve the stress. The de.
velopmcnt of the latter was slow and
painful, but he was finally fashioned
into a irst-elass catcher by the fine
hand of McGraw.
Now come Schalk and Schang. the
former of the White Sox and the latter
of the Athletics, making a bid for a
permanent place in the hall Of fame.
Scbalk has been the sensation of the
season.
"Ie can claim distinction with the
great and only Buck Ewing" said Co
miskey recently in burst of admira-
ton.
Like claims are being made for
Schang in Philadelphia.
As rule each decade produces about
two eminentiy great catchers.
Possibly the young putchmep men.
toned are destined to earn this dis.
tinction. Maybe this is to be their
decade.
Chinese 20 0S.oo1OOOQ2 &c