Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-07
As DANGEROUS
COACHING ASH
HURLER' s BOX
His Keen Eye Caught Giants
Signs and Made EN- Look
Foolish in 1911 Series.
BY J. W. McConaughy.

M ? II IN inc OidlNS oiAN 'i'O
NJ letcs mingle in the opening
w battle of the big campaign
Won will probably see a long, loose
4 trrr dark-skinned athlete. with a
~ooi natured smile and hair-curlins
ssnsa5 making things uncomfortab BILE
~ the Giants by virtue of his
s.biavennents in the pitchers box.
At other times you probably OBJ
.srva him standing back of either
A. or third base, t-tongued ana
.rniI,ne as usual, but none the less
making things uncomfortable for the
GIANTS only in this. case his work
uorld he visible TO anyone but NC
. craw and his battery. They viii be
uncomfortable enough to make up for
A any neace Of mind that you may pre-
serve Of the situation.
we viii not keep up the suspense
any longer. This is a portrait Of
4 Charles Albert Bender-"Chief" Ben
dsr-one of the greatest pitchers that
ever lived and unquestionably the
greatest signal thief in the history
i ~ ba ball where he is more danger
Gus IN the box than on the coaching
lines The Cleveland outfit maintain
mai thew would rather have him in
the box than camping out around the
bases. with his keen, black eyes
watching. watching, watching every
move and every ball.
Indian a Chipping Bureau"
They roared an almighty roar after
the opening series this spring. The
Cleveland players charged that Con-
ME Mack had a tipping bureau"
that be was corruptly possessing him
self OF tho strategy of other clubs
And so on. But II was only the
\ smiling Indian with his keen eyes and
quick mind.
You know there are not many
things to signal about In ball game
and consequently the number of sig
nails required is small. For instance,
. the catcher signals the pitcher only
. for q fast ball" or a 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 a manner that the
constant change of pace on the ball
A Is exceedingly battling when the bat
ter must depend entirely on his eye.
You can see what a tremendous ad-
II the man on the coaching line IL
signaling to him before each delivery
Just what sort of ball he can ex-
H pect.
So managers are very careful to
make these signals as unobtrusive
4 and hard to detect as possible. They
must all be changed whenever a
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
4 White Sox, for his especial benefit,
have 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 1t 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
the Giants speedy and tricky work
on the bases. The few times they
esseyed a double-stea Collins cut off
the throw and nailed the man either
az the plate or back at third by a
dozen feet or So They might also
remainder, II they had been watching
closely how Collins edged in long be-
,ore the pitcher began his wind-up.
Prooaoly Bender had something to do
with that, too.
But the long-linbed Indian would
20 worth any amount of salary to any
cIuo without his uncanny ability to
unraVel signals. When he is at the
Top 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
.Penns game two years ago, but In
S1e analysis Of the pure pitching work
snatty did not come off with any
rYhors After that Bender beat the
Giants twice. In 1905 he gave the
1.4hJs their only lacing in the
worlds series.
ne mas tremendous speed and a
,IaIp- breaking curve. nerves of steel
rs ana a heart Of ice. Nothing
a-.LrS nim He is impervious to
h9uy'hR from the coaching line and
i,t Sol l-tongued conversation and de-
80 ,oelale movements have shaken the
I've or many an experienced batter
'' '"' crisis of big game.
Chief Loves a Crowd.
ne Chief is different from many
T ~ in that he loves a crowd
,,, ne digger the crowd and the more
.b Ia me game, the happier he is. and
IL better he pitches He frankly
49, fppIause. He likes to get out
80 $1,000 fans and tie world
.I5 a batsmen in half-hitches for
t5s pea sure Of the populace. And If
~ ~, sI'"d appears in New York
en- ago II doesn't make any differ
r. 20 the Chief He smiles and
ra..S and in equal parts. and
."er the smile nor thefpitching is
Ter aNsturbed
s,- t."ley tell me you can hit speed.
ne remarked to Snodgrass. with
opa- ng smile then he put three
yo,.. I'LL me groove that hit Thomas's
tes,- TN a sound like caressing a
p-er bed with a plank.
s., mere is a whisper through the
y s,- that the Giants NAV get re-
5sa' this fall. The Chief has not
ev going good" as bali PLAYERS
8 n ne doesn't seem to be able
as out the nine innings with
re,, a strength and certainty. But
Il viii. these students Of affairs are
~ Zoo gamble heavily on this de-