Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-12

ball player, Latham, on the payroll of the
Giants. Followers of the team wondered
why; but McGraw kept him for one reason:
Latham's antics on the coaching lines were
ridiculous. They would hold the attention
of crowd if no point in the game occupied
them. 1t was Latham's duty so to distract
hostile audiences, those in parks outside of
New York, that attention would be diverted
from the Individual Giants to him. Latham
would be joshed and jeered, while the Giants
would play unmolested. So were they
shielded from the psychological forces of a
crowd. Latham was the buffer.
For some reason Manager Jennings of
Detroit acts clownishly. So does Schaefer
of Washington. Every manager knows the
value of reused crowd, provided it is the
home team crowd; for, as McGraw says,
3The crowds action is needed to charge
the air with life-and when you have that
you can overturn any game"
And McGraw knows. Time and again,
urging on the stands with his crafty pam
tomirne, l have seen him work UP the most
istless gathering to pitch of frenzy,-a
roaring, throbbing clamor, the air surcharged
with It, that broke the strongest teams.
Once, with St. Louis commanding a game,
four runs to none, at the beginning Of the
ninth inning, McGraw hustled out to the
coaching lines, set deliberately to work,
tearing down the St. Louis defenses-and
succeeded, won!
Becoming careless, Sallee, the St. Louis
pitcher, permitted two Giants to reach base.
Instantly McGraw assumed command,
snapped out orders, encouraged his players,
loosened the emotions of an apathetic crowd,
picked out Sallee, and began haunting him;
as the phrase has it, "got on his nerves." on
the nerves of the entire St. Louis team.
Collapsing suddenly, they let New York
burst through and score the five runs that
won. McGraw had dominated the game.
| have seen him so affect some of the
strongest pitchers in the National League
that they vowed to retire every Giant on
strikes. And pitching wildly they lost con-
troll, went to pieces. have seen another
manager, Mcclure, formerly of Cleveland,
so upset Walsh, one of the best pitchers in
the American League, that close game be-
came a rout. A score of such incidents
come to mind but there is another phase.
Sometimes the clash is between the players
direct. The manager has no part in it.
T HAVE in mind day when Griffith,
then with Chicago, was pitching against
Washington. At crucial moment the big
Setback, the best hitter of the Washington
CCdlli, SdliC W Oat. J1AAitiA fOOhSo ae iiAiAA
coldly.
aHere you clumsy OK" he called sud-
denly, @hit this!"
Then he pitched quickly to the plate.
Setback swung heavily, missed, and heard
Griffith laugh. Scowling, he frightened his
grip on the bat Griffith was grinning now,
and it annoyed him. Suddenly another
ball shot past him, and another strike had
been called. Setback was furious. He
shouted something.
Griffith thought long while before
pitching the next ball. If Selbach hit safely,
Washington would win. And then Griffith
dared that which no pitcher had dared be-
fore him. He threw the game on turn of
the wheel, on psychological attack against
Setback.
- 3Now, you great big baby he cried,
"here's one you can hit"
And stepping forward Griffith deliber-
ately made an underhand toss to the plate,
threw the ball as does girl playing beam
bag, weak little toss that sailed slowly
toward Selbach's bat. But Setback, red
with anger, excited, eager, swung too soon,
lost his balance, and tripping sat down IN
the dirt as Griffith's toss arched by for the
third strike.
PUT all these cases-the generalization
- of Pittsburgh by Cobb, the exploits of
Mc( 1raw of Grifflth-belOnp in the first