Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-04-03
.GONCEIT
A VALUABLE
ASSET
Ed Walsh Says Pitcher Must
Have Plenty Of Confidence
on the Mound

| CHICAG0.-"I've always made Il q
point TO believe l can retire every
| batter VINO faces me at the plate"
| is Pitcher f. Walshs viewpoint.
The mighty White Sox twirler talk
ed freely OF his past and his hopes for
the future during the day he lay
around idle in Chicago waiting for the
special train to start for the coast
Sometimes they call this feeling
confidence. and guess that's the way
] II shapes up Even when was q
scrub pitcher back in. the mining eoun-
try, was lucky enough TO have some
body tell me that the moment Tear en-
tiers your heart You might just as well
get out OF the game and go home for
good.
Player Must Have coneeit.
During the year or more I helped
decorate the bench at Gofnisky' s park.
! felt all the time that II was out
there in the game could win Tor The
Sox. Many a time saw Roy Patter-
son, Frank Owens, Nick AItrock and
the others get beaten. and always
kept thinking. Gee II they'd only let
me out I'd show 'em thing or two.
To-day / realize. that was conceit,
according to the opinion OF many per-
sons. But claim that IL you don't
feel that you you have no business In
major league baseball. Today ! know
was q punk twirler then. Perhaps
might not be with the Sox now Il
hadn't gone through with the prelinf
mary process.
'sOne Of the recruit catchefB who
used to work with me before the
games during practice time has told
me since that the ball threw landed
in the glove like hunk OF lead. That
was the time ! was trying to use the
| spit-ball. | had seen Chesbro use Il,
and realized that in 1t lay my only
hope of big league career.
Others Have More Speed.
4 am big feisow, all right. hnt
there ere other pitchers with much
more speed. Ed Retiibach Of the Cubs.
Frank LANCE Of our own tram, Waller
Johnsonof the senators and Joe Wood
CT the Red Sox. probably pitch q fast
er ball than do. Then ! couldn't
seem to make the ball curve sharply
enough. Ny change of pace wasn't up
to snuff. So II was mastery Of the
splitter or the bush leagues for me.
Just keeping hammering away ct
that style while Manager Jones and
President GOmiskey retained their pa
tience is what made me what I am
today whatever that Is. They took q
chance with me just like John Nc
Graw did with Marquard.
"Pve heard persons tell that am
too slow and deliberate when I 90 into
the box to relieve pitcher who has
been going bad. They even say that |
look all swelled up over myself Let
me tell you the secret Of that behavior
ri minea secret figured out long
ago from observation and experience.
when a team gets.a sudden batting
streak all the men become anxious To
be up there hitting away At the ball.
They become impatient OF delay, want
| ing to slug hard before the streak
passes When pitcher then goes In
with deliberate motions, pitcher who
studies his man every time he delivers
temptuous-if may use that word
the edge is likely to be taken Off the
assault
Iris Speaker Hard to Cross.
The batters arc more than likely TO
swing wild. They swat even before
the ball gets to them In their anxiety.
So by slow delivery and careful mix
ing Hp of styles yed can come closer
to stopping them than by any other
method have figured out.
Il have found some batters who are
5ard to cross, even during batting
assault by their own team when was
called on to stop them. Chief among
these is Iris Speaker of the Boston
champions. He looks every ball over
carefully and comes closer to outguess-
ing me than any other batter IN the
business. Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford
of the Tigers are couple Of the others
whom it is exceedingly hard to stop.
'You notice these three are left
handed hitters. That style of a batter
can make me pitch to them better
than the men who hit from the other
side OF the plate. ! expect to have my
l.oe, . L..