Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-10

Star your views on the. question Of base
men blocking the base runner OF the
bases?
This particular phase of the national
pastime has been much discussedSSHEo u
probably realize To my N
thinking it is to be severely c0ndemmsk
and trust the time will soon come when
1t will be abolished from the game \
think all runners on the basee snod2d
have fair chance to make the base. vi
speed. skillful sliding and quick thiYk-
ing can get him there without a danger
Gus and unsportsmanlike collision With
the guardian of the bag. which has for
It's best argument las far as ] can see)
only brutality and unnecessary danger to
highly paid talent to recommend 1t; that
the defensive player should yield suff1-
cient territory at the objective bag to
insure the runner fair opportunity of
getting to 1t, or on 1t, II he beats the
throw by either running or sliding. And
If the baseman fails to do this. or blocks
the runner unnecessarily. or with any in
tent so to do. the runner should be de-
clared safe at the base
Certain games, foot ball, for instance,
are intended to display beef. muscle ami
Drawn. and the crashing of human bod
les, but base ball has never appealed to
us in that light. / think any student of
the game will agree with this PROPOSE
ton; that it has stood more for speed
and SKILL rather than smashing and
W..
short and stout, tall and thin, play base
ball. professional and amateur It has
always essentially stood for speed and a
particular kind of skill apart from bru-
tally. Now, If that premise is correct.
what logic can there be in the rule that
allows a little man like DOME Bush, for
instance. or tall Bob Groom having to
crash full speed into a burly, armored
catcher like Eddie Ainsmith. who has
moved lHb six feet from the home plate
9 "a 1od hnc yxyif1 fhn
nized and unchallenged intent OF DELHI
erately cheating his less burly opponent
of the fruits of his speed and skill by
knocking him over the grandstand. if he
And why draw the line there? Why
stop at the point of bodily collision? Why
not go the rest of the way and let the
catcher slug him senseless with his fist
and put him out altogether. just as the
Sioux Indians used to play lacrosse on
the plains fifty years ago?
The slide of the runner alone is dan
gerous enough to himself and the base
man trying to put the ball on him, with
out the added and unnecessary danger of
broken bones and spiked legs resulting
from blocking / don't believe the fans
care for it. I don't think 1t adds any
thing to the game in any particular. any
more than one would care to see track
runner permitted to crowd and interfere
with another runner without being pen
allied
And how about high-priced players
being needessly hurt at the practice of
blocking at a critical stage of the pen
nant race? Haven't the club owners
enough to contend with in split fingers
and otherwise injured players fwho draw
salaries just the same hurt or welD with
out the added injured list of those hurt
by this blocking business. We don't go
to base ball to men hurt. Even with
foot ball the constant effort now is to
eliminate unnecessary rOuEhDeSS
This practice of blocking is unneces-
sary roughness, I believe, and has less
excuse for being permitted In base ball
than the blinded horses in bull fight,
certain number Of which 1t seems nee
essary to kill in order to obtain a sue
cessful bull fight. G. A r.
The rules of base ball do not allow a
fielder to deliberately block a base run
ner before l1e has the ball. This has been
done, but The umpires are allowing the
rules to be violated when they fail to
penalize fielders for this play.