The Springdale news., 1913-05-30
DON'T DIE ON THIRD.

7
 Third ?'' It was printed as an ed itorial in the Detroit News two years ago and since then many thousands of copies of it have been circulated in phamph h'et form It is worth reading whether you know anything about baseball or not, and is aS follows.
 It was several weeks ago. when the Tigers were playing the team from Cleveland
 Moriarty was on third base.
 Around the chalk=lined arena, 18,o00 persons strained themselves in tense expectancy. The score was a. tie Two men were out. The fate of the game eentered i'll the white-bloused figure that shuttled back and forth near third. Tigers and Maps stood up on their benches. for the decisive moment had come.
 Moriarty was at third
 He got there by the ordinary events of the game At the bat he hit the ball and ran to first. An other player bunted and sacrificed himself to run MofiaIty to second Then a long fly" advanced him to third There he stood alert and active, with the fate of the game in his quick eye. his quicker brain and his running legs If he failed he failed not alone. for the team failed with him If he won, he won not alone, but gave the men behind him their chance for home In him centered the hopes and fears Of thousands upon thousands of spectators wEo had forgotten to breathe, and so still was the great park that even the breeze seemed forgetful to blow.
 Morfarty was al third.
 Much as it meant to have ad- vanced that far, nothing had been accom- plished by 1t. Thfee-quarter runs are not marked up on the score DOdI us. It'll u baoc uA' never raised q Renant. Third base Is not a destination. but the last little way station on the road home. It is better not to run at all than to run to third and die. The lS,- GOO spectators that kept omihous- ly silent at that moment could be ,f oh n hero-worshinpers or into an anl- mated grean by the kind of work man did besWe third and home. There is no time for salt-eratula- tion on third The man on second wants your pIa he can get i6 but fl you get safely home no one can take that achievement from you One ay 10 get off third is wait for some fellow to bat you off, another way fs to get away on yoar own initiative and a eording to your nwA se ret D an
 Moriar,y was on tbiri
 1t is ninety feet from third to home Sometimes that ninety feet is leaden mile, sometimes mere batter of Hghtuiag-hke steps If it is a mile 10 you. you are failure. and the great circle of spec tat5rs gsoan far your ineompetenz9 if t is hHt lightning ,ttoak. yoH are tHe great man of the baseball  day Moriarty was intent on dwind5 lin that aa feel instead ef length eniag 1t Hoa many things eonverg. cd ia tAe tea moments he stood there He wal he'd 1he signals of the elareiaul catcher h. gathered they meant nigh bal 4 high bail meant that me runner might duck low To tbe base while the eateheg hands were -n the ar after the ball Horia-ty knew. loo. that high ball required that the pitcher ..wina ID hs arm sn certain way He knew also. that pitchers have way oi winding up when they don't intend to throw the ball More than that, he knew the pitch CT in the box was left-handed and could not keep his eyes on third when winding ap . That was why Moriarty closely followed all the strange little signals pitcher and catcher were making There was another consideration. too. Null  in was up to bat Moriarty knew that Mulln has batting average of something like .250. which means that Mullin hits safely about once In four times at bat Would the ball about to be thrown be one of the hit, or one Of the missed? No human calculation could even guess at it. Ii Mullin missed il it would be useless for Moriarty to run. If Mullen hit, there were still chanc- es Of his being put out at first, making Moriarty's run wholly un- counted and ending the inning.