Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-06
AS DANGEROUS
COACHING ASIN
HURLER' s BOX
His Keen Eye Caught Giants
Signs and Made EN- Look
Foolish in 1911 Series.
BY J. ". McConaughy.

WEN the Giants ana the AIH-
INV fetlcs mingie in the opening
w battle Of the big campaign
ron will probably see long, loose
h. darz-sknned athlete. with
Eeg5T ratured smile and hair-curling
Hs,aa5 making things uncomfortable
T. the Giants by virtue OF MS
/. obievenents in the pitchers box
A. other times you probably OBJ
.arve him standing back of either
t. mr. third base softtongued and
&srnlIins as usual, but none the less
|n7king things uncomfortable Tor the
4 .isnts. Only in this case MS WORK
EvouId he visible to anyone but NC
Nv and his battery. They will be
n uncomfortable enough to make up for
any peace Of mind that you may pre-
&kerve Of the situation.
We will not keep up the suspense
ksny longer. This Is a portrait OF
Ir-ar,as Albert Bender-'Chief" Ben
M5er-One of the greatest pitchers that
ever lived and unquestionably the
Greatest signal thief in the history
ID T baseball. where he is more danger
pus i'm the box than on the coaching
mes The Cleveland outfit maintain
hat they would rather have him in
ne box than camping out around the
bases. with his keen, black eyes
Watching watching, watching every
move and every ball.
Indian Tipping Bureau"
They roared an almighty roar after
me opening series this spring. The
9eveland players charged that Con-
HE Mack had a tipping bureau"
.ahat he was corruptly posse sing him
sele or the strategy of other clubs
&kDd so on. But 1t was only the
smiling Indian with his keen eyes and
Huuick mind.
You know there are not many
.hhiugs to signal about in a ball game
snd consequently the number of sig
balls required is small For instance,
he catcher signals the pitcher only
Dor d fast BALI or a curve, with an
occasional signal for a wide pitch
when there is a prospect Of an at
empted steal
But these signals are all impor-
ant Batting is a good deal guess
work The pitchers mix fast balls
md curves in such a manner that the
constant change Of pace on the ball
ss exceedingly battling when the bat
Or must depend entirely on his eye.
You can see what q tremendous ad-
Vantage over the pitcher it gives him
D. the man on the coaching line Is
Signaling to him before each delivery
bust what sort Of a ball he can ex-
1ect
So managers are very careful to
Hnake these signals as unObtrusive
Il nd hard to detect az possible. They
#lnust all be changed whenever a
q player leaves to go to another club,
$nd in the American League they
pave 10 be changed frequently on
#.lCOunt OF Chief Bender. The Chicago
4Wh!te Sox for his especial benefit,
r Pave developed a complicated double
fystem OF signaling between pitcher
'#Lnd catcher which requires a double
Confirmation before any given signal
Becomes effective Thus, while the
catcher may signal for curve, the
Butcher disregards it until the sec
#nd signal confirms or switches the
Prder So far they believe they have
Beaded Bender off
Stopped Giants Stealing.
Those who saw the last worlds
ferles between the Athletics and the
Giants will never forget how the
philadelphia defense made a farce OF
ne Giants speedy and tricky work
r. the bases The few times they
'sayed double steal Collins cut off
ne throw and nailed the man either
~ The plate or back at third by a
lozen feet or 80. They might also
ememoer, II they had been watching
.osely, how Collins edged in long be-
ore the pitcher began his wind-up.
rooaoly Bender had something to do
'ltn that, too.
But the long-limbed Indian would
#e worth any amount of salary to any
,lo without his uncanny ability to
.IFd'eI signals. When he is at the
- or his form there is no right
anoel pitcher in the country who
On spot him anything in a game OF
aSfoaIA Matty beat him in the
'e''hs game two years ago, but in
~ alha!ysis Of the pure pitching work
F. ald not come off with any
yu'IS. After that Bender beat the
Gus twice. In 1905 he gave the
s.arlsS Their only lacing in the
ne has tremendous speed and
sharp- breaking curve nerves OF steel
IT,, ana a heart of ice. Nothing
lufdes him He is impervions 70
sang from the coaching line and
5,,,sg! l-tongued conversation and de-
Nrs-,.ae movements have shaken the
H. tb. OF many an experienced batter
1,,5ls OF big game.
r. Chief Loves a Crowd.
NJ DR!ef is different from many
\ r. IN that he loves crowd.
,,s, o4tsger the crowd and the more
the ne game, the happier he is. and
m, Ter he pitches. He frankly
4 Ss,1, dlplause. He likes to get out
#'s1,D,e $1,000 fans and tie world
h. ygl oatsmen in half bitches for
me S c, Of the populace. And If
Il NJ nj Owe appears in New York
,nl, 'Isgo 1t doesn't make any differ
5I.,., 10 the Chief He smiles and
pst,bsss and in equal parts. and
.ys- !, me smile nor the pitching is
~, disturbed. inns -
."eF tell me Won can bit sraed
&c.. remarked to Snodgrass. with
,v.- u. NJ smile. then he nut three
4 soys ne groove that hit Thomasa
'ssr,s- I'm a sound like caressing A
D., 9ed with a plank.
sap. ..'efe is whisper through the
S gargs .a7l the Giants NAV get re-
& ss9 ms tali The Chief has nor
~r song good" as ball PLAYERS
20 .s-. ''r doesn't seem to be p hIe
r.. the nine innings with
81 Bona Strength and certainty. Rur
los" students ~ affairs arc
'~ygneu-. '''''s heavily on this de