Bisbee daily review., 1914-05-08
TE REVIEWS LINE WIRE SPORTING SCF- 1.-THE LATEST IN ALI ATHLETICS
INTERESTING POINTS
 ON SIGNAL CODES AS
 USED IN THE MAJORS

U0EU iN ITlE WAJUnO
 A code of signals. which every well regulated bal lteam uses and guards with great care. plays an important part in Che deciding of games.
 There is never a ball pitcher or any play made in which some sort of a signal Is not used The average fan i swell aware of the fact that the catcher signals Che pitcher as to what know the curve from the fast one in sore O ia bah to expect. He must order to be able to handle it complete ly. SO when he crouches and hides his hand m the palm of the big mitt he is signaling the pitcher what to throw But the signal system does not end there The shortstop and second base men. for instance. when there are men in the bases. always watch the catch CTS signs, for the good reason that they learn from them in what direction to expect the ball For instance, with left-handed batter up and a man on first base, if the catcher signs for a fast ball the shortstop knows that the batter is more apt to hit into his di- rection than to right field, consequent ly the second baseman takes the cue tnd gets ready to cover the bag in event of an attempted steal If this system were not practiced many more balls would be hit through territory which one of the other of these in- delders had left unguarded 10 cover the bag
 On some teams the shortstop and second baseman repeal the catchers Isign to the outfeld SO that he can hlearn in the direction where the bat ter is most apt to hit, though this feature fthe system of signals is used but seldom.
 But there are other angles. Every man on the inheld for instance has Ia sign with the catcher # be sees a chance Co catch base runner mapping The signals to the catcher for a throw. fThe catcher in turn gives the pitcher Ia signal to keep the ball out of the bat iters reach. This is called wasting" and is done so that the ball is sure not to be hit while the basemen goes to cover his bag and the catcher is thus given clear way to make his throw The second baseman and shortstop also have a signal by which the question of which one of the two is to cover the bag with a man on first, and there are a great many catchers who signal the pitcher when to throw to first to catch a runner of the bag
 offensive Signals Also
 These are all defensive signals however, but the code extends into the offnensive feature of the game. On a well regulated ball team few batters ever drop to the plate with men on the bases without informing these runners what they are attempt ing to accomplish If it is the inten- tion to play what is known as the Init and run game" the batter sig nals to the runners to start in ad- vance on the the next ball pitched, and he then tries to hit the ball through the position which either the shortstop or second baseman has left open upon starting to cover the bag If he gets the fielder off his balance ball which is hit barely hard enough to roll past the inheld will go into safe territory and be a full fledged base hit while on a ball so hit the runner is very apt to take two bases.
 Under certain conditions the batter notified the runner that he is going to sacrifice, and again he may inform him to steal. fin which event the bat ter will protect the runner as far as possible by hitting at a waste ball or wide pitch which the catcher has 1 signaled for in order to make a throw to intercept the runner
 Teams which practice the squeeze play also have signal for It. The batter tips on the man at third, who starts for the plate with the pitchers motion and the batter bunts when he can reach the ball
 Those managers who do not allow players to do their own thinking ire
 quently use a system of word signs
 from the bench or coaching lines. These signals are to convey the man
 ager's wishes as to what the batter
 or base runner is expected to do. He
 may want him to hit and run or bunt
 and a word is used to tip off the play land a word is used to tip off the play
 CTS, which however. is not intended
 to attract the attention of the oppos-
 ling players.
 The fewer signs a team uses tn
 better 1t is. A complicated system