The Washington herald., 1914-06-07
Major League News and Views
n
BY CHRISTY MATHEwSCN.

SpitbaIl pitchers are becoming scarcel
each season. In baseball this form Of de-
livery has been a sort of fad that lacked
stability, such as the dancing craze. the
| bicycle hobby, etc. Many twirlers> who
used to depend on II have abandoned
II altogether. Only the most expert
with the splitter still continue to use II
| regularly.
Managers, in the past two or three
years. have become prejudiced against
the use of the wet ball There are many
reasons for this. In the first place, q
| spitball pitcher tends TO unsteady team
because the wet ball leads to many er-
rors. especially when a recruit pitcher is
working since he generally thinks hs
must soak the ball to get any results,
and the fielder or catcher making j
throw is apt TO toss the game away on
one play The official scorer gives the
author of the wild throw an error. bu,
the pitcher who vets the ball so pro-
fusely should receive credit for the mis-
play.
| Most catchers hate to handle spitbaIl
pitchers. The delivery makes the ball
difficult to throw to the bases and the
control of the damp artist is usually un-
! certain and hard to receive. The ball
also takes many uncertain and unex-
| pected breaks. SO that catchers fire.
quently have their fingers split and are
forced out of the game for severa:
weeks. There used to be a great array
of spitball pitchers on the New York
American League team with Fisher.
Ford, Jack Quinn and the rest The re-
suit was that Sweeney. the most valu-
able catcher to the club. was often out
of the game with a bad hand from trying
to receive these boys
Chief Meyers used to refuse to handle
Bugs" Raymond when he was with the
Giants. because he hates the splitter So.
McGraw would work Wilson, the second
catcher. with Raymond almost regu-
larly, since Arthur did not object SO
strongly to- receiving Bugs" favorite
dish. The rest of the team would hate
to see Raymond take the box, too, be-
cause of the added difficulties in fielding
the wet ball To Larry" Doyle 1t was
particularly Objectionable, although he
would always try to conceal his feelings
until he had made an error. / have fire.
quently heard Doyle early in a game
shouting: ... q
Come. Arthur. Get in there. Now
you're working"
Then some one would hit one at
Larry and the ball would slip out
Of his hand. or he would make a wild
toss. and his honeyed tones to Raymond
would melt .--
Get in there. Bugs, and do some pitch
ing. Don't wet that ball so much. How
do you expect us to fieldT' It was 10
longer Arthur" but Bugs"
'I can't tell where the ball is going 20
break" Meyers complained to McGraw
on the few occa sions he caught Ray
mond. He doesn't know himself"
n. -
ayers are not so keen any longer about
their scouts turning up spitban per-
formers for them. The control of a damp
ball pitcher is hardly ever as sure, as
that OF a straightaway worker. Then.
most of them have their good days and
their bad. None is very steady. I have
seen Raymond pitch marvellous game
and three days later hit the first batter
to face him and pass the next and not
have any notion where the ball was 60
ing. You will find that the real stars
of the game, with few exceptions. sell
dom use the splitter. johnson, don't
believe, has pitched twenty-five since he
has been in the American League
Coombs. Bender. Plank and the rest
look on this form of delivery with sus-
picion.
I, myself. am against It, since be-
lieve II hurts pitchers arm and short
ems the period In which he is good for
big league service. / have practically
never used the splitter since II was in
vented. because I found II hurt my arm
after working OMIT as I have done fire.
quently- in, practice to see what use It
could be put to. Once in a great while
used to try to cross up Wagner by
shooting one at him because the impress
sion got abroad somehow that he did
not like the spitbalL Perhaps this was
due to the fact that he could never nit
Bugs Raymond very consistently, but
I believe Raymond's Indifferent manner
in the box did more to disturb Honus
than his splitter. Wagner could always
connect with any spitters that I was
able to offer him.
Many curye-ban pitchers Will slip in a
splitter once. in while when the count
on the batter Is in their favor in an. ef-
fort to cross the hitter. The latter does
not expect II and sometimes misses It
mile IL 1t breaks good. That is the great
trouble any man who does not use II
regularly finds when monkeying with this
style of delivery. He Is usually OF his
control.
Ed" Walsh. of course, is the big ex-,
pert with the spitball, and he wets the
horsehide in only one small spot where
his first two fingers touch the ball
Therefore. he does. not make. II so