The Washington times., 1914-03-08

MuSt An0W All 4I1ckS-
The baserunner who is up in the rec
ords at the end Of the season must
know all the tricks of each baseman
on the various teams. and every one
has many. He must also be familiar
and tagging a runner so that he will
know the best way to go about IT to
avoid being put out. 1t is the outsider
who lays the stress upon speed in a
base runner. Sprinting ability. OF
course. Is a valuable thing in going
around the paths. but the start and
finish are far more inrport2ntt. Some
of the best sprinters in the world would
be poor base runners ~ they did not
know how to get their starts. and
motions of the various twirlers in the
league. For instance, II a player can
discover some slight move that tips
him of when a pitcher Is going to de-
liver the ball. it may mean ten stolen
bases to him in a season.
In stealing a base / generally watch
the basemaEs eyes. to make Up NY
mind how to come into the bag. 1t is
useless to try TO look at the ball. he
cause. when going down to second. II
watch over the. shoulder. This, throws
a man out Of his stride and causes him
to slow up. By watching the eyes OF the
player who Is to receive the ball, IL Is
easy to tell on which side OF the rag
to come in to present the smallest pos
sible area for touching purposes. From
a baseman's eyes, 1 always make up my
mind on which side to slide, and j
never decide this until do get look
at them. After have once made my
decision. 7 never change 1t. because this
has injured more players in baseball
than any other one cause, / believe
II runner starts to slide into a
base on one side. and then, as ne pre-
pares to hit the dirt. suddenly changes
his mind he is liable to come up with
a sprained ankle at least. and probably
a broken 'eg. 1t is almost suicidal 70
start slide and then suddenly dec de
to stay up because there Is no play
being attempted at the base where you
are arriving. -
II has always been my rule that when
I once make UP my mind to hit the
dirt. 7 never change it, and ] go down
travelling at full speed. This Is the
safest way. The worst you can get as
result of this system are some sis1iGs sn;Is
wound But by changing your rnlnd
suddenly. You are liable to come UP with
a broken leg, which never comes around
right again and shows you up as
player.
You Must Like Sensation.
The great secret. to my mind, OF be-
ing a good base runner is to hit the
n
dirt with the feeling that you like the
sensation. In the early months Of a
championship race | am always Gov
cred with sliding blisters. as the pads
are strapped fast to my legs uhder the
uniform and slip when | do. But
player soon becomes toughened 10 these
ana has nothing toward the END OF tne
season but some scars and callous
spots 1t is hardest to get gong In inc
early weeks of the race, when the sid
ing sores are bad, but even then
player must hit the dirt as II ne ell
joyeG II
Look at the men in baseball who have
been hurt for suddenly snlitlnS .
opinions Mike Donl.n. at an import
ant moment of the race for the Ma
tional League pennant in 1905. spra ,hed
his ankle by trying to stay up aiter ne
had started his slide. II put him OUT
of the batting order for some time. ana
was probably largely responsible for the
loss of the championship by the Giants,
as the race that year was decided by
only one game. johnny" Evers was
out of the game when he changed MS
mind about sliding two or three Years
ago. Harry Wolter. of the Yankees.
broke his leg in the same way. II IS
foolish thing to do.
Base running is a DANGEROUS branch
OF the pastirne. and 1t takes nerve Tor
a man to be I'D among the lchtSrS IL
is not only dangerous for the runner.
! hut frequently for the baseTan as well.
| The collision at first base. when a
| player is clumsy about covering, are
| particularly dangerous because run
Eer is not slowing up at all as nc
crosses the bag. They :cll me that
after McGraw had the pennau. praC-
tically' won in !9ll, he put Arthur DeE-
| lin in at first base for few games IN
order to rest up Merkle. Now. pevln
was about AS slick as any one taking
care of third. hut first was now bea'
| for him. II was always getting tans
| led up with the runner and narrowly
! missing having an arm or Al le;; or per
haps his neck broken. At has,, Mct'raw
! called him of.
Guess you'rr not meant for that job
| There are three or four guys LOOKING
! 1" kill you now because the: claim you
| have been blocking them.
Easier To Steal Third.
| My readers are Soir= to be surprised
! tu hear me say that it is easier 10
steal third base than second hut that
! il is not stoicn 50 often for the reason
| the gain is not so great. When Il
| runner is on second .ase. hr can take
a LONGER lead. neCause the pitcher has
| To turn clear around 70 watch the bag
| and il he Is to get mis- man. ne ElCSi
whirl and throw without looking. tak-
| ing = signal from the catcher aS a
! rule and depending Upor either tho
| $hortst"p ar ;Sec md Dtsemnn - cover
| Neither has he any mark u iirc at
| because the base is being covered b.
] d man on the run. lie can just shoot