Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-11-01

many pitchers; he went through no
Srandstand maneuvers, simply a few
| preliminary motions, and the ball sped
through the air. He seemed to throw
the ball without the slightest effort,
there was no wasted strength 1t
seemed that he could continue pitching
Just as long as he had the inclination
barring accidents, of course.
Lost Many Close Score Games.
Last year Johnson won thirty-six
games and lost only seven, a very re-
markable performance but entirely
within keeping of his ability During
the season just closed Johnson suffered
a complete reversal of form, winning
twenty-eight and losing eighteen. 1t
hardly seems possible that Walter
Johnson could lose that many games
provided he had his usual stuff and
alter insists that he has been lust as
good this year as ever in his life. In
past years when the Washington team
was not nearly so formidable as this
years aggregation few clubs took the
liberty with Johnson's delivery that
several have this year. Incidentally,
ms record of defeats was never quite
so numerous. 1t Is an old saying, that
Wherever there is smoke there is bit
OF fire. On this line of reasoning there
must be some explanation for John
sons failure to win with his almost
monotonous regularity of former years.
l Will offer my eXplanation CLEANED
from observation and investigation.
In every respect except one l think
the Walter johnson of 1914 is a better
pitcher than the Johnson of former
years. johnson has one of the best
curve balls in the league. It is fast
and sharp breaking. He has a change
of pace that is worth while, because
better
of the slow ball. He is a finished
fielder. and a much improved hitter,
and he always could hit the ball rather
savagely- In only one department has
he shown an inclination to go the other
way. l refer to his speed Waiter
johnson at present is as fast as any
pitcher in the American League, posi-
bly, a bit faster. but Walter Johnson
of today is not as fast as the Walter
Johnson of former years At first
thought possibly I had formed a wrong
impression. l asked the other umpires
and all of them seemed to think as /
did about it In past years 1 have seen
johnson pitch himself out of hole after
hole by tanning one, two or three bat
tiers, as the occasion demanded. He
would seem to do it without any effort,
leaving the impression that he always
had something in reserve, despite the
great speed he used almost constantly.
have not seen Johnson perform such
Shifts From Speed to Curve.
1t is my very humble opinion that
the excessive use of a curve ball has
had much to do with the slight dimin-
ishing of Johnson's speed that has
proven SO costly TO him. In former
years a dozen curve balls would often
be as many as Walter would use dur
ing an entire game. In a game at
Philadelphia this summer Johnson
pitched eight successive curve balls to
Eddie Collins, Mack's famous second
sacker finally making a hit on the
eighth hook" In that same game |
am positive Johnson used as many
curve balls as he did fast ones l am
also certain that a majority of the hits
made by the Athletics were on curve
balls rather than speed. Up until re-
Gently Johnson has always been a hard
man for the Athletics to beat Those
We're the days johnson relied almost
solely on the fast one. The curve ball
used by the Washington star seems to
meet with the approval of the Mack
men, for they have been much more
successful against Johnson Of late. In
the final series at Washington between
these two clubs, the Athletics forced
Manager Griffith to take johnson from
the box in the fourth inning. after they
had made twelve hits off his delivery.
Twelve hits in four innings is a bit