The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-02-22

towards third. and in order 10 score III.
base runner simply must collide as i,
cannot slow up to avoid a mix-up. auc
20 so around is impossible CONSEQUENT.
ly. the blocking takes place, as thert
IS not one base runner in ten who cal
upset or get the best Of a catcher.
am selecting the catcher as the tar
get of my harmless abuse as at n,
home plate most OF the blocking take.
place. Occasionally. a baseman and (,
runner will 90 to the mat together, bu
it is more often accidental than inten
tional. and is due to a poor throw o,
something which necessitates the mar
making the play at the bag being in lin,
with the runner.
want to distinguish between beint
in the base line and blocking. GeorE,
Mcbride. the Washington shortstop
never blocks a man sliding into a bag
but he has a knack Of receiving the bal
directly in the line vIen he is about q
tag a man and somehow he seems ts
straddle the baseline and really make.
1t imperative for the runner To slide
straight into the bag. right between
his feet. Mcbride does this for two rea.
sons. First. as soon as ne gets the bait
all he has to do is to bring il down IL
front OF him. right on the runner. and he
knows where he can find the man to pu'
the ball on him Immediately. Secondly, Il
prevents the base runner from making
a Ifallaway" slide as the only opening
he has for the bag is straight in. COnse-
quently. rarely does 4 man eiude Mcbride
and slide in safely. unless he beats the
ball entirely.
Mcbride n star.
This is the way all inhelders. ant
especially shortstops and second has"
men, try to make the play. l have sim
ply used Mcbride as an example. as h'
is che Of the best opponents Of the Ar
OF touching a runner that | know or
Heine Wagner. of the Red SoN, laclG
the grace of Mcbride in tagging n run.
ner. but. believe me. you are never IL
doubt when Heinc touches you: and l.
he gets the ball from the catcher any
where near the time You arc sliding
you've got to bore clear through him Ia
get to the bag. He usually has his feet
knees. shoulders impact his whole body
between you and the bag. lie gets spiked
a lot during a season. but he Is regular
stone wall to run into.
.'BilT' Carrican. uf the same club, "a
another who protects his base at hons
plate from wCuld-hc scorers as IL &
were solid gold. In his college days
..RiII'' was some whale of a football
ing idea that he really entertains these
mix-ups around the home base Just fol-
old times sake. At any rate. he side
stems no one. and a runner hasn't q
snowbaIl's chance OF scoring with hiu
in the line.
I saw Eddie" Ainsmith. of Washing.
ten. in game last year at Shibe Park.
set himself in the line, block McInne.
of from home plate. catch a throw from
Moeller in the Outield, ana touch
"Stuffy'' out. The umpire refused &c
allow the run to count in spite OF ths
fact that all the time ''Stuffy'' WAS on
the ground trying to get by Ainsnith
who had him blocked of and was still
waiting for the ball.
Because of just such plays as this on,
I maintain that some provision should
be made either to enforce the eXistins
rule against blocking or to frame an.
other which would cover II more speCi.
flcalIy. II would certainly benefit bas,
running and eliminate a lot Of accidents
and spiking instances.
Copyright. 1914. by tho Wheeler Syndicate. Inel