The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-12-14
FREAK PITCHING
DISCOURAGED BY
BIG LEAGUES NOW

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Concerted action, to discourage the
efforts of pitchers to invent new freak,
balls has been predicted for the an
nual meetings of the American and
NationeI leagues. Few fans under
stand just why.
It's object is not to handicap pitch
ers by prohibiting the use of any le-
gitimate method of Increasing their
skill, but to provide in advance. IL
possible. a means by which umpires
can cope with any situation that may
arise in future if a pitcher seeks to
gain an unfair advantage by some
method not at present forbidden by
the rules The chief reason is that
the introduction of these freak kinds
of delivery usually 1engthens the time
between pitches and it already has
been discovered that most of the time
wasted in a ball game is consumed by
the pitcher.
When two pitchers addicted to the
spitbaH work against each other it
has been proven that it requires con-
siderably longer to play. a nine-iRning
game than when two men VINO de-
pend entirely on curves and fast balls
are opposed on the slab. The ex-
PLANTATION is that it takes more time to
moisten the ball for a .tspitter than
it does to get ready to deliver a curve
or fast ball And although pitcher
may deliver only one spitball in every
hberate every time he pitches. othSK
wise the batsmen would detect the
difference.
So far as indicated in advance, 1T is
not the intention of the fule-makers to
attempt to 1egis1ate the spitbaH out of
BASEBALL, as it would prove too severe
a handicap on some of the hur1ers
and might even wreck some pitching
stats. But hurlers can be discour-
aged from inventing4 new ways. to de-
lay games.
The latest freaks have been e1inai-
mated simply by enforcing one of the
existing rules, which forbids damag-
ing or discoloring the ball in play.
The emery ball and the mud ball were
ruled out under that section of the
playing code, but you never can tell
when pitcher will come back in the
spring with new one that will not
violate existing rules BY heading
this off no hardship will be done any
pitcher.
Prohibiting the emery ball put Rus
sell Ford out of business. This for
nper Yankee star owed his prominence
to his discovery of a freak, which he
kept secret for several seasons, with
the help of Eddie, Sweeney, his catch
er- Not until Ford jumped to the
Federal league did the real secret of
his peculiar delivery become generally
known.
1n0nF every p1Icn0T began expert
menting with it, but the magnates
jumped in and put on the lid. before 1t
became general. The emery ball re-
CURED roughening a small spot on the
cover of the ball, and Ford used a
piece of emery PAPER to scratch the
horsehidess surface. Hence the name.
The ball would break ''in,'' '.out,'' or
down. according to the location of
the rough Spot when it left the pitch
er's hand.
The objection was that it not only
delayed the game, but ruined too
many balls and placed a handicap on
the other pitcher who did not under
stand the effect of the oughened spot
Naturally it interfered with. the con
troll of the opposing s1abrnan.
The mud all was merely a variation
Of the emery ball and worked on the
same principle. George Mcconnell of
the Chicago Feds has been credited
with its discovery, but the origination
of the idea belongs to Jim Lavender of
the Cubs