The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-07-27
Intentional Walk by Pitching to In
fielder Instead OF Catcher,
Is Not Against
the Rules.
TO ADOPT THE PRACTICE
Believed Every League In Country
viii Follow Suit Of c. A.
In Construction of
Rules.

A new wrinkle in the way the old
game of baseball is played will prob
ably be seen by local fans within a
| short time. The international pass OF
a batter to first base, something fire.
quently seen in close game, will not
be made in the future by the pitcher
throwing the ball to the catcher. The
ball will be thrown by the pitcher to
some infielder four times and the bat
ter will be ordered to take his base.
This play was first pulled at Wat
erloo recently by Marshalltown
pitcher. 1t was pulled again Sunday
by Waterloo pitcher in a game
against the Indians. In this case Nc
Culloch was walked purposely by the
pitcher who threw the ball four times
to the first baseman. At the time this
was done. Manager Boyle said he
would protest the game, but as the
Indians won it later, the game was
not protested.
Had the game been lost the pro-
test would not have been sustained by
the league president, NJ E. Justice.
This method of passing a batter is
strictly in accordance with the rules.
although i. is believed never to have
been practiced before. Obviously it
was not the intention of the rule
makers to encourage this practice o.
even to sanction it But technically
the rules do not prohibit the practice.
Covered by Rule SO.
Rule SO, section 1, clearly covers
the case. 1t reads:
/: IF, after the .batsman be standing
| in his proper position ready to strike
1 at pitched ball, the ball be thrown
by the pitcher to any player Other. than
the catcher when in the catcher's lines
and within ten feet of the home base
Except in an attempt /. to retire a
base runner), each ball SO thrown shall
be called a ball."
This rule was formed for the pur-
pose of preventing the pitcher from
delaying the game, but 1t serves al.
mirably for the pitcher who is wild
and wants to pass a batsman without
taking any chances of his striking at
the ball in attempting to pass him.
Can Pitch to Any Player.
1t is not necessary for the pitcher
to throw the ball to first base. He can
throw it to any player, even an out.
fielder. although that would not be
desirable.
There is no question but what this
method of walking a batter is better
than the old method of taking chance
| "pitch-outs" to the catcher, and for
this reason it probably will be a prac,
Itice adopted at once by teams all over
the country. There are only two ways
lin which the practice can be prohibit
ed. One is through changing the
rules when the baseball rules com
mittee meets next winter. The other
lis through the forming Of special
rule to cover this case by each league
! AS the president of the league does
not have authority to adopt any such
rule by himself, a meeting of the
league directors would have to be call
ed to make it legal.
After all, there is no reason why any
attempt should be made to prohibit
the practice True, it does not give
the batter a chance to hit the ball,
chance which he is supposed to be
legally entitled to, but his battine
record is not injured by his BEING
forced to walk.