Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-09-05
KIDDING" PART OF BASE BALL.
DECLARES PITCHER ALEXANDER
Phillies' Great Twirler Shows Difference
Between Riding and Real Testing.
How Catcher BaA1ed Batsman.

his back cutting loose at the supposed
fast one.
The catcher would keep this I'D all
season, ana by the time the batter was
up TWO or three times in a series he
dld not know where 1leiwas Jim would
tell him the truth a couple of times.
then fool him a couple of times and mix
up ms Information and transformation
70 sucn degree that Jack couldn't
even guess what was coming. It was
worse Tor him than standing up there
nguring out for himself what the Mitch
er would throw to him.
oelieve, If you went over the rec
oroS, you would find that the PLAYER T
am referring to did not make more
than couple of hits a season against
our club when his nemesis was behind
the plate: l have not mentioned the
names OF the two players, because it
Batting Average a DOGGY.
Another player in the big league some
years ago was making a hard fight to
win the batting championship. He was
very susceptible to Kidding" and in
the course of one series, which was
played IN Boston. II I remember cor
rectly. they had him worried so much
that he could not get anything resem-
bling base hit.
contested. the leading batsman was be-
ing hard pressed by two or three other
players. When he was coming up to
the plate to take his turn at bat, sew
eral would shout at him:
Tough luck. pal. but we just got
word from the press box that johnson
of Brooklyn got two hits in his first
two times up and and Williams W. of New
double in his two trips to the plate.
That Just about puts them both a point
or two ahead, Of you. doesn't it:'
Whether the batter believed them or
not 1 don't know. But he did almost
swing his head off trying to hit the
ball and did not come anywhere near
1t. He was SO anxious to win the bat
ting championship that he had that
on his mind all the time, and there
fore it was easy to kid" him. q
Young Players Trapped.
The young player has to keep his
head up and his eyes wide open all
the time when he first breaks into fast
company or he'll pull "bonehead" plays
that will make him look foolish to the
crowd, which does not understand what
has been said on the diamond. FIRE.
quently you will see a young second
baseman throw to the keystone sack
to force a runner there when the man
Is already standing on the bag. He
should have tossed the ball to first for
an easy out. You call the infelder
harsh names.
But did you hear a coacher or some
player with a foghorn voice yell.
Throw it to second" Well. an op-
posing player did shout just that, and
he shouted 1t so the fielder would be
sure to hear it and think one OF his
own players was advising him. The
youngster turned and threw to the
base indicated, never even stopping to
look and see that the runner was on
That sort of kidding" is rough on a
rAcruit, but he has to learn the game,
ID the men in it, in the bitter school
q experience. The player who succeeds
is the man who doesn't fall for the
same kid more than once or twice. II
he keeps his ears open. he soon be-
comes az wise as the veteran, and as
the saying goes. he shows the veterans
that 'you can't kid a kidder."
OF course, in some games, notably
golf, kidding" Is tabooed. If you talked
or tried to rattle an opponent who was
driving from the tee on the links you
soon would be mighty unpopular and
probably would be asked to resign from
the club. And, having tried to play a
little golg myself, l can readily under
stand why the man who Is attempting
hard and important shot does not