Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-13


ing of great i'm
Each wear in base ball produces some
new saying peculiar to the ball neio'
-Dust him off, easily was the most
nonular battle cry of the 1915 cam
pafgn. Just who really originated the
dust him off, war cry Will prooaoiS
never be definitely ascertained' Out IL
is my belief that the honor. If such II
may be called, belongs to Nean oegg
of the Boston Red Sox-
In former years when a player
shouted bean him to the pitcher tne
crowd knew just what he meant. ne
desired the pitcher to shoot 1ast hlsn
ball as close to the batters heao as
possible without actually hitting MN.
From the bean him war cry came the
expression bean ball" Players ana
fans know the bean ball as the pitchers
weapon of intimidation 1 DOUBT II
there is a pitcher who ever used the
bean ball with the actual intent of hit
ting the batsman. He resorted 10 the
practice simply to intimidate the pat
ter to make him fear his fast pan.
which naturally drives him back from
the plate. and accordinly renders the
curve ball on the outside all the more
effective.
way of requesting the pitcher to throw
the bean ball. Just what caused Gregg
TO originate the expression is perhaps
as much mystery as the expression
itself Usually when the bean ball IS
thrown at the batter he is forced to
drop to the ground to escape being
hit On arising it is always customary
for the batsman to dust hlmse1 on:
That may possibly be one definition or
the origin. Another is that IN throw
ing a bean ball that comes close TO
hitting the batsman the ball in real1ty
dusts him off, because of its nearness-
Resorted to Bean Ball.
The favorite spot for the dust him
Off" cry from the bench was when the
pitcher held the whip hand. Once
he had the batter in the hole, he was
often advised to dust the batter on
With the count two strikes and no
balls, or two strikes and one ball. the
pitcher is in position where he can
afford to waste a ball. In good
many cases last year. with such con-
ditions existing, the pitcher would use
the next ball for the purpose OF dust
ing the batter off. Having the batter
in the hole. there was no intention OF
letting him get to first by purposely
hitting him: on the other hand the
pitcher simply wanted to come as close
as possible to hitting the batter with |
out actually doing so. Such happen |
ing nine times out of ten creates |
fear, and destroys to certain extent
batter has been hugging the plate |
closely. which in base ball is known !
as getting toe hold for the fast |
away from the plate. If the dust |
him off, ball accomplishes that end, |
the pitcher invariably comes back with !
a low curve on the outside. which is |
good enough to be called a strike il |
not offered at, and at the same time is
mighty hard to hit safely from the po-
sition assumed by the batsman, after
he has just missed being hit by the
slightest fraction of an inch.
Severe Test for Batsman.
The true sportsman will say that i
such methods do not have the proper |
ring to them. There is no denying that |,
fact. yet after all the dust him off, |
ball is simply the severest test possible !
for the nerves. 1t is one of the tricks |
of the game Every sport has certain |
features, which. while they do not re- |
fleet the true spirit of craftsmanship, !
still go a long way toward getting re-
suits. and in base ball, like every other |
sport. 1t is results that count. The crowd |
likes to trail along with winner. it |
seeks to escape in every way possible |
the loser. Most batters will tell you |
that il is not difficult feat to es-
cape being hit. no matter how speedy |
or wild a pitcher may be. When you
consider the number of balls that are
thrown every year and the few bats
men who are actually hit, it simply
proves that the percentage in keeping
out of the way is greatly in favor Of
the batter. AS have said before, there
is never the real intent to hit. it is
simply the desire to destroy to a GER
tain extent the confidence of the bat
ter. thereby rendering the pitcher more
effective. The fact that the dust him
off" expression was popular last
year caused many a pitcher to be crit
icised when there was no intent on his
part to turn the trick. Most any wild
pitch that came close to hitting the
batsman last season Immediately
caused the hitter to accuse said pitcher
of trying to put him out of business.
IL is often the case that a pitcher lacks
control: such lack of control during
the 1915 campaign was always regard
ed with evil intent.
Walter johnson an Exception.
Most pitchers resort to the dust him
or ball at some stage Of the game. In
nearly every contest there comes time
when a good hitter comes up in a pinch.
. situation where a base hit means the
ball game In such cases most pitchers
viii dust the batter off with one ball.
solely to render him less dangerous at
the plate. There Is one pitcher who
never resorts to such practice He is a
pitcher who II he did make a habit Of
GUSHING on u DaIIef every now and then
would be practically unhittable Even
without the dust him off, ball he is
eorne pitcher. The player refer to is
Mr.. Walter Johnson of WASHINGTON, D.
C.. in the summer and Coffeyvtlle, Kan,
in the winter. Mr.. johnson is a some
what different pitcher in more respects
than one.
When Walter johnson came to the
American League his speed was perhaps
even more terrific than it Is today when
he cuts one loose. johnson came to the
American League with practically no ex-
perience- He had never been shown any
OF the finer points of pitching, for success
he had to depend upon natural ability
and his cannon ball speed was his best
and only asset. While not wild he did
not possess anywhere near the control
that his eight years as a big Lacquer has
developed. Batters soon realized what
terrific speed he used. also knew he wv.
wild at lines. with the result that none
of them Rugged the plate very closely
His strike-out record was the talk a.
nearly every game he worked Win
more work than he had been Accustomed
10 in the bushes. he gained better con-
troll Battegs were quick to realize the
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