Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-12-17
PITCHERS SLOWLY
SUBDU|NG BATTERS
Major League Records Show
1916 TWirIers More EffeC-
tive Than Year Before.
FOUR NO-HlT CONTESTS

CHICAGO, December To-
Major league pitchers are slowly
subduing the batsmen, as the
dope OF this season shows by
comparison with that OF 1915.
Part OF this is due to the increas-
ing tendency OF managers to yank
a slabman. even If he be u star. at
the first sign that the other fel-
lows are beginning to get to him.
Still. individual performances III
holding teams to few hits dem
onstrate that the hurlers are 'be
coming more effective
In four games this year a
pitcher BANKED his ntagonists
without a safe hit. There. were
three no-hit games in the Ameri
can League and one in the Ma
tional. Last year there were
only two no-hit shut-outs, both
OF them in the National
Foster, Leonard and Bush.
George Foster and Dutch Leonard of
the Red Sox and Joe Bush of the Attn
letics were the American League pitch
ers who added their names to the tablet
of no-hit games. Tom Hughes of the
Braves was the only National Lacquer
to attain that lasting fame this year.
More pitchers held their opponents. ito
one or two hits in the major leagues
last year than in 1916, but the num-
Der of eight-hit games that were delivered
this season outnumbered those of the
previous campaign by considerable.
Altogether there have been only thlr-
teen no-hit games pitched since 1909 in
both major leagues and four of those
were registered in the 1916 campaign,
leaving only nine for the previous six
years. The teams which were bla nked
without a swat in 1916 were New York.
Cleveland and st. Louis in the Ameri-
can and Pittsburgh in the National.
Hitless Hurting Feat Dates.
The chronological list Of hitless hurl-
ing feats follows:
June 1s-Hughes (Boston) VS.. Pitts
burgh.
June 21-Foster (Boston) VS.. New
York.
August 2s-Bush CPhiladelphia) VS..
Cleveland.
August so-Leonard (Boston) VS.. ST.
Louis.
only four American League slabmen
held their opponents to one hit in nine
innings this year. by. comparison with
twelve such performances in 1919
Three of this seasons feats were
RrnWn mitch
Groom, Davenport and Plank. The 9TH
err was achieved by Cicotte OF the White
Sox.
In the National League there were
nine in 1915. Half the 1916 games in
which Only single swat was allowed
were pitched by Cubs. Mcconnell.
Lavender. Packard and Hendrix quail
fed in this class. At the same time
Hendrix qualified as champion hard
luck finger of the decade. He held
the Phillies to one-base hit in nine
innings August ]. but was beaten.
to g That one swat came with the
bases full. 1t scored two runs and
put the other where it came in on
the next out.
Browns Pitchers Prominent.
Babe Adams of Pittsburgh. whose
wing gave out completely before the
season was over. held st. Louis to one
hit the first game he pitched this year.
Coombs Of Brooklyn and Schupp and
Benton of New York were the other
slab men to register in this seasons
list of one-hit games.
American League-April 81. Groom
tSt. Louis) VS.. Cleveland: June 8.
Davenport est. LOUISE VS.. Philadelphia;
July &c. Cicotte tChicago) VS.. New
York: August 8, Plank tSt. LOUISE VS..
Washington.
National League-April IS. Adams
fPittsburgh) VS.. St Louis: April %.
Mcconnell tChicago). VS. Pittsburgh:
June IA. Lavender (Chicaeo' W. New
York: July Z. Packard fChicaso) VS..
Boston: August l, Hendrix tChicago)
vs.. Philadelphia: August 20. Coombs.
tBrooklyn) VS.. Chicago. September IS.
Schupp New York; VS.. Boston:
September 80. Benton tNew York; vs.
Boston.
There were forty games this year in
which team made only two hits in
nine innings. Twenty-three of these.
occurred in the National League and
seventeen in the American. In seven
of the forty battles the teams that made
only two hits were victorious.