The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-11-07
SOx Star Admits He Does Not
Use a Shine Ball.
Jack VeiOck, However, Has His
Serious Doubts.
BY JACK VEIOCK.

New York. Nov. LII Eddie CT
cote says there amt no such animal
as the shine ball.
Eddie was satisfied to let everybody
in the baseball world. particularly the
Giants, believe that he had invented
a brand-new delivery until after the
worlds series was over. Then he
came out with the info that the sinner
is a myth and that his success on the
mound this year was due to regular
pitching with the splitter on the side.
The psychological effect that the
shine ball had on opposing batsmen
was the reason that Cicotte permitted
the report to be put in circulation, he
says, and adds that the idea of the
shine ball was devolved by him and
/ Hap Felsch while the SoX were doing
their spring training.
THE idea was to rub the ball in a
peculiar way" explains Edward, to
make the batters think I was doing
something to it. l wasn't, really. but
others thought 1 was and it didn't do
me any harm to have them think so.'
Fetish the Originator.
Hap FETISH started the shine ball
story in st. Louis when the White Sox
played their best series of the season
in the Mound City against the Browns.
The yarn went the rounds like Wild
fire and was printed all over the coun-
try. Fielder Jones was interviewed
by the scribes and Fielder was not
slow in expressing his belief that CT
cote was using an illegal delivery.
Hadn't he seen Cicotte pitch in other
years? Why, sure! And did Cicotte
ever show much stuff as he had on
/ the ball this summer? Not SOS YOU
could not it,
Then why not trick delivery, huh?
Why not?
And this is the way the story of
the shine ball came out, if we are to
take Edwards word for it, But Won
can't convince the members of a
certain ball club managed by a GER
tain doughty little manager that
C1cotte doesn't monkey with a base
ball The Giants simply know that
Eddie has something he puts on the
pill, for they batted against him and
they did a whole lot of club swinging
! in the empty air in the game he won
from them. Swell chance for Cicotte
to get by with a denial if you apply
it to the Giants. Benny Kauff saws
the Giants'd all be regular Swiss bell
ringers with the bats if they could
do to a bat what Edward does to a
| baseball. And that goes for Ben
Looks Like Something.
But there is a question regarding
Cicotte's success, and whether or not
he is telling the straight of it since
the worlds series is a thing of the
dead past
The writer has watched Cicot+a
warm up a number of times. At the
Polo grounds the pitchers warm lIp
directly in front of the press box and
the catcher stands with his back TO
the screen. So it was easy to perch
on seat not more than five feet be-
hind the catchers who warmed 10
Cicotte numerous occasions this
summer. and Wen say that the pill
as she is tossed up there by Eddie
does some mighty queer stunts
Cicotte either has a combination
knuckle ball and slow ball down to a
science, or has marvellous control of
the splitter That he puts anything
on the ball that any other pitcher
hasn't used is doubtful. But the fact
remains that the pill comes I'D there
doing tango, and it breaks in every
old direction just about three feet in
front of the plate. A good pitcher
with a hop of one-half inch on a
baseball can fool most ball clubs these
days. OF course, he has to have con-
troll, but the half-inch hop, even if it
| is no more than that, will make bat
ters pop the ball into the air or hit
it down to the infielders so if they do
not foul it off or miss it altogether.
! That's the kind of ball Eddie throws.
and he has control. He's just a good
pitcher-that's our honest opinion of
him