Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-10-03
CATCHER UNDER
BIG STRAIN IN
WORLD SERIES
assssS's ~ "
York and Chicago
Each Have Strong
Backstops.

q York, Oct. OF the
work OF the various players by posi-
.;tions in past world series emphasizes
lthe fact that with the possible excep-
.stion of pitchers no member of the
steam Is under greater physical or
amental strain than the catcher during
Tthe battles for the championship of
sthe major leagues. In the handling
tof delivery and signals, close plays at
athe plate, throws to u down base
sstealers and in backing up first and
Sthird in throws from the outf1eld. the
scatcher Is both a. busy and important
in the contest.
\ A sharp eye, steady judgment. a
powerful throwing arm and cool cour-
Eage are necessary requisites for the
who dons the mask and wind
pad in the most important of all base
ball games. 1t is fortunate that both
the Chicago Americans and the New
York Nationals are equipped with
lcatchers Of this calibre for the series
LOT 1917 which begins in Chicago next
Saturday. While the Giants have a
asligft advantage in quantity in this
department of the game, the White
ssox are generally conceded to have
Ian edge in the quality Of the receiving
ssstaff.
I The Chicago catchers include Ray
sSchAlk, Byrd Lynn and Joseph Jenk-
einss while the New York quartet con-
! sistS OF George McCarty, William
y Rariden, George Gibson and John
! Onslow..saAs both Jenkins and Onslow
are comparative newcomers, they ar'
! not likely to figure in the series to
8 any extent and their chance of seeing
! service is extremely remote Schalk
! is expected to bear the catching bur-
! den OF the White Sox In every game
/ OF the series unless he should be in-
1capacitated by accident or illness. He
has caught in more than s~eventy-fve
per e. Of the seasons games, while
Lynn has acted as receiver in the
others. Rariden has done the greater
l amount Of the backstopping for the
! Giants this year, due in part to the
! fact that McCarty broke his leg early
! in the season and was out Of the game
! for several months Gibson;>the former
/, Pittsburgh receiver, Is the third string
J catcher for New York. :
, If McCarty can stand the strain Of
\ the game, and it is the impression
! among the New York players that he
!. will be physically fit for the fray, he
!. will undoubtedly have first call upon
l the position. This will bring him into
action against Schalk. The latter is
!: unquestionably of the best catch
ers of the day. He knows the weak
ileSSeS Oh the various DaCLerS ana, as
he can handle the delivery Of any and
all the Chicago twirlers. he will be
able to, signal for any form Of curve
or break that he may think puzzling
) the mar at the plate.
The outstanding feature Of his play.
however, is, his fast and Accurate
throwing TO- the bases. He must be, q
specify sprtnter and perfect slider who
would pit his skill against Schalk with
any degree of success. McCarty is not
SO brilliant In -t,this feature of the
catchsr's art but he is an excellent d.
rector OF the work of thu hurlers and
ts a far stronger batter than schalk.
According to the season averages there
is little choice in the fielding work of
the two catchers but the White sox
backstop Is much faster on the base
lines than McCarty as the latter's ac-
cident is likely to prevent him from
taking chances at base stealing except
in an emergency.
An injury to Schalk during the early
stages OF the coming series would
work havoc with the Chicago club for
while Lynn ID an ambitious player. he
lacks he experience and all-around