Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-07-31
EDGES GIVEN TY COBB
CLOSE DECISIONS GIVE
UMPlRES MUCH TROUBLE
Arbitcrs DO Not show Pure Favorttisnn,
but HIVE Habit of Allowing Dar-
ing Players the Shades.
WHO gets all the close decisions: n

who gets all the close decisions: no
one ever seems to get them?" was the
query raised by Tim Hurst after a
Philtdelpha club owner had COM
against his team. writes a Chicago
llera,u expert.
Close decisions have worried UNI
pircs. players, managers and owners
This season more than ever before.
They have caused riots. assaults and
suspensions almost every day. They
and scraps at the plate. Empires have
bcen run TO cover because of them,
ball players have beAa fined and teams
have lest the services of their stars.
II might be carried far Their by stating
that often pennanls have been lost and
won ON close deSi ,iona
lose the pennant by one game, or De-
troll. win by The same margin, the for
m me, San blame and the latter thank
Hose claim. and they make it strong,
mat certain close decisions which were
; ;!Gainst Then lost them a game last
Drawn any inner than scores OF others
c,I /, l.: no chin novel to have close de-
game. No. not II Ty Cobb has the
nc! normal use of his legs. Ever since
ny ~, broke n,ox@ into meth the game he has been
and the charge has frequently been
made that line times out of ten he is
Is probably true, but also nine times
ont OF ten he deserves it, Still, it is
thai ether tenth which usually causes
the rumpuS.
1t is argued that the umpires see
Cobb pull the unexpected in game after
game, and IN the majority of instances
ne makes his distances on the square.
consequently II becomes Il mere matter
OF RABBIT to give tile Georgia peach the
decision, ana hero is where the UNI
rlrcs row and then boot one.
when TN starts for ar oh Inf
ne Is expected TO get there When Cobb
slid Sill, into thirc base in the game last
under the circumstances which pre-
vailed At the time. and it is posSibls
that Tom Connolly. Enthusiastically
called him safe. influenced by the fact
that he figured that so long as it was
Cobb he should be. The evidence in
fnis par.ic m case seems to he in
connolly himself admitted that possibly
he had been mistaken. but because il
was Cobb everybody concerned took it
for granted that no would get away
with ill., and lie did.
Weaver Opposite to Cobb.
Ihe opposite TO Cobb is Weaver. who
Sox ever since Buck broke into the
game. and we have seen mighty few
simply 4 question OF speed and TEN
permanent Weaver will go to the mat
over any kind OF decision. Cobb takes
~ iiiVSt
Weaver tries aS hard as Cobb to get
TO the different bases but. not being
rated in the RECORDS speedy as Cobb
he, In the opinion Of the arbitrators, in
me great majority OF cases arrives a
fraction of IA second too late. Again,
the psychology. OF thought Did the
umpire ngurc that Buck, being slower
OF foot. mad no right to beat the throw
and therefore called him out? 1t has
seemed that way many times
Despite the arguments. umpires have
seldom been accused of dishonesty in
drawing the finish some times TOO fine
me only charge, as a rule. has been
plain incompetency. But even this does
not explain il, as those recognized as
the greatest unpireS in the business
sometimes make the worst blunders
What is tie remedy? The answer is
that there Is none, unless human intel
lcci can attaii mechanical perfection
and that probably is Il iouS- way off
ihat the players are, In large part.
responsible for adverse decisions is Of
course, true. Their constant protests
SCI the nnpircs against them, and
again unconSciously. perhaps. they get
the worst of 1t on close plays. Empires
are supposed to be absolutely Impair
tiaL This is true in theory, but just
III" same they are human, and that is
Why certain umpire greeted Buck
weaver The other day when he came
TO the plate with this: Here comes
the man with three close decisions
against him"
Those jumps have long memory
which is the one bad feature OF the
system as AT present conducted. The
players thcmHclNcs make the excuses
tor rowdy behavior on tho theory that
II they do not claim everything In
are bound TO miss something which
they are entitled TO.