The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1917-10-25
Big League Gossip
CHRISTY MATHEWSON


| of min" around New York have told me
thc SankS lack aCCrrSSivrncSS. ! be-
! licve Higgins could remedy that.
Tho controversy ov"r just whose fariH
| II was that Eddie Collins WAS chased
over the plate with Il big run III the
| last worlds series game at IN" Folio
grounds. promises 10 rage all winter. II
, Is just another instance "t how has.s-
ball fanS--and players. tnn--cau differ
! In their views IF wide open plays.
| nav rsnd that John McGraw places
| rnuch responsibility on Fill Rarilrn. who
ran down toward third has" and left
the plate uncovered when Zimmerman
started chasing Collins up the line.
am NOT satisfied In my own mind as T."
/ hon much Farideu was At fault. Pos
sihly Holke should have covered the
plate. but you must remember that Their"
were runners between first and second
and second and third bases when Col
Inns was apparently trapped. and. Il they
had been driven back. there might have
been play At first base
The most charitahls view to take is
that II was just one OF thoss compi-
Gated plays thar called for so many
mon that tho plate was not property
guarded. Benton folded thu ball and
ran Collins back :" third base. OBJ
| viously. he could not cover the plate.
Rariden ran down to coach BENTON on
the play. Zimmerman took the throw
while Hcrzog. Fletcher and Holkc were
ready I" max" play on. either or the
other two runners.
IL is my recollection that Benton
dropped back and was in n position
tn dispute Collins progress il Zim had
passed tho hall to him. When Collins
turned toward the plate he found Rari-
den near him and Rentnn further up tho
line. Possibly Earidsn might have
stopped F:ddi. by a hlutanE 4 cauch.
t6wrvcr. Collins was by him in jtrry.
Benton expected Heiny 10 throw TO him
tEcn,on). but when he saw It was n
pursuit race. re stepped OF the base
lines to avoid Interfering with the base
runner
II is. or course. not Tho best baseball
when unly a pitcher looms up t" dispute
:, base runners passage to the plate. AS
4 ruiz. pitchers do not handle such plays
! we'll and are not adopts ut tagging run
nerS with the bail. Perhaps this flash
I'd through Zimmrrman's mind and he
decided u try for tho out himself rather
than risk n toss to Benton and a posi-
hl. error that might imSur" the run.
II Is easy enouEht ID dSSect such a
play after il has been considered from
all angles. zimmerman, however, ldu
only one guess.
In ono Of my articles las; month I
spoke OF the new system Of worlds
Series umpirinS. and expressed hope
tina; II would reccir. Il trial. am con-
WINGED that after it's demonstration this
month Their" Will never be any more
foul line" umpires.
An umpire can see the outfi"ld foul
lines we'll enough from first and third
bases. and the man behind the plate can
always check him up. But IN my opln-
ion tho greatest Improvement. is the
stationing OF an umpire back OF second
base. That Is a new angle for the UNI
pires However. they were always In
position because they did not need to oo
gallivanting around the infield 10 attend
to d.cisio IONS elsewhere.
There wasn't one hutly debated decis-
ion at second base during the series
which is proof that the new system Is
effective. Nor were there any argu-
ments at first or third bases. The plate
umpireS wern unusually good. / believe
Saier thought that OII"ughlin missed
1, ,.nupl. in the fifth game. but Sal ad-
mitS that in the first game. which he
lost. . 10 /, Silk was in rare torn.
Copyright. 1917. by The Bell Syndl-
cate. Incl