Evening star., 1919-03-03

ceiyed a query from the manager OF
| a big mill team in New England,
relative to a game between the team
| representing his mill and that of
nearby city. 1t involves a rule which
could easily be made to cover
such a situation with no chance for
| argument. 1t does not do so If you
would see it from the angle of some
authorities.
| His club went into the first half of
| the ninth with the score to agaInst
| it. The first man up walked. while
| the next got on when the left fielder
/ rnufred a fly, which allowed the run
ner on first to reach second. " ith
. the cali two strikes and no balls. the
| next man hit line drive between
| left and center field, on which he made
| an ,easy home run, having crossed
| the plate before the ball was gotten
| back into the infield 1t doesn't seem
| that this situation should bring any
argument, but the runner originally
| on second failed to touch third base
| on his way to the plate.
The third baseman called for the
ball from the shortstop, who had han
( died the relay Getting the ball, he
| touched third base. Whereupon the
| umpire called the runner out VINO
! had failed to touch third. Ihat was
|
raised the contention that the run
| ner originally on first base ana the
| batsman who hit the home run shouio
| also be declared out. The umpire at
| first refused to listen to Such con-
| tention. The team in the field based
its claim on the fact that, since the
| first runner had failed to touch tn1fo
! and the following runners hao zone
| so they had technically passed the
| first runner on the base line, ana
! were automatically out. Ihe umpire
| was won over to that angle ana called
! all three out, retiring the slde ana
| ending the game.
While it is possible to find some
leading authorities of the game VINO
will take the view that the umpire
| rendered the proper decision IN Gait
! ing all three men out, / nave heSot
| been able to see the play IN that
| light I can see no reason why
| player who fulfills all the rules OF
the game should suffer for an IN
| fraction of the rules on the part Oh d
! preceding base runner. The runner
originally on first touched secono'
third and home as the rules prescribe.
The batter who hit the home run
touched first, second, thru ana nolIe'
run, and / see no reason why he
should be deprived of credit 1or that
feat.
The rules say no base runner shall
score a run to count in the game
! ahead of a base runner preceding MN
in the batting order. The argument
could be offered that the runner on
first and the batsman did not score
ahead of a preceding runner. since
the first runner forfeited ms righ! 70
score, in measure, when ne falied
to touch third. If such play ever
comes UP in a game in which | am
the umpire l will give no coHsldera- a
tion to any protest on GROUNDS that
the following runners were automdt-
ically out the moment they touched
a base which a preceding runner had
failed to touch. Can you imagine
play such as l described coming up
in a worlds series, and the umpire
declaring all three men out? l wouldn't
care to be such an official.
Since there is constant discussion
on all PLAYS involving situation as
l have above described. it would be
easy for the rul makers to clarity
the situation, by adding one sentence
| to the rule covering the proper man
ner of scoring run. 1t would be
! only necessary to say that a base
runner shall in no way be made to
suffer for any act of the preceding
runner in falling to touch a base
provided the other runner or runners
| touched each base in its proper order.
Hughey Jennings, famous leader of
the Detroit Tigers, is nothing If not
original. When Hughey was player
he was noted for his ability TO get
hit on balls that cut the heart of the
plate. Now, Hughey always wasn't
| allowed to go to first base, but he al
ways was stirring UP some action for
the umpire. In the coaching line,
| Jennings, when he came to the Amer
lean League, gave the fans something
new to gaze upon and listen to. IN
/ stead of using the old stereotyped
line of chatter and standing in the
usual position assumed by the coach
er, Hughey put on an acrobatic exh1-
| bition that would have done credit to
a big time performer and cut loose
with a bulary, most of which
Noah Webster knew nothing about.
1t really is surprising the wonder
/ full interest the fans showed in the
stunts put over by Jennings. SO much
/ publicity was given to his methods 1t
/ was believed each move meant some
thing, each unintelligible word q bit
of advice. Some scribe printed
story TO that effect, and it was spread
broadcast. 1t was great piece of
| publicity, and Hughey realized 1t. He
! went through all kinds of acrobatic
motions, and each day pulled some
wild Shrek that was q bit different
from anything he did the preceding
day. The fans fell for the chatter.
For week or so after the story was
printed I myself thought there might
be something to it, but soon decided
otherwise
Now for another angle of the game
in which jennings holds a unique
position. In base ball the old alibi is
the most cverworked feature in the
game. A great many athletes, in
stead of accepting mistake as a
part of the pastime, are constantly
trying to offer some excuse that will
pardon the offense. A poor infield.
a high wind. heavy track. and the
poor old umpire are just a few of the
many alibis sprung time and time
again during the season. With a
great many managers the alibi goes
a considerable distance, but not with
Mr. Hughey Jennings. Hughey
| doesn't regard player or umpire per-
feet, and expects both to make mis-
| takes, but when such things happen
| the less said to Jennings about the
tangle the better for those concerned
The old alibi has no particular place
| on the Detroit club Most of the
players know 1t, and as a result the
| Tigers accept the bitter with the
sweet and are not always offering
4 oxorcoo fnr dafaaf They ara out