El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1920-02-24
FREAK PITCHING
WILL CONTINUE
SAYS VET

, Jew YORK. Feh. 24.-No matter
N what the baseball rules comm 80
Toas toward abOlshins lE1-A
pitching 1T the chicago nlee-ll-= =
IS likely some otner 4lii-e- a p.
i5t-ar~ Will be heard from next season
81 4 few baseball men are m
e1fned 10 the belief that the 80 l.---e-
..srsDer' Is more OF a myth tnan any
+hinr else. and that the credullly o-
the ball player has helped % los-ei IT,
II Only n Fast Ball
Gene Mccain. who scouts 1or ne
sveraee mn OF ball players i is easy
bne of the baseball student Flo con-
siders the sinner" more or less d
bluff. and he is not alone, -,,,--.-
Mccain AYERS that ROO A--1- .
sinner" Is about 100 percent camQ u
TaEe. He predicts that le=ls-a-io-
against freak pitching viii nave no
in effect on Ellers auiALg ueA- So
son and he says the same goes IoE ll-
other pitchers who are reputeQ 20
have mastered the sinner ana o-i-eI
freaks. The spit ball. OF course, rs
's-,bsfanfia1 reality Abolition OF its
use viii be a hardship on 5000
many hurlers-
with n fast curve ball AID q nim-
bic brain can bluff about = per
cent OF the players he faced into
believing that he Il using some
freak delivery once he gets tne
the credulity Of the average run
Of ball players IL Is easy for a
smart pitcher TO make capital ont
Of the 80 called sinner
IF 7 were pllcner WIKI -a4-
curve ball. said Mccain in a recent
tanning bee. I'D naturally take ad-
vantage Of every chance 20 make q
batter believe ] had a freak o. some
sort up my sleeve once j FOOLED a
batsman into such a BELIEF I'd Just
give him time 20 get back 20 l1e aus
out and spread the news ara then q
get busy shining up the bali Ike an
animated ho0thlack-
VIII Battle Batter.
To my way Of thinking that Just
about covers the shines once YOU
get the players to thinking you've got
il yen have something on them. and
the rest IS easy enough It's easier
still if the catcher works with the
pitcher in the way Of dropping a re-
marx now and then"
Legislation against freak pitching
VIII probably act differently on the
hatsmen. however. If he believes that
such legislation is in force he viii
cease TO think OF freak deliveries and
go up there and swing with the feel
ing that the pitcher has no undue ac-
vantage over him The chances are
that he'll connect with the ball more
frequently as result Of IT, But there
VIII always be the batter who is look
Ing Tor an alibi for weak hitting, and
be VIII be the one 70 yell wolf"
Walt and see
Cut Out Cheap Seats
The two bit bleacher seat is a thing
OF the past. or VIII be releEated TO
the dusty archives before the season
Of 1920 rolls around
The high cost has overtaken base
ball. and the maEuares, forced TO pay
higher salaries and dive deeper into
their pockets TO pay the running eN-
penses Of their clubs. must find a way
10 get out The only way for the
maEnate 70 get more money Is
through the box office and. although
the average club owner viii hesitate
to iuauEurate any great advance in
prices. he can find help in the aboh-
ton OF the IS cent seat
Hence the fans OF St Louis.
Philadelphia. Cincinnati and Bos-
ton. where the two bit blencher
sent made Its last strong stand.
will find the four bit ticket the
cheapest pnstebonrd TO be had
when the turnstiles start clicking
next April. Prices may be in
creased Il Is thought quite
likely that the maEnates will take
action ut the Chicago meeting