The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-04-28
Pitchers Are Not
Handicapped By
n ew1y Made Rules

That old custom OF the batsmen
having the edge on the pitchers in
the early days of the major league
baseball season is not being subStan-
tiated this year. Either the hitters
have been bit slow in rounding into
real form or the pitchers have reach
ed their stride earlier than usual.
Hitting has been unusually light by
many of the recognized star batsmen
of the game, while the list of shut.
| outs and one-run games has been
! mounting steadily.
In the first two weeks Of the 1920
campaign no less than fourteen shut
| out victories have been recorded,
eight in the National League and six
| in the American. Add to this list
the performance of two pitchers who
blanked opposing teams for nine inn
ings but failed to win, and their
teams were defeated in extra-inning
games. Joe Oeschger of the Braves
blanked the Robins for ten innings,
only to lose in the eleventh, and
a thirteen-inning game to the Pirates
after holding the Corsairs runless
through twelve innings.
The fourteen Shut-outS in the two
major leagues in fourteen playing
days would indicate that the pitchers
are not having so much difficulty in
following the new rules as had been
| predicted. Changes were decided
upon last winter with the idea of re-
moving any unfair advantage that the
boxmen might possess over the hit
| ter, but to date there has been moth
| ing to indicate that the batsmen had
been helped or the pitchers handi-
| capped In view of the fact that
| twenty-one games have been post
| poned in the American League and
| sixteen in the National since the start
| of the season two weeks ago today,
the string of fourteen shut-outs is re-
markable.
In the National League, Bill Doak
of the Cardinals has scored two shut
out victories, one against the Cubs
and the other against the Pirates.
Oeschger of the Braves b1anked the
Giants, 1 to 0, and later b1anked the
Robins for 10 innings, but was de-
feated. Other National League pitch
| ers who have registered shutouts to
= date are Carlson and Ponder of the
| Pirates, Galore of the Robins, Rixey
Of the Phil1ies and Fisher of the Reds.
The Giants, who went through more
than half of their schedule before be-
ing b1anked last season, have suffered
two shutouts to date. The Cardinals
have taken two, the Cubs two, the
Braves one and the Pirates one. Only
| the Robins and the Phil1ies have es-
! capped.
In the American League the kalso.
| mine feat has been performed By
! Coveleskie of the Indians, Cicotte OF
the White Sox, Hoyt and Pennock OF
the Red Sox, and Schacht; and John.
son of the Senators. The Mackmer
have been blanked twice, while the
Browns, Tigers. Yankees and Rec
Sox have each sustained one shutout
The Indians and White Sox have es-
capped
Closely crowding the shutout per
formances is a long list of games il
which a pitcher held an opposin:
team to one run. This feat has beer
performed in the National League
twice by Adams of the Pirates ant
once each by Fred Toney, jess Barnes
Lee Meadows, Leon Galore, Clarenct
Mitchell and Jim Vaughn. In tn
American League opposing team
have been held to a run by Scot
Perry, Jack Quinn, Sam Jones. Eddi
Cicotte, Jim Bagby. Claude Williams
Allan Sothoron. Bob Naylor and Van
glider of the Browns.
| NuemerouS games of two and t7are
runs have also been recorded anon
the " contests played to date in tn
two major leagues. Boxmen have NO
shown in years such mastery owe
the batsmen in the early weeks of tn
playing season. Those pitching re
strictions are not proving such
| a