The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1922-07-03
(sy RuaH FuLIERroN)


major leagues? The recent series be-
tween the New York Giants and Fits
burgh brought out some ugly hints anu
innuendoes In print. The haIt-Nelleu
charge that some teams are using dit-
ferent kinds OF balls, throwing In the
kind desired at the right opportunities
is not concelvably true. But the charges
have been made and Barney Dreytuss
has been credited with making insinua-
lions OF the same character. Inc
charges and suspicions aroused BY the
first game Of the Pirate-G.ant series are
too serious to be overlooked. The one
thing that orga nized baseball must do
ia to protect its reput alton against any
such charges. II there Is even inc
slightest foundation for charges that
the balls have been or are being manipu-
lated, or IL there Is any basis Tor the
insinuation that different balls are OH
the field during play. some one shouio
be driven out OF the game quickly
Baseball has had one scandal-and II
cannot stand another. There are. or
course, ball players so boneheaded AS
10 try TO get away with thing OF that
sort and not give II serious thought But
with the present rend OF public opinion
such charges and insinuaions are dan
gerous.
Interested IN tho Ball.
The repeated denials OF the makers
that the ball is livelier than the old bail
have failed entirely TO convince players
that Il is true. The big majority are
confident that, whether the makers kno"
IT or not, the ball Is much faster. Iney
are not particularly Interested IN the
cause OF this speed, but they are inter-
ested In the ball itself.
II Is extremely dangerous II two balls
differing in liveliness are used In
game, especially II one team is aware
of the fact and the other Is not. Nhcth-
er this claim OF using lively balls comes
as an alibi or not, the actions OF lhe
Pittsburgh players on tho field during
the first came on the Polo grounds were
sufficient to provoke questions lneH
acted as II they were disguised AMI
trying to SHOW up" conditions. NO one
appeared to care what happenened. ana
the manner OF pitching after the urst
rounds was 10 itself a show-up or the
tean II might be we'll for the officials
10 call Of the Pirates before them
and INQUIRE the cause of their queer ac-
lions.
Puga r. PuRi
The efforts to force Jack Dempsey
into the ring with Harry Wills Will IN
time compel the champion to meet the
Black Panther. The plea OF drawins
Tho color line scarcely will stand IN
tbs raca Of the New York Athletic COM
mission ruling regarding mixed oou's'
The ruling itself can be read almost any
way. but Il Is evident that the commits
sion gets down to the old truism tnat
puss Is pugs The drawing OF the coior
line IN pugilism never has oeen PoPu-
lar, never viii he. and neither Dempsey
nor any other white man can retuse 10
meet colored man.
Demusey's demand for an eXorointahl
nnrse-a h~lf-million dollars-is moth
Ing more nor less IMAM uouee N
Every one knows It.
1t Is not right TO crittcise any nghter
for. getting as much as he can for
match or for stalling OF big match
II he has smaller ones IN sight II may
not he the best craftsmanship. but IL
Is human nature.
Few who know the men have an Idea
that Dempsey has any great rear OF
meeting willis. In fact. II IL certain
thing that II Dempsey has Tear or any
boxer II Il Of Jess willard. he KNOWS
he ought to heat willard. but ne also
knows that willard. w'ether IN conoi-
ton or not whether o.d or young. car
ries a sleep producing nunoh more TER
rtble than that Of any man In the rinS'
HN KNOWS tnat "lIf'lUE H'''
for revenge. and he never will forget
tbs walton the battered. bruised and
beaten willard clouted him on the head
At Toledo. He knows that one such
punch landing anywhere near the riSa'
soot would make an eN-champlon or MN
Or OF any one else II hit
Dempsey Ia not gaining anything IN
popularity by his tactics. or rather by
the antics Of his matchmaker. hearns'
A I,erson for Bail Players.
There Is 4 lesson for ball players in
the yVures that the Ancient and Honor
obIs Tom Rice presents for their con-
sideratIon. Tom. as perhaps you know.
is no, one OF these fellows who. insteaf
Of taking baseball averages at their face
value, sit down and figure what they
mean.
He has made a study OF the home run
hitters and the changes in their batting
form. BY so doing he has made An VT
,erestng discovery. one which we All
knew to he true. but one which the mod
ern ball PLAYER Is overlooking. That -
that the home run hitter. or the feIi""
who tries to hit home runs all the Tune
"a a pretty rotetn hitter so far as team
value IL concerned. and that swinging
fer home runs Is one OF the surcst way
Of cutting down any hitters batting
average.
He takes the cases of Roger Hornsht
and Ken Williams as examples. tic
shows that williams. after openly de-
clarIny himself candidate for tn"
home run hitting honors. slumped from
a normal 225 hitter TO .2s6. and shows
that Horrsby. when hitting for home
runs, dronped OF rapidly in his batting
average and that after he walked up and
started hitting FOR base hits instead or
irving TO smash the ball over the fence
h. climbed rapidly back TO where he be-
longed.
The value OF hitting home runs Is not
great In fact. home runs win fewer
games than almost any other kind or
hits. Take Ruth for example. He really
won more games last year with his sin
gles and doubles than ne did with his
home runs The great majority OF MS
home runs counted nothing in the game
excepting to add TO the score. and they
won extremely few games. The evil
dence all tends 70 show that. when there
were runners on bases and hits needed
70 hiring them home. Ruth quit trying 10
make homers and paid attention TO NIT
ting the runs across Therefore, his
home rms were made when nothing de-
rended upon them excepting his individ-
ual showing.
Mr. Rice is on the right track 10 wake
nm some managers and some bali
players
CCopyrieht. 1922. by the New York Even
ing Mail.)