The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-07
PITCHERS FACED WITH NECESSITY OF CHANGING ART
 CAM IONEC
SAM JONES
By GEORGE CHADWICK sncciaI correspondent of The Age-nerna'" 'U,anyrlght i9e2. by The Age-Herai"'


 New York May 6.-"The strategy
 of pitching will have to be feViseo' the observant Sam Jones ot New York American pitching staff who ls almost veteran in these days ol pitchers who have not outgro"h their sailor collars, said today. Il nave had enough personal eXperiehee anu have seen enough pitching on the par of others in the last two seasons to convince me that 1t Is seldom sale to
 give the man who carries the pat pitched ball in the groove.
 Pitching in the groove means plac- ing the ball at a good oattlng height somewhere near the center or the plate in order that base on palis may be avoided.
 Managers have always taught that if is better for pitcher to make the batter hit the ball than for the pitcher to send the batter to first hase on four called balls except now and then when the situation seems to demand
 the passing of a hard hitter.
 .Make 'Em Hit'
 Make 'em hit" has been q mana gerial precept, sometimes to the ex- clusion of almost everything else' There have been managers whose knowledge of playing the game aid not extend much beyond the border Of those three words.
 "If a runner gets on the base these days. 1t is best to be careful about giving the next batter free swing at a good ball" Jones continued mere were a lot of pitchers once who were clever at getting the batter Tn the hole. I could do it myself and can do if now, if I'm having a good day. That theory was to pitch the first ball for sure strike and then worry the batter You Were always one in ad- vance of him You could afford to groove at least one. because II was gamble he would not swing. But IT you groove out now, the batters brace their feet and knock it past your head screeching like a whistle that mas been tied down. They don't wat your base on balls. They aren't afraid
 to swing, for they have found out | that pitchers are only pitchers aiter all. and can be hit
 l "Is there any remedy rom the pitchers standpoint"
 Work the Corners q can't see. any medicine in the ! bottle if you're a groover. Don 1 groove the ball unless by accident | That Is the only chance that occurs 1 to me to save the lodge of grand and
 amalgamated pitchers as a whole ! Keen the ball on the corners. InAt E ! the new strategy of pitching. l sup | pose some will say that is the policy which has been pursued by pitchers l all of the time But 1t isn't. Pitchers haven't had good enough control to | keep the ball on the corners. They've l got to learn how to do 1t. or forfeit | their membership in the major | leagues"
 | "What curve Is the most effective since the batters have broken out
 with slugitis?
 Any curve that can trim the cor ner. You see. I get rbght back to cor ner again The pitcher who can drop | the ball has the best of 1t. if he can | get strikes without pitching over the heart of home plate. These hitters who
 have been taking the heart out of the pitching colony for a year or two top
 the ball if 1t is dropping. Few of them drive 1t well. But what has become of
 the drop ball pitchers7 Once there wore some who could throw out and | in drop balls"
 Buffington's Drops
 How many of them can you name now. especially of the right handlers
 I never saw Burlington. but they told me about him when I was in Boston He was a right hand pitcher, and they ] said he could drop the ball from mid