Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-01-15
Is Modern Base Ball Su.
periOr to OLd?-PLays
That NeUer We're Heard
of Thirty Years Ago
Origin Of the ''Charley
Horse Prevailing
Spirit of Came NO,U Is
Business.

EVERAL of the veteran players
and old-time fans have re-
sponded to- our QUESTIONABLE
by asking if l think present day
base ball an improvement on the
game in the old days. and if l think
ball players are better today than
they were thirty years ago.
I do not wish to answer that ques-
ton idly. have given It consider
able thought. In nv last chapter 1
told of my start with the old B@itt-
more Orioles. which l will resume
discussed the recent worlds series.
This. 1 believe. gives me good
chance to answer that question now.
In those thirty years / have seen
much of base ball. My greatest as
set has been good memory.
Modern Base Bali Best.
There Is no question in my mind
but that present day base ball is bet
ter. Also there are more good ball
players today than there ever were
before. simply because there are more
people playing ball.
In those days. if you will recall.
there was but one major league.
u
Consequently there was not so large
force of players to draw from. II
is very much like small college
trying to turn out as good foot ball
players as one of the big universities.
The ones who are selected have much
more chance to be developed and pol
ished in their profession.
The game itself has improved in
many ways. To give you an idea. il
was not until Charley Comiskey's
hot $50 Aoe
an infielder. Before that the first
sacker stood right on the bag and
balls hit between him and second base
went through have even seen
second baSemen stand on the bag in
the smaller games Comiskey. Arson and
others started the idea of playing
well off the bag and covered infield
ground like a second baseman, a
shortstop or third baseman.
Developed Other Ideas.
This in turn developed the idea of
the pitcher covering first base in
case the first baseman had to go too
far for a ground ball. One new play
AS result We work plays nowadays
that were never heard of thirty years
ago.
Most of you can recall when 1t
was considered a wonderful play for
a pitcher to leave his bsx, race over
the first baseman. pitcher who did
this got great applause and was ex-
tollcd in the newspapers for being a
"heady" ball player. In this day and
time pitcher is supposed to do that
as a matter of course. Nothing is
rible razzing IL he fails to do it,
Another play that has developed is
of the shortstop covering third base
on a bunt between third and the pit
cher. If a runner is on second base
and the batter hunts toward third
the chances are that the third base
man will be drawn into field the ball
and that third will be left uncovered.
If both the pitcher and the third
baseman should go for the bunt 1t IS
the duty of the shortstop to dash over
and cover third base so as to take
a throw.
On more general principles. base
ball has improved simply because the
equipment, is better: In that way It
is much like billiards. Everything is
made as nearly perfect as possible
so that there can be no misjudg-
ment of balls due to bad grounds.
Thirty years ago we had no such
perfect grass infields and outfields as
were not expert landscape gardeners.
They made a ground fairly good and
let II got at that. Nowadays a ball
player will kick to the groundkeeper
II q SlIBl0 p6ODl0 lntGTIeEeS WIFI
the bound of a ball. The ground must
not be too heavy or too fast The
grass of the infield must be as smooth
as a billiard table. In the old days
we had to take them as they came.
Some grounds were fairly good. some
were awful. Today all of them are
practically perfect.
Players Better Cared For.
Ball players are taken care of much
better every way. This is particu-
larry true of their food and their sur
roundings for rest. The hotels are
wonderful as compared with the days
of the old Orioles. Players know much
more about the science of hygiene and
On top Of that every club has an
expert trainer, a man who rubs them
down. kneads sore muscles. looks
after every little ailment. They have
hot and cold shower baths, rubbing
tables and all that sort of thing.
Why, I can remember when / went
as long as ten weeks without getting
a rundown. II 1 got one then I was
lucky. 1t was not an everyday thing.
Everything now Is specialized. We
have experts who treat nothing but
sore muscles or charley-horse, as we
call those peculiar kinks that bunch
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