, 1923-07-15
new GENERATION
OF BALL PLAYERS
NOT UP ON RULES
Depends on Managers
and Coaches.
BY I. z. ORN.

Perhaps one reason why the major
ity OF major league ball players rcorn
to read the rule book is because they
AVE been brought up hat way since
their infancy on the diamond The
kids have been taught to leave the
study of the playing code to the man
ayers or coaches just as tho stars do,
as a general thing.
OF course the big league player has
become accustomed &c the modern sys-
tenn OF letting his manager keep post
ed on the rule changes and attend to
their enforcement by the umpires.
That leaves the player free to concen-
trate on his batting average and his
pay check. But only recently did I
discover that this leave 1t to George"
idea had spread to the amateurs OF
the school commons and the sandlots-
Grammar Schools Have Coaches
Even the grammar school mines now
must have their coaches, usually one
Of their classroom teachers. while no
high school or academy is up TO date
unless 1t has It's paid coach. And the
coaches are supposed to know all about
the rules. leaving the would-be dia-
Aiiotiu oldlo litc " CoHCtHltult Ou 10
%veloping their individuality and +" salt
expression"
Curious to see IN action n young
prep school pitcher about whom nearly
every one was talking and predicting
his development into a second Mathew
son-Johnson. I went to q gamss between
rival school teams a while ago. Be.
sides finding out that the kid ningar
was a pretty good prospect. I learned
a thing or two about the way young
players acquire their Ignorance Of the
playing rules.
A Fair Foul.
Early in the game a batznan hit q
ball which struck the home plate and
bounded high in the air. The catcher
helded the ball and threw his nan out
at first base. although 1t looked Il
me as If the ball was foul by a couple
of feet when the catcher got It on
the third base side OF the plate. No
body said a word, so I concluded the
angle at which I was looking at the
play deceived me. Later on II devei-
oped hat the hit really was a foul.
Just before the game was over .
batsman scratched a little roller along
the third base line and outside of 81
1hc AAA oacoiAAhbs Nho t4h1Hti anu
the pitcher. who had instinctively
started for the ball. stopped when they
saw where It was and let II roll down
toward third. The umpire yelled
foul" but before It stopped the ball
hit n pebble and rolled into the diamond
where 1t settled a loot on fair ground.
The third baseman leisurely picked It
up and tossed It to the pitcher and
the batsman came hack To the plate to
bat over again. No one questioned
the decision thai It was a foul ball.
Sy Meets the Star.
After the game the coach OF the home
team stopped me and asked my opinion
of his star pitcher and then called the
young slabman and several other play
ers to introduce me to them. I asked
about that roller which had started
foul which robbed one of their mem
bers Of a scratch hit. At first the coach
could not recall the play at all. and
when he did get 1t located he looked
rather surprised at my Ignorance Of
the rules after all the years / had been
mixed up with baseball.
My attempt to tell him politely that
he was wrong resulted in his flashing
a rule book on me from his hip pocket.
Promptly he turned to the rule defining
a fair hit and pointed to the phrase
that first falls on fair tertiary
Then turning to the rule defining a foul
he showed me and his admirinE pro-
teges the similar phrase In that rule.
He took no notice of the words "be-
yond first or third base Immediately
following those phrases and maintained
that they a no connection with tho
rest OF the rule which was perfectly
simple.
Ignorance Is Bliss.
In other words he believed and had
taught his players that II a batted ball
first strikes fair ground II Is fair and
II It FIRST hits foul ground 1t Is foul
without regard to any OF tho rest OF
the rules defining fair and foul hits.
Moreover that was the Interpretation
OF the rules which this coach had con-
WINGED the rest OF the coaches and the
umpires in that school league was the
proper and correct official ruling be-
cause he once had spent a week in a
major league city and attended a bail
game there.
Is II any wonder the new generation
OF players doesn't know the rules?
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