Evening star., 1925-12-17

IL you ask me TO name the best
equipped pitcher of all time l can
accommodate you. This was Christy
Mathewson. He came closer to being
the perfect pitcher than any man
that has thrown a ball over the plate.
Mathewson is the pitchers pitcher,
the one man they try to model after.
lie had everything that a pitcher
should have-a curve ball, a slow one.
a fast one, a fadeaway. He pitched
with little effort and he had the great
est gift u pitcher can poSSeSS-con-
troll. Mathewson's control was near
perfect. He had the needed intelli-
Sence and the heart. he studied his
batsmen and knew their weaknesses;
he always pitched to them. Every
tinle Mathewson started "A ball for the
plate ii meant something. lie was
never found wanting when the test
came.
Greatest Pair of Hurlers.
The greatest pair of pitchers that
were ever found on the same staff
were Amos Rusie and Jouett Meekfn.
Having this pair was like having two
Walter Johnsons in Johnson's prime.
Both were big-Rusie stood more than
6 feet in height and weighed about
215; Meekin was ] inch taller than
Rusie and weighed ID pounds less.
Rusie had as much speed as Johnson
and a better curve ball. His curve
broke very fast; 1t was about as fast
as tho average fast ball, and a cross
between a wide curve and II drop ball.
It's success lay in the quick break.
Meekin had about as much speed as
kusie, but his curve was not so good.
1t rcsembled Walter Johnsons curve
ball.
,-in 10 t.1,
er j have ever seen. With all his
size and weight he had unusually
short arms. They We're no longer
than the normal arms of man 5
feet inches in height. How he got
such speed on the ball with those
short arms of his was always "A
mystery to me, for all the great fast
ball pitchers. Johnson in particular
have long arms. Johnson got by on
his fast ball alone for a long stretch.
but RuSie could not have done this
What made Rusie's fast ball good
was that fast-breakinG curve ball
He owed his remarkable success TO
the curve. Unless you were looking
for it you could never hit the curve
because 1t broke too sharply.
Meekin was easier to hit than
Rusie because his curve ball did not
carry so much break and You could
go after II like fast ball. The way
to hit Meekin was to make up your
mind that everything he pitched
was a fast ball.
They were an invaluable pair. With
their size and stuff they were able
TO work every other day A man
aSer who had Meekin and Rusie to-
day could sweep through either
major league with any one of the I6
teams
Good Physique Essential.
Physique Is a great aid to a pitcher.
Practically all the great pitchers were
big men. weighing $50 pounds or
more. No other man ever pitched so
long as Denton Tecumseh Young,
known as '.Cy' through the base ball
ages. He was a big man, and he had
an easy delivery. pitching with little
effort. He had d good fast ball, but
only fair curve. In style and pitch
ing stuff he much resembled Meekin,
Mcmahon and Nichols. All four had
good fast balls, But only average curve
balls. All four pitched alike, over
hand or sidearm. McMahon's curve
ball was slightly better than the
curves OF the other three.
Charles Radbourne had a fast ball
and a curve. There were better fast
balls, but few better curves. He knew
how to pitch and he knew how to field.
Among the old-timers the fielding of
Radbourne stood out. Any pitcher
that opposed Providence while Rad
bourne was on the Providence pitch
ing staff did not have u soft mark
to shoot at when Radbourne came to
bat. for he was the best hitting pitcher
Of his day.
When Matt Kilroy was pitching for
Louisville and Toad" Ramsey for
Baltimore, each wanted to win the
title Of "Strike-out King" Both were
left handlers and each had drop
curve, a delivery that broke down
sharply and that was we'll suited for
strike-out purposes. Whenever these
two teams met, Kilroy and Ramsey