The Washington times., 1925-03-02

OF course are OH oSSCk eAlA Se1A NC
in the foundation on which all sucC
Whenever l get talking to en-
thusiastic youngsters who want to
be pitchers, the first things they
start asking about are ''in-shoots.
1'oIIt.shoots'' and drops A ball
slayer knows only two kinds OF
deliyeries-a "fast ball" and
''curve.''l The average person
thinks that a pitcher must nave
n dozen or more curves before he
can make good in the big leagues.
That idea is all wrong. have
never been a good curve pan
pitcher. There have been curve
ball pitchers with outstanding sue
cess such as Jack Combs. with
great drop, Miner Brown, with a
sharp hook. and Bob Groom, VINO
had q sweeping curve. Johnny
Morrison, Of Pittsburgh, is one OF
the best curve pitchers In recent
years.
i've been in major league ball
eighteen wears and on many &C.
casions have pitched through an
entire game without throwing a
Angle curve. In later years, with
INV fast ball slowing up, have
been forced to use curves more
frequently. And yet, during the
last world series, Babe Ruth, who
was sitting in the press box be-
hind the home plate, said to me
altar the game: walter, did you
know you never threw curve In
the first twenty-five balls you
pitched today?" Babe had count
] Cd them right, and the truth OF
The matter is, I didn't throw
curve ball until the third inning.
Many newspaper writer's and
cid baseball men have said that
NV free, natural motion Is the
secret of my successful pitching
MI these years. They are correct,
and In this connection i have
saved several interesting articles,
All by the same writer. After my
first game in Washington, back
I'm 1907, Thomas S. Rice wrote
IN one Of the papers:
What made the real big hit was
the easy movement Of the young
pitcher. Johnson's arm is aston
lshingly long, several inches longer
: than Clymer's. In pitching, john
son moves his wing as freely and
as untiringly as Cy Young, without
the slightest tanning motion.
who could pitch three games with
less exertion than some of the big
winners could pitch one" Several
days later, / pitched against Cleve-
land. winning my game to
and this same writer remarked in
his article: 1.-THE same free and
easy motion which characterized
Johnson's first appearance, was in
evidence again yesterday and he
should be in the box years from
now" Tom Rice's comments were
my own exact views on pitching
style. saved the clippings and
also another one Of his articles
which he wrote many years after
wards, as follows: walter john
son in his thirteenth year in the
American League, is an illustration
Of the value of free arm move
ment.
when he Joined Washington in
! 1907. we were following the for
tunes of that team and what
struck me in his first game was
the remarkable freedom with which
his arm moved in the socket. There
was absolutely no wrist or elbow
Jerk" Right there Rice picked out
the most important thing of all
no wrist or elbow jerk
AICc anu easy SWlHBy more
than anything else in the world,
has kept me in my present fine
condition after eighteen seasons
And that free and easy swing has
practically kept me from having
the dreaded affliction of most
pitchers sore arm. have
/, never had a sore arm. as the result
: of pitching alone. In 1920, after
thirteen years Of steady work.
had my first sore arm, but that
was the direct result Of catching
cold.
Every year, many young pitchers
with plenty Of ability, ruin their
arms with wrist or elbow jerk in
delivering the ball. Unless the ball
is pitched so that the arm is in
perfect stride with the rest of the
body there is bound to be terrible
strain on the pitchers arm. Such
pitchers either lack the persistency
- or the smartness to practice, until
they overcome such faults.
Wrist and elbow pitching is
mostly trick stuff, although the
beginner does not realize il, and
before he finds out the mistake
his arm is ruined for life.
At no time have l had a good
curve ball. Along in 1914 and 1915
I used too many curves and would
have been better off had / stayed
with my fast ball. For a while,
) the word was passed around the
American League: LET Johnson s
fast ball go and wait for his curve"
Often times they murdered the
curve.
The first objection to curve ball
Sttching is that 1t wears out the
an. Another thing is, the best
curve ball pitcher in the world
never knows when he is going to be
workmanship
a 7lktN HSssSSIS OF AMY