Evening star., 1927-03-20
CHAPTER FIVE.
BY HEROLD tMUDDY) RUEL,
star Catcher Of the Nationals.

with the great Barney" and
have requested me to tell something
of a catcher's part in this so-called
battle of wits" which features every
clash between pitcher and batter on
the diamond. In this article l will
take up these features.
1T must be awfully hard to catch
Walter johnson, with his tremendous
speed
you must he dead tired when the
game ends. and your hands must be
awfully sore
These and similar remarks have
been frequently made to me since l
first became the battery mate of the
speed King" in the Spring of 1923.
Walter Johnson is a difficult man to
catch. Just as any pitcher is who pos
sesses a great amount of "smolSe" on
the hall. and there are times, espe.
cially when his ball is heavy, that !
am what might be called 'dog-tired.
Nevertheless--and | say this with
out reservation--I would rather catch
big Barney" than any other boxn1an
| know and the task of handling his
pitcheS probably is easier than that OF
catching any other twirler In the
professional game today.
Cites Simple Reason.
THE reason for thie is simple. Wal
ter, as / mentioned in an earlier ar
ticle. has almost perfect control at
nearly all times. / know where his
pitches are coming, generally low,
either inside or outside. / can hold
my glove in one place and be fairly
certain that he will shoot the ball
there, within fraction of an inch of
the spot.
So rarely does he lack the proper
control that could count the times on
my hands. One of these instances
occurred during the fifth game of the
1924 world series, when the Giants hit
him soidly. but he atoned for this
lapse by his work in the final con-
test when he held the McGrawmen
well-nigh helpless and aided in bring
ing TO Washington it's first world
title.
| don't believe ever had any doubts
concerning my ability to hold the
pitches of the Speed King after had
once embarked upon a professional
base ball careeF as catcher. have
caught many fast bali pitchers during
my life, none of them as speedy as
Walter, to be sure, but fast. tieverthe.
less. In the "Muny" League, in st.
Louis, my home city, / worked with
young fellow who had q real fast
ball, but he didn't have the control
which Johnson possesses.
My one ambition in base ball from
my earliest days was to catch the IA
nous Walter Johnson, but I never
dared to expect that / would ever
have the opportunity. Barney" al
ways was my particular idol. AS a
boy my father used to take me to
Ia rvaf ft,n ft4 I StA~ -
ago. and | never missed the days when
johnson was scheduled to work. He
was my hero. up on q pedestal, ap-
psref1tlv too far removed for me TO
ever attain.
When His Dream Came True.
Even when was traded to the sen
ators from the Boston Red Sox In
1923 / did not realize that I would be
fortunate enough to become the bat.
terry mate. Of Walter Johnson Boys
dreams do come true, some times,
however. in real life as well as in. fic-
ton, and on the Spring day in 1928
when a Washington paper announced
that ! was scheduled to work with
Barney" / was easily the llappiest
player in Tampa, Fla. still have
that clipping, put away In Il secure
place at home, where ] may look at IL
occasionally.
Filed away with that newspaper
story is another which chronicles my
first meeting with the great johnson
as a rival player. 1t was back In 1919
and ] was catching for the Yankees
when l first faced Walter at bat:
Imagine my joy when / caught one Of
his lightning shoots and drove 1t out
safely.
Since that day / have been fairly
successful in batting against Bar
ney," although | think ] would rather
be catching his balls that trying to hit
them.
Many people have asked me IL use
glove with an extra padding, in
receiving Walters fast ball. There Is
very little padding in my nlitt, AL
though | have a small sponge in the
palm of my hand, inside the glove.
which breaks somewhat the force Of
the ball The glove Is a bit smaller
than some catchers use.
Different Methods Ernployed.
Different receivers employ different
styles Of gloves and different methods
OF lessenife the impact. "Cy" Per
kins OF Gloucester catcher for the
philadelphia Athletics, uses two skins
inside his nitt for this purpose, with
little, If any padding in the mitt.
johnny Bassler, the Detroit Tiger
catcher. works with a big, thick glove,
which has nrore padding than mine,
although Johnny puts nothing inside
the glove.
The art of battery signaling with
Walter Johnson Is reduced to the min.
snlun. He is following the progress OF
~ ne II ntr
js thinking of the relative weaknesses
of the various batters as much as /.
His judgment at times gained through
his long experience in the game, Is
oftontimes better than mine. We sell
dom disagree on the question OF what
10 throw the batters. When we do
and he is~insistent on carrying out his
tdeas. | generally accede 10 his wish
es. on the other hand. IL / am con
WINGED of my ground. he gives away
to my way Of thinking.
Where a pitcher and catcher are
both thinking and studying there IL
seldom any disagreement over what te
pitch. Sometimes n pitcher will shake
his head and appear to differ on q
given ball merely for the effect II viii
have on the either team. TO tisconceri
the batter and to throw the opposins
coaches off balance. George Mokridge
former Senator pitcher and now witt
the Braves, is a past master of this
art George will at times shake his
head repeatedly at the catcher's signal
delaying the game and increasing tht
batter's nervousness; then he will
switch back to the original signal.
Catcher Usually Signals.
As rule the battery signals ar
given by the catcher. This does no
hold good, however. in cases of nev
catchers breaking into the league. VIII
might not know the weaknesses Of thu
bAtters as well as the pitcher. And |
catcher generally will respect the judg
,nent OF veteran boxtnan. accedini
TO his wishes unless he feels that he ]
absolutely right in his own decision.
Wouldn't have been a perfect SIM
In nv first Year as battery mate q