Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-14

n ODERN base ball scorers have
NU nothing on the old fellows
!" who established the present
Y i system and who gave scor'
ing more thought than it is
given in these days. The older men
were pioneers at that sort of thing
and had to make clear what they We're
trying to do in order to establish uni
formity. Now that 1t is all thought
out, about the only thing to be done
do these days is to learn what the old
fellows decided upon as rule and
precedent-and some modern scorers
do not do that.
There Is at present a rule in base
ball that, IL a base runner slides to
base and overslides it, he is not to be
given credit for a stolen base If he Is
put out. That rule is unsound. 1t
never should have been put in the
6ede The moment the runner
touches the base he has done what
he undertook to do and what becomes
of him afterward has nothing to do
with the case, as they say in THE
Mikado''
The first Base Ball Reporters AS
ISOLATION. which was maze up of some
of the smartest men who ever had to
do with base ball, promulgated the
following opinions about base running:
Amy attempt to steal a base must
go to the credit of the base runner.
whether the ball is thrown wide or
muffed by the fielder, and unless the
base runner is advanced more than
one base no error is TO be charged 70
the fielder, If the base runner adj
vances another base the fielder allow
ing the advancement is to be charged
with an error. If base runner
makes a start and a battery error is
made, the runner secures the credit
of a stolen base and the battery error
is scored against the player making
it. Should a base runner over-run q
base and then be put out he should
receive credit for a stolen base.
They don't do it now, which Is an
Instance of going backward.
The left on base" item in the sum-
mary was to be represented by the
difference of the total of times at bat.
bases on balls and hits by pitchers,
and the total of put-outs and runs.
That decided that if two were out and
men were on bases, the batsman hit
ting the ball. and the play being made
to one of the bases. it was proper to
credit the batsman with being left
on base.
IT was also the rule that when a
player reached first base through an
error of judgment, such as two
felders allowing the ball to drop be
tween them, the batter was not to
be credited with a base hit or the
fielder charged with an error, but II
was to be scored as an unaccepted
chance and the batter charged with
time at bat. That is not done by
anybody in modern base ball.
Here again is change. but this
one is due to the fact that bases or
balls were then charged as errors
The rule read: BASES on balls being
summarized as errors shall not bt
credited as factors in earned runs.
II pitcher gives a base on balls these
days IL Is a factor In an earned rur
because it is charged against him. a
1t should be, and there is no sucl
thing as a fielding error for starting
q man to first on called balls.
It was Frank BRUNEI of CLEVELAND
who offered the suggestion that whel
a runner was hit by a batted bal
the batter should be credited with
base hit. 1t was argued by him tina
q batter could not be held responsible
because a runner got in the way Q
ball and that argument ts 80 sui
stantially sound that no one has see