The Ogden standard. [volume], December 27, 1913, 4 o'clock p.m. City Edition, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 15

About The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1913-1920

Image provided by: University of Utah, Marriott Library

                
THE STANDARD MAG ZINE SECTION-OG DEN, UTAH, DECEMBER 27, 1913,
Arificos Of Famous CatchQK9fcs
BY BILLY MURPHY.
There Is no position where you
L nave to uso more pray matter In
baseball than behind the bat.
Brains aro the chief essential
needed to make a backstop. Unless
a man can think fast and clearly
find can watch with Instlnctivo In
telligence his opponents' every lit
tle moNemcnt, many nf which real
ly do have 'a meaning of their
own,'' and can anticipate any play
that Is likely to como up, ho is not
a star catcher.
Once, when Johnny Kilns was
talking about quitting the game for
a lcs etrenuous life is a billiard
promoter. Manaccr Frank Chance,
then with the Chicago Cubs, told
blm
"You're foolish, for you can draw
good monc as Ions as you can
stand up behind the bat. A catcher
with brains ought to he able to play
until he Is 7." years of age."
Fielder Jones, vshen manager of
the Chlcaco White Sox. always at
tributed the winning of the world's
pennant of 190C to Billy Sullivan's
brains. Instead of to Ed Walsh's
Iron wing.
It Is a position In which expe
rience counts for much.
Every week of every season, a
brainy catcher learns something
new to add to his store of ability,
which ahldes close under his scalp,
rather than In his arms, or hands,
or legs A real catcher need not bo
fast nor a strong batsman, and be
can pet along with only .an aver
age throwing arm If he is a real
catcher.
, Speed, bai line prowess, and a
fast throw are of great advantage
, to him as well as to any other play
er, but the absence or loss or them
is not fatal to his career In a ma
jor league, if he has the brains.
Modern stands have crept up so
' close to the playing field that not
much speed Is required to get un
drr nny foul that does not hit the
stand.
CATcrrrn MUST
GF.T RII OF BALI,
l The catcher tho receives the
ball in a position to throw will cet
i the ball to its coal more quickl
' than one who thinks only of catch-
I Ing th pltohed ball, then has to pet
in position before he can throw
out a runner.
The wise catcher seldom Is Inter
l fered with by even a tricky bats-
i nan when a runner tries to steal.
i
Tricks and Strategy Used by the
Backstops to Stop the Surging Base
Thieves of the Diamond, wiluamcarr,gan- Jm . i
Distract the Attention of Jm
the Batter and Break Up -xk
the Attack oi the Enen
J ' '"
: M x '
J
A
''''
LARRY M'LEAN.
The tyro behind the mask often Is
JV 1 bothered at such times.
i But it Is his perfect co-ordina
tion with his pitcher that a catcher
proyes his greatest worth.
He knows the strength and weak
j0 ncss of most batsmen In his league.
as well as and often a great deal
better, than his pitcher does. By
mixing up the different styles of de
livery possessed by a pitcher, so as
to produce the greatest amount of
guessing In the mind of the bats
man, the catcher la of great help to
the man on the slab.
The temptation to which the aver
age backstop yields. Is U use hls
pitcher's strong card too often.
if the fuabman starts a gams with
a great "Jump" on his fast ball or
With perfect control of a curve that
"hooks- sharply and ha the bats
man striking out or popping oasy
files, the unwise catcher will begin
to expect It and will lay for It with
disastrous results, for the Kood
batsman can cope with almost any
pitched ball when ho feels sure what
It Is.
If the pitcher's strong card Is a
curve and his catcher keeps him
u.Ming it a lot. it will weaken his
"it
BILL KELLEY.
arm, and about the fifth or seventh
Inning, you will 6ee that pitcher get
tlng hit as a rule. Thero Is noth
Inc that takes more out of a pitch
er's arm or hastens the end of his
career more than constant depend
ency upon a curve, because of the
severe strain It puts upon the minor
mpjBClBS of the arm. whereas other
styles of delivery put most of the
work on tho major muscles, so to
speak.
All these things the catcher must
take Into consideration, and by al
lowing the pitcher to conserve his
energies by change of puce and oth
er methods Increase his effectiveness
as the came progresses, the batsmen
becornes more confused as to what
Is bedng pitched to him.
WBES THE PITCHER
SHAKES IDS HEAD.
When you see a pitcher frequent
ly shaking his head before deliver
ing the ball, you may know one of
two things, Tho catcher is not do
!ns his full duty by that pitcher or
the pitcher Is an opinionated cuss
who thinks he knows more than the
catcher. This Is not always true,
of course, because the pitcher some
times may have a Rood reason for
not pitching a certain kind of ball
of which even the good catcher Is
Ignorant at the time.
But, in the main, the brainy back
stop and wise pitcher will work to
gether as If they were parts of a
perfect machine.
Many obl-tlme honored Ideas
of team play arc still faithfully ob
served by every club, despite the
fact that thee traditions frequently
make tho faithful ones utterly ridic
ulous and that a common sense
handling of the situation would bo
far more profitable.
For Instance, wheu the bases are
JACK LAPP.
crowded and not more thin one
out, the Inlicldcrs step close In, with
the ide:i of throwing home on a
grounder and cutting off a run at
the plate.
A certain scorer kept statistics
part of one season on the results of
this play an1 the table showed that
in BftS game, twenty-three men
were caught sliding home by tho
i 1 1 her in this fashion, while ninety-seven
hit safels through the
close-drawn Infield, the hits In most
cases being taps that would have
been easily fielded by the men in
their usual positions.
With a man on first and the bats
man's call standing two strikes and
three balls, every manager still in
sists on sending the base runner
down to second on the next ball
pitched. Irrespective of the runner's
slow nSM
If the ner.t bull vltrhed should
be the fourth ball, the runner coiiM
Just as well walk to second; If It
happens to be a str.ke. the runner,
as a rule, is landed by a quick hurl
to second from tha catcher.
When old-timers pet to argulnc
about the relatlvo merits of ball
players of the nineteenth and twen
tieth centuries, they can win the
argument In the backStoppIng de
partment. Not that there are not
as brilliant catchers now as ever
looked throuprh a mask, but the art
of catching ha fallen somewhat
into decay
now SIGNALS VRE
FLASHED TO PITCHER.
Probably "0 per cent of tho
catchers In tho name today glv0
the pitchers the smn for the next
ball, while the pitcher is off the
elub If there are runners on bases
and particularly If thore Is a run
ner on Ilrst or w-cond. Watch this
any day next season and sec how
often the pitcher will stand off to
one side of the slab or behind It
until he has caught the sign for
the nexl ball to be delivered. Then
said pitcher will step on the slab,
usually take Ms hurling position de
liberately .in J finally pitch the ball-
This happens most frequently
when there Is a base-runner likely
to advance When the bags are
empty or there Is only a runner on
third the pltchei will ceneralb take
his regular position before looking
for the catcher's sign. Some twirl
ers habitually remain off the slab
CHIEF MEYERS.
until thry know what they arc go
in? to pitch.
When this is not a deliberately ac
quired habit to overcome the ten
dency to pitch too fast. It Is done,
as a rule for the purpose of uuard
lng against betraying the catcher's
siKn to the base runner.
There has been so much talk and
suspicion about signal tipping In
recent years that catchers and
pitchers have devoted a lot of time
and thought to crossing their op
ponents and preventing the detec
tion of their signals.
By stepping toward third baso
from the slab when there Is a run
ner on first, the pitcher enables the
catcher to conceal his hand from
the ba.se runner.
When there is a runner on sec
ond the process Is reversed and tho
pitcher steps over toward first bae
to look for the sigh. If the only
runner Is on third he cannot see a
sign anyway. With runners on first
and second the problem is nioro
difficult and the battery men iav
to rsfori to other rusc.s which they
thtulc ilaver.
In working but these schemes to
checkmate would-be slcnul tippers
the catcher and pitcher have tossed
into the discard one of the most
effective defensive elements of tho
game the eyes and wits of tho
catcher.
Old-time backstops and a few of
the present generation wore and
are of great assistance In every
came in calling the turn on what
the base runners or batsmen are
planning to do on the next ball
Pitched
In order to do this, it Is neces
sary for the pitcher to be on his
slab ready to pitch before the sUn
Is given. Then, with tho runner
and batsman already for the play
to start with the motion of tho
pitcher's arm. one or the other of
trie opponents la name to give away
the Impending play by some un
conscious move or attitude.
IJUKsN MIAN KEEPS
EYES ON ALL.
A wise catcher, like Roger Rrcs
nahan of the Chicago Cub-, squatted
behind the batsman, keeps one eye
on the runner and the other on tho
batsman, and (fives his sign to tho
pitcher deliberated, not hurriedly.
If he detects the Intent of ine run
ner to steal or sees, a hl'.-and-run
play coming off. he calls for a pitch
out, which means the ball will be
delivered out of reach of the hitter,
but la a good position for lircsna
han to throw out the runner. Roger
has an uncanny faculty of selecting
Just the moment the runner will try
to pilfer and the batter hit.
If the batsman has the pitcher In
the hole so that it Is not safe to
waste a ball by pitching it out of
reach, the catcher can call for a ball
he knows It will be difficult for the
batsman to hit safely. 12 tho back
stop sees nothing to Indicate there
Is any play on between the runner
and batsman, he can more safely
ask for any kind of a ball, since the
batter is not likely to hit It. unless
it Is a groover.
There Is no way for the catcher
to detect any of these things 'n a
Vance of giving the sign, if said
sign )s hung out while the pitcher Is
off the slab
Cntll the dinger assumes his po
sition, neither the runner nor the
bataman Is likely to Klve himself
away, If any tip hus pa feed between
them for a play on the next ball
pitched.
They know the pitcher cannot
deliver, the ball If off the slab, con
sequently they stand inert until he
gets In position.
Then If they Klvc themselves
away, the catcher having already
given his signal, cannot switch it
without danger ot confusing the
pitcher or at least without causlns
a palpable hitch In the proceedings.
As a matter of fact, few catchers
nowadays pay more than perfunc
tory attention to the runners or the
batsman
Catchers like P.rcsnahan trust to
Instinct to pick out the spot where
anything is to be attempted. Some
of them do it by tho "rule of throe,"
apparently.
There are exceptions like Rrcsna
han. Of course, and these are the
catchers who are of most value to
their teams, whose worth Is recog
nized bv their managers, and who
are getting tho money.
The average fan does not detect
title difference in backstops, but the
wise manager does.
In throwing away the study of
base runners for the sake of con
cealing their signs the catchers are
robbing Peter to pay Paul, where
li is easily possible- to satisfy tho
. -
jftjfc" 2j
K" : -V, j
SAM AGNEW.
debt to Paul, without taking any
thing from Peter.
SIGNAL TIPPING
IS VERY I'M si AL.
A lot of the talk about signal
tipping Is bunk
Any wise team will get some of
the sl?ns of a careless catcher. That
Is a cinch. But not often will any J
team pet many of the signs of a 1
wise and careful catcher. 1
There arc so many ways of giving j
slsns. that they can be switched for I .
every batsman if necessary. ; (
It Is not possible for any one to ' I
read and tip off a catcher's signs ex- ' H
cept by watching what ball is
pitched In response to a certain sig
nal If the signs are changed for the
next batsman, the tipper Is at sea
ngain, and is likely to give the bats
man a tip that will result in getting
suld batsman's block knocked off.
The usual way Is for the catcher !
to Indicate his signs by his fingers ' '
concealed by his big mitt. It is al-o
done by showing the teeth or shut
ting the eyes. , 'f
Sometimes a catcher will use two j J
signs, but one of them will be
"phony." The runner or ooaehcr
can not tell which Is the "phony"
with any degree of accuracy. j
The surest way to prevent signal j
tipping Is the oldest method ever A
used in the game and tho most ef- j
fective. If the pitcher will t ike his j
position on the slab and pause whlU
the catcher takes a look around, ht
will give the backstop plenty of
lime ID M.' 11 mcr is uujiii.ii-
likely to come off on the next ball Ej
pitched. Vi i
Then, as soon as the catcher does I
give the sign, let the pitcher deliver r q
the ball Immediately ulvr to the H
batter or to a base to catch a run-
ner b
In this way there is no time tor f,
anybody to tip the batsman, even If M
ihe catcher's signal Is correctfy In- 1
terpreted by some runner or
coacher. Yj
And if the tipper can not wise up
the batsnnn before tho ball Is
pitched what's the use of stealing
the si;,-n.-? I
Days in the lid-.
John Joseph Smith, a New Tork
naturalist and hunter, who has l.eeii k
hnntlns In the wilds of Colombia,
has returned Mr. Smith spent three
months In the wilds. making his
headquarters at Jesus del Rio. H
brought back with him 800 live par
rota, ten monkeys of rare varieties,
a new kind of snake called the
"house builder" and a lively porcu
pine. The latter escaped and had i
sharp encounter with the chief of
ficer on the way up.
"The porcupine Is a strange speci
men." s.ild Mr. Smith. "It Is Of i
yellowish color, with black and j
whlt stripes running lore and aft.
Shortly after lcavlntr fJaJitagena It
escaped from its cae and the next j
heard of h hat j - ''
the chief officer came running on
deck shoutlni: that the porcupine
was in his room.
"Then the 'porker' came running
on d?-ck and chased the chief officer
around until the cook dived out of
the galley door and caught him (the
porcupine) under a djshpau. It is
perfect) true, however, lhat the Ifl
chief had a sharp encounter with J
Ten "house builder" snakes were f
brought here by Mr. Smith, the first, fl
he said, to be brought .o this coun- Hj
All will be sent to the Bronx Zoo. jrj
One of the now wrist straps for '
watches will hold a watch of any M
t,lze securely. M
Recent French patents cover a j
trunk made by welding together 1
thin sheets of steeL 'J
The curling iron heater and .
great paint heater have been com- 1 1
blned In a simple electrical devico tj
for use In ures.-'ins rooms In thea-
tcrs, - J