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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (July 13, 1911)
I'MORS had been circulated by tea underground' routes of baseball oarIns (be m-uoii of 194*9 that sig ub sere being tipped off In New York and Ustrwi. About this time. 1 bo* iced Ira Thomas ano *Kddie" Plank working together m a game again s: the substitutes one day tn moms tig jjartlft Thomas's cign&ls •ere so ridiculously plain that I relVd to *ite» from my .msition at se .-ood base “cor beaten s sake. Ira." 1 called, “what are you trying to do? A blind an la center field < cmid get thi ae signals." »r right. Eddie.' be answered. "That* what *Wy*te tor It s a stall We open a series in New I Tarh Monday. and they may be tipping signals there' Instead of covering up hi* signs with his legs •* »»y good catcher will. • ben be crouches be hind be lat'er. Thomas was displaying his signals so *bat runcbers at both first and third base could se- * beta I barbed in due time that toe pitchers were (Mr the real signs, and that Thomas had devised this srtear tc *hmw any observers with •W classes or other artificial aid* off their guards. I might add that, as a res_it. la the following series . four of the New York batters were hit with pitched ball* gad badly hart At Lis means that, every time a Jater faces a ptt'-iiet ta a game of baseball In the big leagues, there Is a duel at wtta la fact, the batter is pitted again* both toe pitcher and the catcher, as the tacuieat related shove wul show The aeuteness of the ttJe! depends on the arnoant of wits nlisted on each side Some are not very keen although in the vernacular of baseball. It 1s called ' outguessing tae pitcher.' It is .eslly out »!• ihg *be catcher, for the receivers almost uni versally deride whst kind of a diet shall be served ’• 1 baiter Occasionally a pitcher disagrees and **--»» in* r>urf*-**:uj bk tN-tiled tne ha '• iW Me leagues hare made a careful atudr of batters. their ' grooves" and uian and ft is on this kno* ledge that a M> M-r dtftetwis. Thetefure. la the majority of rasa*, tt Is the batter out rues *:t:g the ca t»*-r la ut.y a lew instances do« the pitcher gire it**- signals. do mack iarfe have toot pitchers 1b mate catchers that they pitch * • ..getter a different brand of base ball ta other men This is partico l*rtf int of Krause the Philadelphia left bander. »to {decked such sensa ttotaal bat! :a the eatos of !!•<». and •* Toed, of lbe New Tort American league rtet. who was the thrill of the leacwe last season with his d'nsbte breaking .piibal! Krause bad he • *adoace te any catcher except Ira Thosese. and Ford rouU not work fcarmoafciwaiy without "Ed" Sweeney These catcher* did all the thinking tor the two great twirier*, and their »*t te the box was purely me the rural Krawse racked ten straight ric •<w*-«w la a row before he fell, te a tee taatag game with the Sf. Laiui* •caev. thee, as neoal. te tact place. The secret is this Thomas was catch teg him lor the ten he pot on the shelf I-app was behind the bat for the eura. k* it op an<j tmutrc Knuie pr-bed withuot rKSd*4r« in bis catcher's )»4o»si to oatcu*** *be barters, and be lost. Tbe uar rfcjnp »aa true of Ford in the por- aeaewn terlea with tbe Giants In tbe early main** -* the *rr an*. »w-raey had his hand spilt open wik aae at Ford • eree»trk- tpit '*»• The HifUultr *u never tbe u»* tala He M bo*. pitch Oo- sonierfal bell be to capable *f t* 'tot wrt>i He bad bo roe hd-a-e la to lumber ias Mitchell t* i *»4to fato ~si*fcrs.' to think , w ta abort to oa'.«u< M the bat- I tea a ft** r*tchen bare a very busy *<•*»« of talkia* all the tune u> M*of a better ta an effort to dis tract bis aiteetion from his work Jeha Kites of the ('bteaso Cabs, keova ta bem-bat! as « bad mac wt h a better, 'chewed Incessant ly turns the world's senes in which we woe the <ha!Epionshl| from 'he Cwhs. He seemed to wraet to distract at -eat toe from the pitcher A favorite line of bis was Xww. tot s try him oa a fast If 10 of a& afivrtutB lav — - ■ ■ — ■ *• fcu 01 uj a Iwfc at lb* rfyW Kite* «on!d >tr "Hr Hfc*4 thr took* ot that Let * try him * " Thra up mould romr a curve. A favorite trick of LI. u to get the batter *rg .men'. sc<i care k*» pitcher »torX om a Iu( •we He irM Uli oa me in ifc» f.rm world's h-hm as tWr nap Uu you are the baa* baa* runner in the Amrrirmm league.* was his ojaMunc Uar "Wall. yow u« ■at up against American *«*»» catchers now. young feBew Let's are you steal a base H yea get lost* f iaM no attention to him. * although be eeldeatly hojed that 1 -anil tarn around and T-ptl. as that I would be caught a( my guard. And M la rand. btrt. as a his lonta. 1 relate the sequel. I did /«t down to ftrai base, and * f urstoadtng I was to lag to steal trade hiai signal to Otcrsll ta waste two balls Mammimm g catcher will aeerydty his part In this re oj mm wui live which will the pitcher A thing to bm In Chicago ono with WaUh pitching mad t my mind EDDIE COLLINS WORLD'S CHAMPIONS OGZZ/svir' ] j working and which led me to forecast what was coming. This cue and the resultant con clusion 1 drew, based on the hasty hypothesis of Payne's remark, resulted In a timely base hit. The conditions and circumstances of the hit are not likely to occur often in a game with Walsh pitching. He is a spit ball pitcher entirely. He uses his "spltter" and a fast ball with no curves. On this occasion, Payne signalled for either a spit ball or a fast one. I don't know which. Walsh shook his head in reply, and Payne gave him another signal to which he again shook his head. "You don’t want this one?" Payne mumbled in his mask, but loudly enough for me to hear as he gave another signal. Walsh nodded as sent. Now here is what passed through my mind, after listening to the hint carelessly dropped by Payne. Two were out at the time, a man was on third base, who, if he scored, would put us ahead, and the count on me was two strikes and no balls. My flash of thought must have been Cobb. instantaneous. 1 try never to pay any attention to the monologue of a catcher, but Payne is naturally a reticent man, ana ms remark surprised me. Walsh had refused to pitch until he had re ceived a certain sign. This made me think that it was not going to be a “spitter” or a fast one. evidently the first two signals given. by Pavne. He can't intend to waste a ball, i reasoned, because the man is on third, and he doesn't think he is going to try to steal. Then it struck me. “Can it be a curve 7" I asked my *glf surprised. "But he never throws one," 1 argued in my mind. Then I remembered the surprise betrayed in Paynes “You don't want this one." The remark, mum bled in his mask, had supplied the key. I took a chance. It was a curve, and I called the turn. It was the first and last one Walsh ever threw me, and probably he would have slipped it over, had it not been for Payne's poorly sup pressed surprise. That cost Walsh the game. It must be remembered by the reader that all this giving of signals and reasoning took place In about a minute's time. A ball player must think fast > Plank. uia t_y young, one or tne Solons of baseball, crossed me once In almost the same way with re verse English on It. It was a case of him out guessing me. The veteran Cleveland pitcher Is as different from Walsh, in his style, as white Is from black. "Cy" relies ca curve and a fast ball, never using a ‘‘spitter.’’ Toung had Ford. two strikes and one bail on me In a game in Cleveland. He walked oat of the box and part way to the catcher to receive the ball. Easterly, catching, signed for an offering that did not coincide with "Cy's” idea of the exigen cies of the situation. The old fellow shook his head twice, which immediately forced me to conclude that it would be neither a curve nor a fast one. Oldring was on first base at the time, and I guessed that “Cy” must want to waste one, think ing be was going to try to steal. When the ball came to me about chin high, 1 at once concluded that my diagnosis was the cor rect one, and I let it go. But, when about two feet in front of me. it broke across my letters, a beautiful strike, and I had not even taken my bat off my shoul der. “Cy” bad dished up a splt ter from somewhere in hia as sortment. and I didn’t even know inmi ne couia turow one. He simply outguessed me end caught me In the arms of Morpheus. He had wet the ball, while walking away from the plate with his back to me, after getting it from Easterly, thus giving no hint that he was going to throw a “spltter." Young Invented this trick and empties it oc casionally to great advantage. I have learned since, catching a batter oft his guard. But he depends for the most part on a curve and a high, fast ball, relying on his wonderful con trol to put the ball where he wants it. That w uianci u uuuiri ui uio, u»vu is a high, fast one in the vicinity of the neck, is a villainous ball. A pitcher of Young's type would just as soon tell the batter where he is going to try to throw the ball, because it is generally known that he is pitching at a batter's weakness. So batting in the big leagues Is largely a game of thought The man who outguesses the pitchers accumulates the most hits and the largest batting average. Lajole is the only exception to this that I can recall. Of course, self-con fidence is an absolute necessity to any successful hitter, but the Cleveland second baseman is more chock full of reliance in his own batting ability than any other player 1 know. It is not conceit, just faith in his eye. He shuffles out to the plate, almost carelessly, and bangs his bat down two or three times as if to say to the pitcher: "Toss one up nere ana nurry up auoui iu I'm not particular." He seldom lets the first one go past him. He gets his poise, takes a couple of short ctans wades Into the ball, and bang' “You can't get one by tne," bis manner appears to challenge. He is simply bulging with confidence. He is the one hitter and the only successful one 1 ever saw who appa rently doesn't try to guess what the pitcher is going to throw and really doesn't care. Pitchers have never been able to discover any “groove" that he is concealing. He simply wades in and hits at any kind of a ball. He is one batter in a thou sand. Tyrus Cobb, the Detroit star, is the exactly opposite type of hitter. He is thinking all the time he is at the bat, figuring, planning, to out guess the pitcher and the fielders, in baseball parlance "to cross" his op ponents. a legitimate procedure. If he thinks that the third baseman expects a bunt, he will hit it out. He never chases a bad ball, and he makes a pitcher work to the last notch. He worries many of the men in the box by his restlessness, and because he is constantly guesa lng right. He has almost clairvoyant ability to outguess a pitcher. In some games, I have been able to guess right almost every time that the pitcher has thrown the ball to me and yet have not beep able to get a hit. There is a great dif ference in pitchers. Some are easy to outguess, and others are as bad as a Jig-saw puule, and I never worked out one of those in my life. 1 know some men who Have mannerisms in the box which betray defln itely the sort of a ball to be de livered. These little physical eccentricities are true indices and often cost men. who would otherwise be successful pitch ers, many aames. It may be the twist of the wrist in throw ing a curve ball, or some motion of the foot peculiar to a "spit ter” that divulges the essential secret. This tell-tale sign is fatal to a pitcher, when players get on to it, and it usually does not take his opponcris long to discover and associate It with a certain kind of ball. vvorung in combination to outguess the hat ters, a catcher will often help a pitcher eat by talking'incessantly, hoping in this way to distract a hitter’s attention from his business. Street of the Washington club is one of the worst talkers in the business, and is called in some strata of baseball “Qabbr." From the time that a catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher until he delivers It again, a batter should never take his eyes off the pitcher. All of the "grooves" of batters are carefully catalogued. Every hitter in baseball, with the possible exception of Lujoie and Wagner, is sup posed to have what is known to the profession as a "groove.” a certain real or imagined weak ness. Some pitchers work to fool a batter, and others aim at his "groove.” Young and Powell are of the second type, and it Is this style of pitcher that I always try to make pitch to the limit, as they have to depend absolutely on their control. The catcher is obviously included in the guessing match which always results when a batter faces a pitcher. I recall a funny Instance ■ of "Hal" Chase making Ira Thomas look like six nickels In a game last sum mer. Thomas formerly played on the Yankees, and, at the time. Chase's sign for the squeeze play was given by putting his right hand to his nose. Ira had seen him give this many times when they were team mates. Hut on this occasion. Chase was playing on the New York club, and Thomas was catching on the Philadelphia team. It was in the eighth inning with the score tied, and a New York run ner on third base, champing on his spikes to get home when Chase stepped to the bat. One was out. "Hal’' went through the usual preliminaries of knock ing the dirt out of his spikes, fix ing his hat the firmer, as if he expected to take a long run and didn't want to be called back to get the cap. and spitting on his hands. Then he put the first digit of his right hand to the side of his nose. Uel ** oeVn/1 Tr-n What are you going to do, nai, asaeu “frame up something here?” Thomas did not expect to find out anything by the question, but wanted to drag Chase into conversation to get his mind off his work. Whit*. sure i am, repuea umse, juiu he repeated the old sign very de liberately. "What.” exclaimed Ira, “you're not giving me that sign, thinking I'm not jerry to it?” "That's right, Ira," answered Chase carelessly. “1 had forgot ten you knew, but it goes any way,” This conversation was carried on while Plank was pawing around in the box and preparing , to pitch. As the tall southpaw wound up, Daniel started in from ; third base. Plank delivered a perfect strike, and Chase half bunted and half hit the ball, which allowed Daniels to score. "Hal" ; had beaten Thomas at his own game. He had given a sign that Thomas knew, and which the lat ter did not for a moment think had been passed out seriously. Therefore Ira did not signal for a pltchout as he would have done , if he had guessed the play was j coining. Thus Chase double-crossed Ira. a ball player is trying to outguess the pitcher from the time he leaves the bench until he sits down again. He doesn't terminate his engagement at the plate. As soon as a bats Chase. mail uecuuifa a u«oc luuuct, I object is advancement. Every ball player knows ex actly bow much of a lead be can take off first base on a certain pitcher and not get caught. There are recognized standards in the big leagues. For instance, I know* that I can go fifteen feet away from the bag and get safely back with “Doc” White of Chicago pitching, but if 1 go a step over ten feet i on Walsh of the same , club I will probably get nipped. I can’t exactly explain what I mean, but when I once get ac customed to a pitcher’s delivery. I know how far to venture. In base running. I believe that tne secret oi success Is the start, absolutely. Speed Is a great asset, but the start Is every thing. Outguessing the pitcher and catcher U a sort of instinct wmcn some pmyera others never attain. A man seems to do it by intuition and often cannot tell Just what con crete hypothesis leads him to reach a certain conclusion. But believe me, it is a groat art for a ball player to have, a great art, and one to be cultivated. Man a Dependant Creature Wit* Art C«**T Independent df Art rropcnjr greatness, you will always find it con sists In a human spirit finding some cause or principle or person and giv ing himself up to it. There is no hero tom that to not self-surrender. The good mother to one who to tied to her children. A man's passions never become noble until they are chained to-the one woman he has chosen. It Is this sense of servitude, of ltrnlnfT. of Obedience to another in our innermost will and feeling, that lends honor and stature to oar com monest human relations. Jesus was never taller than when he called him self “Servant of All." And it was said of him. “It behooves the captain of our salvation to learn obedience." Freedom is only a superficial and a relative term; it can only mean re nouncing a low master for a higher one. Our fathers declared their inde pendence of King George only that they might serve the people. Those who are independent of every government are properly called pi rates and bandits, and are hunted down by all nations as enemies of mankind. Those who seek to be entirely Inde pendent, to do as they please, to be their own master, become speedily Blares to the worst of masters, their own appetites. The beauty of a worthy master is that he sets ns free. Only as we find that to which we can look up and rev erence, and as we find that which is reverencing. do we escape from the ir rltatlng slavery Itself. ‘If the son shall make you free, ye shall be free Indeed.”—Dr. Frank Crane. Had Bean Cautioned. "Where you been to so late, young man?” “I’ve been calling on Sally Simp Hna, father, and she's promised to marry me at last!” “Serves you right! 1 told you that fou’d get Into trouble if you didn't keep away from that girL*’—Harper’t Bazar. PARTN E RS By ANNIE HINRICHSEN (Copyright. 19x1. by Associated Literary Press.) “Our partnership must end." The girl spoke decisively. “I don’t see the reason.” objected the man. "We have been writing together very successfully for several weeks,” she explained. “But we have reached a point in our work where each one can do better alone. If we stay to gether our influence on each other will be a real detriment to success. My work will take on the quality of yours; yours will become like mine. Our talents will develop if we work separately.” In spite of the hurt in his eyes Gra ham Ford's lips twitched. “Perhaps I seem ungrateful.” Nor ma Atwood went on. “I am really your protege rather than your part ner. I came to the city with the in tention of devoting my life to newspa per and magazine work. All my ar ticles and stories were refused. When I met you I was utterly discouraged. 1 told you my difficulties. You read my stuff, showed me how to alter it into salable matter and introduced me to editors. Success came immedi ately. I am selling everything I write. We have been working to gether. You write your things and I write mine. Every morning you come here to my flat and we go over the stories and give each other advice and suggestions. We have called our selves literary partners. “Yesterday the Arcade asked me to furnish them a daily story- These stories and my work will take all my time and these morning hours to gether must be given up." Ford’s brows drew together. 'T un derstand.” he said briefly. “You offer two good reasons; you are so success ful that you haven’t time for me, and we can do better work without the as sistance of each other.” Two weeks later Norma Atwood went to the office of the Arcade. "Mr. Mills,” she said to the man aging editor, "you promised to pub lish a story of mine every day for an indefinite period. This morning you sent back to me a bundle of my stories accompanied by a letter tell ing me to write better ones if I I Can Be a Partner—" wished the Arcade to use them. I’ve come to ask you what is the matter with them.” The editor was a direct man and a (rank one. "They lack snap and point. Your earlier stories were clever; these are flat Write as well as you did a few weeks ago and no story will be returned to you.” I few days later another bundle of stories was returned to her. One evening Graham Ford came to the little flat. It was his first visit since the dissolution of the partner ship. “How are you getting along?" he asked abruptly. “I am very busy,” she began brave ly. “Are you selling much?” “Every writer has periods of fail ure.” "What Is the Arcade doing with your stuff?” “Sending it back to me.” After a moment she added, “So is every other editor.” “Brutes,” he anathematised. “Let me see your stories.” He went through them, cutting, transposing and adding whole para graphs. “These are good stories,” he commended. “Try them on those editors again. They will buy. You write well.” She shook her head. “Norma, let’s go back to our part nership. Will you? I’m lonesome : and unhappy. I can’t write alone." “Every big magazine in the country ' is buying your work. You don't need me. You never needed me. But I—“ “I'm lonesome and miserable. I do need you. I want a literary partnei and I want the other kind of partner, too. I want a wife, Norma. I love you, dear, and I can’t go on without you." "You will have to. I shall neither marry you nor resume our literary partnership.” The next day she took the revised stories to the editor of the Arcade. He glanced over them. "Good stuff,” he announced. “You’ve touched up these stories and put the real sub stance into them. I'll publish these and all others as good.” She gathered them up. “They are not for publication. I wanted to know something about them, and you have told me what I wished to know.” Three months later, in response to a charmingly worded note, Graham Ford came to Norma’s flat for dinner. The living-room had been refur nished and was a harmony of dull woods and soft colors. Before the grate fire was a small table set for two. Norma wore over her pretty,1 light gown a white apron. It was a well cooked dinner which the white-aproned hostess served. Gra ham Ford ate steadily and appreciate-' ly through the course When the meal was finished they carried the' table into the tiny kitchen. Graham! looked about for the cook, but saw no; one. Norma pushed an easy chair before the fire He dropped Into it and light ed a cigar. Norma, still wearing her apron, sat on a small chair drawn, close to hie “Graham,” she said in a low voice, “how do you like it—my little flat and my dinner?” “It is a domestic paradise,” he sighed. “Would you like to have it all the time? You can if you want; to,” she went on as he stared bewil-: dered. “I refused you a literary wife. Will you take a domestic one? Sit still while I tell you about it I was so spoiled by my literary success that I thought I had real talent I ended our partnership. After that I could not sell a story. The only merit my stories possessed was the revision you gave them. With it they sold; without it they were worthless. “After we separated I realized that —that I loved you. When you asked me to marry you I wanted to—I want ed to with all my heart. But I could not do It I had nothing to give you in return for all you were ready to give me. I refused you and—and—I went to school to learn to be a good home-maker. I learned to cook, to ar range rooms, to shop economically. I’ve practiced here in my little flat, trying to become proficient enough to—to make your home comfortable and happy. I'm a literary failure, but I am a good cook and now I can be a real partner—a useful one—if you—” But the rest of the sentence was left unfinished as the girl and the big white apron were drawn into the easy chair. Small Republics. Kleln-Alp is a diminutive republic tucked away between Switzerland and France. Only in summer is tbe re public Inhabited, and then by miners and cowgirls. There is one hotel, closed during the winter. Another lit tle republic is in Tyrol, between Aus tria and Italy, and in long gone years was under the jurisdiction of first a king and then an emperor. But in the adjustment of frontier lines the state of Val di Ventlno was in some way overlooked, and it promptly organized Itself into a Lilliputian republic. • It has now about 2,000 inhabitants, liv ing in six villages. Neither Val di Ventlno or Kleln-Alp have any taxes. There are no officials or compulsory military service. The only Industry of Val di Ventlno, aside from the farming of small fields, is charcoal burning. Just Baby’s Size. In a car filled with ladies, a 90 pound dude sat wedged in tightly. At a street corner a fat woman, hand somely dressed and with a baby In her arms, got In. The little dude strug gled to his feet and touched his hat' politely, remarking facetiously: “Madam, will you take this seat?" * The fat lady looked at tbe crevice he had left and thanked him pleas antly. “You are very kind, sir,” she said. "I think it will just fit the baby." And it did.—New York Evening Mail. Marvel Explained. Mrs. A.—Your boy is different from the others I know. He always keeps bis face clean. Mrs. B—Yes; he hates so to have it washed. BRAVERY CF STOKE-HOLE MEN Many Deeds of Heroism Reported Among Firemen on Board War Vessels end Merchant Ships. The president has presented medals to the six members of the engineer’s crew of the battleship North Dakota, who, when an explosion of oil fuel occurred, rescued injured comrades amid steam and deadly fumes and saved the ship from destruction. It is one of the curious anomalies known to the merchant service of the salt water that stoke-hole men, re crulted from human riffraff and scarce recognizing the mere existence of dis cipline, have risen to the noblest hero ism. They have stayed by vessels deserted by deck officers and men. They have made repairs when every breath drew in scalding steam and worked at furnace doors when the water was so high upon the plates it splashed into the ash pit doors. It is their lot to be held partly in contempt j and partly in fear. Their labor saps i the life of strong men. That of fire- \ men has been placed as low as si* years. They are always In danger from shifting coal, breaking pipes and tumbling slice bars. The beat of the. waves may throw them against white hot furnaces or the waves themselves, coming over the rails, may tumble through gratings and drown them like rats in a barrel. It is surely a great thing that beings of ill reputation and hard, cruel lives, should yet appear on the records and in the tales never recorded as the bravest men in the hour of trial. The six men of the North Dakota! because they are of the navy, gain something of reward. They are. how ever, but brothers of a world wide family. ' The Leader. A Kansas City hotel boasts of hav ing five brides as guests in one day In Houston, where about 150 passen ger trains arrive every day, the brides enter the corridors In such a stream that It is not uncommon for the sweepers to gather up a bushel and a half of rice at a single sween —Houston PosL **'