How to play base ball (1903) (14780040055)

Identifier: howtoplaybasebal01murn (find matches)
Title: How to play base ball
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Murnane, T. H. (Timothy Hayes), 1852-1917
Subjects: Baseball
Publisher: New York, American Sports Publishing Co.
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation



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s you must set yourself for a throw on every ball pitched,for the base runner may attempt a steal at any time. If the runner is on first and likely to steal second, or theshortstop or second basemen signal for a throw to the middlebag to catch a runner napping, instinctively you pull back theright foot as the ball is on its way. Thus you are poised for thethrow, and the ball strikes your mitt and is away again withoutany loss of time. If the throw is to third the left foot comesback so you can throw past the batsman. Few people have anyidea how a clever batsman can hamper a catcher who is forcedto get his throws away with a quick snap. I formerly playedshortstop and can throw much better from second to the platethan from the plate to second. Many spectators wonder why. with men on bases, the pitcherdoes not put the first ball over the plate and trust to luck in forc-ing the man out at second. Often this is due to the catcher.Sometimes when I am sure of my pitcher, and know he has con-
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How to Play Base Ball. 69 trol, I signal him to waste the first two balls in an attempt tocoax the man on first base to try to steal second. Then with theball coming where the batsman cannot well hit it, I am readyfor the throw. Signals from the basemen to the catcher forthrows to the bag do not catch a runner very often, but they areworth trying, and moreover hold the runner closer to the bagand are invaluable for that reason, because a fraction of a secondoften determines the difference between a put-out and safetyto the runner. The catcher and basemen must work togetherand a catcher will not throw without a signal. The pitcher usually determines for himself when to throw theball to base to catch a runner, and when to deliver it to the plate.Some catchers signal on these occasions, but 1 have tried it andfound that it is likely to cause confusion. So many differentplayers are concerned that one may be off balance or out of hisposition when the ball is delivered or hit in his directi