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A Game of Inches Updates, Chapter 3
The nature of a book of firsts is that it is always a work in progress. Although A Game of Inches was published only last year, I have already
received and uncovered a great deal of new information. I encourage anyone who
has read the book to contact me with questions,
concerns, comments, updates, and corrections. A few simple corrections have been
made in new printings, but longer updates will have to wait for the next
edition. For now, I’ll be putting such updates to both volumes on these pages on
an ongoing basis, so check back frequently if interested.
Links to Updates to Other Chapters
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapters 4-5
Chapters 6-8
Chapter 9
Chapters 10-12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapters 15-17
Chapter 18
Chapters 19-21
Chapters 22-26
CHAPTER 3: PITCHING
Introduction
I want to expand the next-to-last paragraph of the
introduction to present these contrasting views of the changes of the late
1880s:
One article after the 1888 season suggested the need to
further increase offense: “After a fair and impartial test, the new base ball
rules may be said to be a success. While the battery, as yet, does not seem to
be much heavier, still when the batsmen get their eyes on the ball the leather
will probably fly. Yet it must be said that some other means will have to be
adopted before very heavy batting can be assured. The reduction of the number
of balls will not insure heavy batting, as some of the most effective pitchers
in the profession are men who put ball after ball across the plate, really
inviting the batter to hit it. Take Keefe, for instance. He does not depend on
curves and shoots so much as on a change of pace. Ball after ball is sent
across the plate with the same motion, but with different speed, and the batter
is either breaking his back at a slow one or hitting at a fast one after it is
past him. A good pitcher will tell you that he does not allow a batter to hit
the ball only when he pleases, but he makes him hit it. Thus the only way the
batting can be increased is to lengthen the distance of the box from the plate
so that a batter can gauge the curves and shoots and also ‘size up’ a slow or
fast ball before it reaches him. One effect of the new rules has been to
shorten the games. A pitcher cannot afford to waste the first ball and it is
generally sent across the plate. Batters know this and are ready to hit the
first ball. The result is that the games will average about an hour and a half
this season. The elimination of the foul tip has proven a good thing and has
saved considerable wrangling. It can be said truly that the new rules have made
the action of the game faster and thus have been beneficial if they have failed
to increase the batting to any great extent.” (St. Louis Globe-Democrat,
reprinted in Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 21, 1889)
Yet Curry Foley spoke for many pitchers when he claimed
that there were already too many restrictions on pitchers, “Last week I spoke
about the wild pitching so prevalent at the present time, and now the past week
has added some diabolical exhibitions to the long list. In four innings Burket
of the Worcesters gave ten men bases on balls and made eight more errors in the
bargain. Burket was originally a roller skater, and perhaps it would not be a
bad idea for him to try pitching with the skates on. But the rankest exhibition
of pitching that I ever heard of was that given by the Toronto pitchers at
Cincinnati the other day. By being hit by the pitcher and taking bases on balls
no less than twenty-four of the Cincinnatis reached first base without hitting
the ball. And even the men in the older associations are handicapped by the
present pitching rules. Mattimore of the Athletics had ten errors in the last
Athletic game in this city. Why can’t we have some standard pitching rules to
go by? The pitcher is now at the end of his rope, for he cannot possibly throw
any higher. One year a pitcher makes a wonderful record; the next year, some
rule maker wants the number of balls lowered so as to increase the batting (a
moss covered chestnut), and the successful pitcher of the year before suffers.
The great pitching of Kilroy of the Baltimores and Ramsey of the Louisvilles
always kept those teams well up in the race up to two years ago; then the rules
were changed and these men lost their former efficiency, and last year both
teams were on the brink of bankruptcy. A pitcher should be given a chance to
use his head, for any dummy can be a pitcher nowadays, so long as he can fire a
ball fast over the plate; but these men don’t last long, as was clearly proven
in big Stemmyer’s case. ‘Big Stem’ was one of the fastest pitchers I ever knew,
but he was a hard man to catch and, on account of his long swing in delivering
the ball, opposing base runners found it an easy matter to steal bases.” (quoted
in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 21, 1889)
Obviously the former view ultimately prevailed and the
distance was increased to 60’6”.
3.1.1 Windups
Saying that Jones “was not particularly effective” in
paragraph 5 may have been a bit harsh. He was so-so in the National League but
then pitched well in the American Association, before voluntarily deciding not
to continue his ballplaying career.
To that paragraph, I’ll probably also add this description
of “Peek-a-Boo” Veach: “His hop-skip-and-jump motion before delivering the ball
is in itself extremely puzzling, while his ‘out’ curves are at times actually
amazing.” (Evansville Journal, July 30, 1884)
And perhaps this one of Guy Hecker as well, discovered by
researcher Bob Bailey: “Hecker has a pretty and lively style. He holds the ball
idly in his hand for a moment, then suddenly turns around on one heel, and, if a
man is on first base, he frightens him back to the bag by several lightning
motions, when the ball leaves his hand and speeds over the batters square.
Sometimes Hecker glances significantly at the umpire, then makes a hop, skip
and jump, winding his arm beautifully over his head, and throwing the ball
swiftly but accurately just where he has signals to the catcher. His style is a
great favorite.” (Louisville Courier-Journal, June 21, 1886)
Here’s an excellent contemporary description of Jim
Whitney’s delivery (see paragraph six): “When straight he is 6 feet 1 inch
high. With the batsman in position, Whitney revolves the ball in his hands
several times, then suddenly he curls himself up like a boy attacked with the
gripes or a dog retiring for the night, whirls his leg, his right arm shoots
straight from the shoulder, and the first thing the sorely perplexed striker
knows the sphere has been discharged and started on its errand. For a few
minutes the batter is uncertain whether or not the man has a fit, and two or
three balls pass by before he fully realizes the situation. Out of all this
hysterical demonstration, Whitney manages to put a great deal of speed on the
ball, and to practice considerable deception. But the batter is always in
danger, because he doesn’t know, neither does Whitney, but what the sphere may
land on his ear instead of in Snyder’s hands. He struck several of the Buffalos
yesterday, and, as he propels the sphere quite swiftly, it did not create the
best of feeling within them. Like the unnamed steed of the western wilds, he
ought to be subdued, broken or driven with a curb bit. By his wonderful
gymnastics he succeeded in effectually mystifying the Buffalos.” (Chadwick
Scrapbooks, circa 1881 article from the Buffalo Express)
To the tenth paragraph, after the first sentence (“In 1887
rule makers …”), I want to add, “The intention was, as Harry Wright put it, to
ensure that the pitcher would no longer ‘go through a five minutes’ exercise in
acrobatic feats before delivering the ball’ (St. Louis Globe-Democrat,
March 7, 1887, 10).” Then I’ll use this description by Henry Chadwick of what
they wanted to replace it with: “In the act of delivering the ball to the bat
[the pitcher] can only take one step, and, therefore, if he lifts his rear foot
from the line of his position before the ball leaves his hand, he necessarily
takes two steps and his delivery becomes ‘illegal.’” (Evansville Journal,
April 27, 1889, 7) And I’ll point out the similarities to the pivot used by a
post player in basketball. Then I’ll end the paragraph and make the rest of the
current paragraph into a new one.
To the paragraph near the end about Nichols and Young I
want to add something along these lines: “It should be stressed that many other
successful pitchers of the era felt the same way. Clark Griffith dismissed the
elaborate windmill windups used by some pitchers as ‘wasted motion’ (Gerard S.
Petrone, When Baseball Was Young, 98). So too, a description of Mordecai
‘Three-Finger’ Brown’s delivery stated, ‘Like all truly great pitchers, Brown
does not wind up like an eight-day clock before pitching. He gets the ball away
with the least possible exertion, throwing with an easy over hand motion and
putting his whole body into the swing, thus conserving the strength of his arm
and developing tremendous speed at the same time’ (Saginaw Evening News,
March 13, 1909; quoted in Cindy Thomson and Scott Brown, Three Finger,
87).”
3.1.2 Deception
I’ve found at least one pitcher who tried the
back-to-the-batter delivery before Dean. According to an 1875 note, pitcher
Williams of the Ludlows “abandoned his style of pitching with his back towards
the batsman and was more effective in consequence.” (Chadwick Scrapbooks)
Here’s another new description of Dean’s delivery and its
reception, “After the visitors [St. Louis] had knocked nine safe hits out of
Dean’s back-sided delivery, he faced about, and through the rest of the game
threw square from the shoulder. The Browns say they only tolerated it because
they have such a soft thing. Unless the Reds get a pitcher they will go to
pieces. The crowd to-day hooted Dean and filled the air with quacking in the
ninth inning.” (St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 04, 1876, 8)
Quacking!!??
To the end of paragraph six (on Clarkson), I plan to add:
“That winter, the rule-makers decreed that the pitcher could not hold the ball
behind his back and instead had to ‘hold the ball so that it can be seen in his
hand by the umpire.’ (Henry Chadwick, Aberdeen (S.D.) Daily News,
March 16, 1887) Then I’ll start the next paragraph with “That rule became
difficult to enforce once pitcher began to wear gloves and the ensuing years …”
I’ll add this sentence to the end of the next-to-last
paragraph: “Joss complemented his back-to-the batter motion with a high leg kick
that hid the ball from the batter (Scott Longert, Addie Joss: King of the
Pitchers, 18).”
In the last
paragraph, before the comments by Evers and Fullerton, I’m going to add these
remarks by pitcher Lester German, “a pitcher who allows the batsman to see the
ball all the time is at a disadvantage. Of course, the rules will not permit
one to hold the ball behind the back before delivering it, as was the case years
ago, but if one is blessed with large hands, large palms being plentiful in
baseball, it is an easy matter to conceal the ball, or practically so.” (Boston
Herald, May 20, 1894)
3.1.3 Crossfire
This will be added to the end of the fourth paragraph:
“Another early-twentieth-century pitching star, Earl Moore, took additional
steps to make the ball come at the batter from unexpected angles by toeing the
extreme corner of the pitcher’s plate (Tony Bunting, ‘Earl Alonzo Moore,’ in
David Jones, ed., Deadball Stars of the American League, 644).”
3.1.4 Submarine
After the second paragraph, I’m going to add these comments
by Tim Murnane: “Other pitchers had worked the raise ball, but Rhines was the
first man to get the jump on the ball without actually throwing it, as McGinnity
does at the present time. In fact, McGinnity is a perfect imitation of Rhines
in his book work, and the master was fully as invincible as the student when he
was in perfect shape for his best work. Rhines will go down in baseball history
as the inventor of the natural raise on a pitched ball. Although Robert Mathews
was the first to introduce a slow raise, as far back as ’72.” (Boston Globe,
June 27, 1907, 30)
3.2.3 Curves
This entry is already unbelievably long so the only
addition I plan to make it that in paragraph ten, I’m going to replace “Mann’s
claims are further weakened” with: “William Rankin wrote a long letter to the
Times to cite earlier curve ball pitchers. (New York Times, September 29,
1900, 6) Further weakening Mann’s claim is his …”
3.2.4 The Curve Family
To the end of paragraph four, I intend to add: “An 1888
article sniffed, ‘Some men have claimed to have a combination in-and-out curve,
but such a ball never existed. Stories have been told of men who could curve a
ball in a zig-zag around several posts, but the feat never has and never will be
accomplished, simply because a zig-zag curve does not exist.’ (“How to Curve a
Ball,” St. Louis Globe Democrat, reprinted in Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 29,
1888)”
At the end of the reference to Corcoran’s snake ball, I’m
going to add an 1884 mention that pitcher Al Atkinson had a pitch “not unlike
the famous ‘snake ball’ which has made Larry Corcoran the terror of the batters
recently.” (Evansville Journal, July 27, 1884)
3.2.5 Sinker
After paragraph five, I’m going to add something like this:
“At the end of the decade, the pitch prompted this commentary: ‘A remarkable
ball is the drop ball, now used so much. It comes straight from the pitcher’s
hand for a short distance, and then falls to the ground. It is produced in
several different ways, and by some pitchers is held the same as an out-curve.
It must be started at a good hight [sic], most pitchers delivering it from above
the shoulder. It is then given a peculiar jerk downward as it leaves the hand.
It is a great ball with some of the most effective pitchers in the country, such
as Clarkson, Ramsey, Hudson, Sowders and others. It is the most fickle of all
the curves, and may desert a pitcher for weeks at a time. Thus Clarkson has
been known to lose his drop ball entirely for a period, although he delivered
the ball the same way all the time. This is probably caused by a stiffening of
the muscles brought into play in producing the shoot, and thus preventing the
desired effect. A common ball with those pitchers who use the drop ball is the
combination down and out shoot, which is very deceptive when coupled with good
speed. It is produced by turning the hand in the same manner as to produce an
out-curve, and bringing the ball from as high as the shoulder. This is one of
the hardest deliveries on a pitcher’s arm that is used, and those who continue
to use it do not last long as twirlers. Thus after games last year Clarkson’s
arm would sometimes turn perfectly red and puff up, thus showing the terrible
strain upon it.’ (“How to Curve a Ball,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, reprinted in
Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 29, 1888)
3.2.6 Upshoot or Raise Ball
I need to note that Tim Murnane once described Dick McBride
as “the first man to work the raise ball successfully” (Boston Globe,
February 22, 1900)
In the last paragraph, I want to include these comments: “A
ball which was formerly used considerably and which yet is seen occasionally in
[sic] the raise ball, as it is called … It consists merely in starting the ball
from close to the ground and forcing it to rise gradually until after it passes
the plate. It is easily produced, but is very hard to command, and hence is not
used extensively. Moreover, it is not particularly effective. It was formerly
used with wonderful effect by Tom Bond of the old Boston team. Its chief
exponent now is McCormick of the Pittsburg club, who continues to use it with
good effect. He has wonderful command of it, and has speed combined, which
renders it unusually effective.” (“How to Curve a Ball,” St. Louis
Globe-Democrat, reprinted in Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 29, 1888)
Then I also want to note Murnane’s comments about Billy
Rhines, which appear above under entry 3.1.14, to discuss the link between the
raise ball and the submarine delivery.
3.2.7 Spitball
I’ll add this example to the end of paragraph 7: “Pitcher
Lundbloom [Jack Lundbom], of Springfield, has a spit ball that gives batters all
over the league a lot of trouble, but Grand Rapids solved a way to keep it out
of active use in the game Monday. As the balls were put out of play and thrown
to the players’ bench they were treated to a solution of liniment and cayenne
pepper and the pitcher got a taste of it every time he wet the ball and returned
his fingers to his mouth for the second supply of saliva.” (Fort Wayne
Sentinel, July 19, 1905)
To paragraph 17 (“The timing of the ban …”), I’m going to
add a mention that the pitch was being perceived as having lost effectiveness as
early as 1906, when this note appeared: “How the times have changed! A couple
of years ago, when Chesbro was mowing down all before him, there was nothing
worth mentioning in the line of minor league twirlers, that didn’t include a
‘baffling spit ball’ in his collection. It was the ball of the future and was
going to put all the old style twirlers out of business, unless they speedily
learned it to keep up with the procession. Most of the veterans did go to work
on it and most of them with disastrous results. Arms began to be shatters and,
when the batsman began to learn how to master the cuspidor offering, it began to
be discarded. The revulsion [?] of feeling has now become nearly complete.”
(Detroit Times, August 20, 1906)
Then I’ll use this quotation to explain that other problems
became apparent:, “Stealing third base on a spit ball pitcher is easier than
when a dry pitcher is in the box. All a runner has to do is to see when the
saliva is applied and start for the base. The ball is too wet ordinarily for
the pitcher to throw to third and when the catcher gets it he will often grab
the wet side and make a bad throw to the base.” (Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette,
June 19, 1908)
William Rankin
also cited Tim Keefe as a nineteenth-century spitballer: “I believe that Tim
Keefe’s old slow ball was nothing more or less than the modern ‘spit.’ Tim was
a quiet fellow and any discoveries that he ever made in the pitching line he
kept to himself. He never talked about them.” (Sporting Life, May 27,
1905)
In paragraph 22, I'll change “Of course the pitch has
continued to be used illicitly …” to “Of course the pitch has also continued to
be used illicitly in the white major leagues …”. Then before that paragraph,
I’ll add a new one describing how popular the pitch was in the Negro Leagues.
It will be something like this: “Meanwhile, in the Negro Leagues, the financial
situation was much too shaky for such a ban to be practical. Donn Rogosin
explained that the Negro Leagues started with an ‘inferior 150cc Wilson baseball
which cost twenty-three dollars a dozen and saved the league fifty cents over a
major league ball’ and exacerbated the situation by rarely throwing a ball out
of action. Predictably, the result was that spitballs, emery balls and all
sorts of scuff balls remained common in the Negro Leagues long after being
prohibited in white baseball. (Donn Rogosin, Invisible Men, 72-73) In a
fabled 1930 showdown that became known as the ‘Battle of the Butchered Balls,”
Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams combined for 46 strikeouts before the game’s
only run was pushed across in the twelfth inning (Donn Rogosin, Invisible Men,
72-73, 56)
In the twenty-first paragraph, after the sentence about the
grandfathering being a compromise, I plan to add: “Another likely factor was
that scoring skyrocketed in the ensuing years, prompting some to advocate
legalizing the spitball (William B. Mead, “The Year of the Hitters,” National
Pastime Spring 1985, 30).”
3.2.10 Knuckleball
At the end of paragraph two I’ll add this sentence:
“Cicotte, by contrast, was far more circumspect about the pitch, declining in
1910 even to explain to President Taft how he threw it (Boston Globe,
April 29, 1910).
I’m going to replace paragraph 13 (“For whatever reason …”)
with these two paragraphs: “According to teammate Wild Bill Donovan, Summers
threw the ball ‘from below the top knuckles, tearing away the skin down to the
finger nails.’ The result was ‘not only impossible to hit, but almost as hard
to catch. I have seen him warming up with Ira Thomas, who was then with
Detroit, and almost every other ball would land in the pit of Ira’s stomach or
break his glove and strike his knee or shin. The ball would frequently come up
to the plate, break first to the right, then to the left, and then suddenly duck
downward. When the batter hit it, an accident had happened … I was telling
Clark Griffith about it and he gave me the hoarse huzza. So one day I got Griff
to put on a big mitt and warm up with Summers. He tried and finally succeeded
in catching one ball out of four. The others either landed on his shin or up
around his chest. When he finally quit he had this to say: “No batter can hit
him, but neither can his catcher catch him if he uses that ball. I could almost
swear it broke two ways at the same time.”’
“The pitch made Summers virtually
invincible, and he won 24 games in 1908. ‘Even the Mackmen,’ recalled Donovan,
‘quit cold when they saw him warming up. He beat them ten straight games, and
he had both [Frank] Baker and [Eddie] Collins throwing their bats away.’
Summers’s use of the lethal offering in that year’s World Series drew more
attention to it and helped the fingernail ball gain popularity at the expense of
the knuckleball.” (Boston Globe, March 5, 1915)
3.2.11 Knuckle Curve
I’ll probably add a new paragraph to either the start or
end along these lines:
“As much as any pitch, the knuckle curve has been plagues by semantic
confusion. Dave Clark, for instance, is emphatic that the knuckle curve is not
a knuckleball but a curve (Dave Clark, The Knucklebook, 33). Yet as Rob
Neyer and Bill James point out, the three most prominent pitchers to throw
pitches that they called knuckle curves were in fact each throwing a different
pitch (Bill James and Rob Neyer, The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, 16).
That situation obviously makes it difficult to be consistent in talking about
the pitch.”
3.2.13 Emery Ball
I’m going to add a new paragraph before the last one: “As
noted under the entry on the Spitball (3.2.7), pitch bans were not practical in
the Negro Leagues and so hurlers in those leagues had wider repertoires. Smokey
Joe Williams was reputed to throw the best emery ball in the Negro Leagues (Donn
Rogosin, Invisible Men, 73).”
3.2.14 Doctored Ball Family
After the paragraph on Purcell cutting the ball, I plan to
add one that will read something like this: “Likewise, 1880s player Abner
Dalrymple later claimed: ‘My post in left field gave me somewhat of a strategic
advantage. One of the rules in those days was that a new ball would be put into
play by the umpires only after the seams had been torn and the yarn was
exposed. Of course, to the players in the field a new ball was desirable at all
times. I carried in my pocket a small pen-knife, and I never missed an
opportunity to expose the yarn if the ball came my way’ (Chicago Tribune,
September 23, 1928, A7).”
I’m going to revise the first sentence of the paragraph
beginning “No doubt Cicotte was mindful …” to something along these lines: “As
he had been with the knuckleball (see 3.2.10), Cicotte was tight-lipped about
the pitch, even among teammates. In this case, he had even more reason to do so
because of what had happened after Russell Ford’s emery ball (3.2.13) became
common knowledge.
To the end I’ll add: “As discussed in the entries on the
Spitball (3.2.7), the Negro Leagues could not afford the expense of constantly
discarding balls and so these pitches continued to be used. The 1930 ‘Battle of
the Butchered Balls’ saw Chet Brewer and Smokey Joe Williams stymie batters for
twelve innings with sandpaper balls, emery balls and ‘goo balls,’ which arrived
at the plate covered with a black, tarry substance (Donn Rogosin, Invisible
Men, 56).”
Under the shine ball, I want to mention Jocko Conlan’s
contention that the shine ball was a more effective pitch than the spitball
because the spitball always broke down, while the shine ball could break either
up or down. (Jocko Conlan and Robert Creamer, Jocko, 206)
During the description of Clark Griffith’s ball-scuffing
tactics, I’ll try to work in a mention that the Detroit club sent him a bill for
eleven baseballs after one of his outings. (Mike Grahek, “Clark Calvin
Griffith,” in David Jones, ed., Deadball Stars of the American League,
758)
In the paragraph beginning “Near the end of the 1917
season” I’m going to replace those words with: “Calls to ban the shine ball and
pitches like it grew louder during the 1917 season with Clark Griffith – of all
people – leading the chorus (Mike Grahek, “Clark Calvin Griffith,” in David
Jones, ed., Deadball Stars of the American League, 760). Near the
end of the season”
3.2.15 Slider
After the seventh paragraph, I’m going to add a new one based on
Larry Jansen’s comments, quoted on page 102 of the SABR publication Rain
Check.
3.2.16 Eephus Pitch
Another early example: According to Frank Bancroft, Charley
Radbourn always said that the only batter he could never get out was Roger
Connor. One year with Providence fighting for the pennant, Radbourn faced
Connor with two on and two out in the ninth and a one-run lead. “Rad simply
lobbed the ball over the plate. The Rajah of Waterbury [Connor] laid back and
smashed away. I think he lost the ball somewhere in the clouds, but it finally
dropped out and was caught. It was an awful chance to take, but the break was
in Radbourne’s favor and Providence won.” (Washington Post, March 1,
1903, 32)
3.3.1 Getting Batters to Chase
I want to mention in the first paragraph that this tactic
also functioned as a pitchout (as will be described in the new information I’ll
be adding to entry 5.3.11)
Here’s another example from the Spirit of the Times,
May 20, 1857, description of a series of games in which the Bay State players
had “very low balls given them, while those they gave were swift and of the
right height.” By the second game, “they had learned their opponent’s tricks of
low balls, and paid them in their own coin.”
3.3.2 Brushback Pitching
I need to break the second sentence of the seventh
paragraph after the word “deterrent” and then add: “Early in the 1878 season a
Chicago reporter complained: ‘There must be some rule to prevent the injury and
intimidation of batsmen by pitchers. Two years in succession the League has
tried to draw such a rule, and abandoned it because they could not agree on a
penalty. It is a great evil, and must be stopped; it gives the unscrupulous
pitchers a great advantage over the fair-minded ones, and places too much power
in their hands. [Tommy] Bond is the worst of the intimidating pitchers, and [Ed
‘The Only’] Nolan is little better. In the last two weeks’ play of the Chicagos
they have been hit by the ball from the pitcher and temporarily disabled eleven
times. Per contra, [Chicago pitcher Terry] Larkin has hit only one of his
opponents. Now it cannot be suffered to be in fairness a method of winning
games to disable and discourage the batters of either side, and every club is
interested in making a law which shall stop the evil. How shall a penalty be
inflicted?’ (Chicago Tribune, May 12, 1878, 7).” Then I’ll start a new
paragraph with: “Efforts to find a solution in 1879 with a rule that empowered
…” And I’ll combine the remainder of that paragraph with the next one.
This will be added
after the first sentence of the fourth paragraph: “Indeed, for a time there was
actually a benefit to hitting the batter with a pitch. After the 1876 season,
the Chicago Tribune complained: ‘In the section which treats of dead
balls, the rule, as it has been, has strangely omitted to affix any penalty for
their delivery, and it was no damage to a pitcher to deliver a wild ball if he
could only hit somebody with it.’ (Chicago Tribune, November 19, 1876,
10).”
3.3.3 Keeping the Ball Down
Before the next-to-last paragraph, I want to mention that
Jocko Conlan credited John McGraw with a major role in this new emphasis and
will probably quote his comments. (Jocko Conlan and Robert Creamer, Jocko,
47-48)
3.3.4 Keeping a Book on Hitters
After the first sentence of the third paragraph, I plan to
add, “Boston pitcher John Clarkson became so renowned for his knowledge of
hitters’ weaknesses during the 1887 season that other pitchers came to him for
advice on how to pitch to specific batters (Chicago Herald, reprinted in
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 17, 1887, 6).” Then I’ll start a new
paragraph.
3.3.5 Reading Batters
After the first paragraph, I’ll add this new information:
“The removal of the rule that allowed batters to call for high or low pitches
(see 2.1.12) after the 1886 season gave pitchers added incentive. One reporter
stated in 1888, ‘In the National League there are about 125 players, and none of
them hold a bat or use it in the same manner … The knowledge of their
peculiarities, together with knowing that some players can hit only a high ball
and others a low ball, enable pitchers to use strategy when facing opposing
teams, and the best pitchers are those that have made a study of them’ (New
York World, reprinted in Dallas Morning News, May 20, 1888).”
At the end of the paragraph on Clark Griffith, I may note
that Jimmy Callahan, a protégé of Griffith, was also quoted as saying, “A man’s
pose at the plate, if it is pronounced, will lead to giving him the ball he is
least fitted to hit.” (Chadwick Scrapbooks, c. 1898 article)
In the final paragraph, I want to note that George Kell
went even further, shifting “two or three times on a single pitcher, just to
keep him off balance” (quoted in William Barry Furlong, “The Unlikely Hitter”;
reprinted in Tom Stanton, The Detroit Tigers Reader, 85)
3.3.6 Advantage to Pitching Left-Handed
I want to expand the end to explain that the novelty
gradually faded and teams came to realize that being left-handed might give a
pitcher an advantage but it wasn’t a cure-all. “The left-handed pitchers are not
the terrors they were last year. The new rules place them on nearly the same
footing with the right-handed twirlers. Baldwin, Cushman, Morris, Smith, Toole,
Ramsey are being batted rather hard. Kilroy alone seems to possess a big
advantage.” (Decatur Review, May 18, 1887) (The changes in question are
the ones discussed in the introduction to chapter 3, at the bottom of page
106.) I may as well note that a dubious belief that left-handers had short
careers also harmed the perception that being a southpaw was advantageous.
3.3.7 Switch-pitcher
The first name of the pitcher I listed as J. H. Campbell
was John, according to the Evansville Journal of February 6, 1884, which
referred to him as “John H. Campbell, right and left hand pitcher.”
More confirmation on Corcoran: “Larry Corcoran has the
various curves down almost as well with his left hand as he has with his right”
(National Police Gazette, April 10, 1886)
In the paragraph on Friene, perhaps before the last
sentence, I want to add: “The Indianapolis Clowns used an ambidextrous pitcher
named Ulysses Grant Greene in the 1960s after they returned to barnstorming”
(Alan Pollock, Barnstorming to Heaven, 285-287).”
An addition after the reference to Corcoran switch-pitching
only once in the major leagues: “Even in the instance, he did so only because of
an injury to his right hand (Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, July 17,
1884; cited in Al Kermisch, “Corcoran Pitched with Both Hands in Regular Game,”
Baseball Research Journal 1982, 66).”
And following the mention of Chamberlain: “He surrendered
four hits but no runs (Al Kermisch, “Elton Chamberlain Another in Ambidextrous
Class,” Baseball Research Journal 1983, 49).”
3.3.8 When All Else Fails/Grooving
I’ll add this quote from current pitcher Todd Jones to the
last paragraph as additional explanation: “Hitters tell me if they know what
pitch is coming, they will lose their discipline in the strike zone and swing at
anything. But when a hitter knows location, the pitcher basically is screwed.”
(quoted in Dave Clark, The Knucklebook, 58)
3.4.1 Shutouts
I’m going to add a source for the statement that Wright
changed his mind: Detroit Post and Tribune, January 4, 1879.
3.4.3 No-hitters
I also need to note that
Bradley’s no-hitter was further diminished
by the fact that he usually pitched with a very dead ball that year.
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