Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 140, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 June 1912 — “INSIDE BALL” PUZZLE [ARTICLE]

“INSIDE BALL” PUZZLE

Explanation of Term That Bothers Many Enthusiasts. ♦ In the Long Run Team Which Play* Game as It Should From Start of Season to End Will Finish Better Than Its Rival. ■ ■l—"lnside ball* is a term which puzzles many enthusiasts. The expression immediately brings to mind secret manipulations on the diamond and is generally passed up as being too deep. In reality inside ball la nothing more or less than playing the game. There is no mystery about it. Of course, every major league and minor league squad has its "signs,” or signals as they are called by the fans, writes Malcolm McLean in the Chicago Evening Post. But so have football teams and basketball squads. _ Take the average ball game. The home team Is at bat, nobody is down and there’s a runner on‘ first. The batter tries to lay down a sacrifice bunt, and misses the ball. "Aw, hit ’er out,” yells a bleacherite in disgust. . Then he turns to his neighbor and growls. “Gee, I can’t .stand for that kind of a game. What’s that guy trying to' bunt for? Why don’t he hit ’em to the fence?” /I. This instance is one of the many “mysteries” of Inside ball. It’g playing the game to sacrifice that man around to second, from which point he can easily score on a single. If the batter tries to hit safely right from the jump there’s the immediate danger of a double play, and two men out. Take another case. There’s a man on first and a left-hander at bat. Such a hitter generally slaps one to right field or between first and second. So, naturally, as soon as the ball Is hit the shortstop runs to cover second in the hopes of negotiating a double play. If the batter'hits right-handed the second baseman usually covers second.' Yet this is the so-called inside ball which has so many fans wondering what’s it all about. The Cubs in the past were called masters of inside ball. The reason was they had played together so long that every man knew the instant the ball was hit just what to do under the circumstances. In other words, it was second sense or “inside ball” if you prefer. Yet this style of~ play doesn’t always win—far to the contrary. Frequently the Boston Red Sox have thrown inside ball to the winds and played the hit-and-run game Instead of sacrificing. They broke up the defense of the rival teams by pulling stuff when not expected. It’s far more spectacular if they get away with it For instance, with first and second occupied and none out, to have the batter knock the balP over the fence at the first pitch warms the cockles of the heart more than a dinky little bunt and an out at first. But you’ll find that in the long run the team which plays the game as it should from the start of the season to the end will finish better than Its rival, if both squads are about equal in strength. Cap Anson says the old Chicago Colts usfed as much 'lnside ball as the great teams of today, and proves his point. So if it wasn’t mysterious thirty years ago it shouldn’t be so today. ’