Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 174, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 July 1913 — PECULIAR CHARACTERISTICS OF PITCHERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PECULIAR CHARACTERISTICS OF PITCHERS

Ball players in the National and American leagues are not as courageous as most fans imagine. Most followers of the game carry the idea that the men who pitch and whp stand up at the place and allow"a pitcher to throw the ball at their heads have a lion’s, heart Such is not always" the case. There is a twirler on the Brooklyn team who would be a wonderful slab artist if he were not inclined to be timid. It is not the intention to convey the idea that he is "yellow,” but only to point out how a player deprives himself of being a top-notcher tn the ranks through fear of what he imagines is a disgrace and the lack of an abundance of nerve. The individual in question is Pitcher F. L Allen of the Trolley Dodgers. He is a southpaw and the possessor of as great an assortment of twisters as any left hander in the National league today. Manager Dahlen. thinks as much of him as he does of Nap Rucker, and depends upon him almost-as much. But Allen has that one fault of becoming intimidated when he observes from the rubber th<.t another man is being sent out to warm up to be in readiness should his services be required. Brooklyn secured Allen from Mobile, Ala., last spring, and it was a member of the board of directors of x -the Southern league team who told of the peculiarity of the southpaw. .. "Allen was on our team in the season of 1911 and as I saw every game he twirled at home I studied him thoroughly," said the Mobile baseball man. "One of the first faults I detected was his tendendy to ascend when another twirler was sjent out to loosen his arm. It seemed as soon as the pitcher walked from the bench Allen would lose all his nerve. I can easily realize it, for you will often find men who will quit when they discover that another is being sent preparing to take their place. It seems to impress upon them their efforts are not what they should be. This is the way it affected Allen. If he were handled properly I believe he would be a wonder of the league. By that I mean if Dahlen in sending a man to warm up would keep him out of Allen’s sight he would get better results.” Sending pitchers out to warm up when the man on the slab is weakening and threatening to toss away the game affects some twirlers, and most of them, differently than it does Allen. Rube Marquard of the New York Giants is one who is inclined to lose his nerve when McGraw orders another man to get ready. Christy Mathewson of the same club is just the opposite. He is a great twirler and it hurts him to be taken out and, therefore, when he notices two or three men at the club house warming up, he braces and pitches harder fhan ever. Seaton of the Phildelphias is of much the same temperament, as is Suggs of the Cincinnati club. When Manager Evers of the Cubs wants George Pierce to tighten and pitch his "head off” he stops the game and picks a man from the bench and sends him to the club house accompanied by a catcher. The effect this has on the left hander is more than perceptible. His action shows IL He walks around the rubber with a quick, snappy stride, nervously calls for Archer to give him the sign, and * shoots the ball in the direction of the plate with terrific sped. He is one of the twirlers who consider it disgraceful to be yanked from the slab and he would rather miss his meals for two days than have that happen. Pierce has a sort of fiery temper while patching and when a club makes a run or a few hits off him he grits his teeth and strains himself all the more. Evers has several men on his team on the order of Pierce. They are Smith, Cheney, Overall and Humphries. They are often scored on after men get on the bases, but they display their caliber by putting everything they have on their curves when men are on third and second bases. Batters are required to have as much nerve and fighting spirit as the pitchers. Often they will have balls

thrown at their heads while at the plate, which is done by the slabman in an effort to scare them. The hitters have to take this and still . remain there and step into the following balls as if nothing happened. When a batter is frightened by a pitcher throwing a ball at him he is lost and at the mercy of the flinger, who probably will came back with a big curve and strike him out. There are many pitchers in the league who have that trick. There are not many players in the league who are scared by that method. They are fully aware that the twirler does it with that Intention, and they refuse to step toward the bench. Star hitters such as Wagner, Doyle, Zimmerman, Cobb, Jackson, Speaker, Schulte, Meyers, Magee, Bescher and a host of others seldom pull away from the plate unless the man on the rubber is excessively* wild. Then they realize they are in danger and take no unnecessary chances. That is why a pitcher who is erratic and possesses tremendous speed is successful.

George Pierce, Star Sou thpaw Cub Twirler.