Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 228, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 September 1913 — PINCH HITTER QUITE USEFUL [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PINCH HITTER QUITE USEFUL

All Baseball Clubs Now Have Their Relief Batters for Deadly WorkJob Is Not Easy. The pinch hitter in major league baseball has become an institution, due in a great measure to the success attained by McCormick of the New York Giants, who, for three seasons, has added game after game to the Giants’ roster by his ability to drive in runs when they are needed. Now McCormick is dethroned, and the two Philadelphia teams, the Phillies and Athletics, owe their high place to the ability of their pinch hitters. Danny Murphy of the Athletics is doing the relief batting for the American league leaders with deadly effect, while Doc Miller is serving the same end for the Phillies. It takes a peculiar ability to fill such a role, and both these players possess it. Peculiarly enough, not all high average hitters are good pinch hitters, and, conversely, few good pinch hit-

ters are high average hitters when played regularly. Celebrated pinch hitters who have received much prominence in the past solely through their ability to step up to the plate in a tight.place and relieve the hitter with a safe hit, and yet who were valueless as regulars when played regular-

ly were Dode Criss of the Saint Louis Browns of 1908 and Harry McCormick of the Giants. In 1908 Criss was used entirely as a pinch hitter and he batted for an average of .341, winning game after game. The following year he was tried as a regular and proved a gloomy failure. Last year McCormick had his best season as a pinch hitter. During the season he came to bat 39 times for other hitters nad batted out hits thirteen times, for an average of .333. In addition, he drove in a number of runs on flies and outs to the infield. He also figured in the world’s series. This year the two Philadelphia teams began experimenting with pinch hitters with the result that they developed a pair that promise to eclipse anything in this line ever produced. Both are batting over .360, a remarkable figure for such work. Murphy has played a number of games as a regular and his average as a pinch hitter has been better than his work while playing regularly. The majority of major league managers are not endeavoring to work out pinth hitters, realizing their value in these days of few hits and small scores. Danny Murphy may get a chance to show his ability in the coming world’s series.

“Doc” Miller of Philadelphia.