Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 291, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 December 1916 — BEAN BALL MUST GO; PENALIZE THE PITCHER [ARTICLE]

BEAN BALL MUST GO; PENALIZE THE PITCHER

Recent Accidents Bring this Point to Official Attention More Strongly Than Ever ’ < It Is high time that a baseball law was passed making a real penalty for the bean ball, the most dangerous v eapon now in the power of big league tall players, writes a Cleveland fan. The bean ball is far worse than any plajer’s spikes, for its effects have been known to injure a player for life. Roger Bresnahan, manager of the Toledo team was fiearly skilled at Cincinnati by a bean ball thrown by Andy Coakley; Frank. Chance, ex-mana-ger of the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, is partly deaf as the result of one; Roger Peckinpaqgh of the Yanks was terribly hurt by such a ball and is still somewhat bat shy as a result. In Cleveland recently Chick Gandil was felled as if shot by a terrific bean ball thrown by Rube Foster of the Boston Red Sox. Two persons fainted in the stands as the ball crashed into Gandil’s skull and he dropped to the ground. He was lucky to be hit in the front of the ear instead of behind it, and therefore was only dazed. And tho he was able to play next day, he was still feeling the effects so that he retired before the game was ended. * The Washington team has two players, Henri Rondeau and Joe Judge, who were beaned in a recent series between the Griffmen and Red Sox. Most bean balls are accidental, but something should be done to render pitchers more careful where they fl.oot the ball. A heavy fine, suspension, crediting the nupi so hit with a honte run, would undoubtedly make twirlers more careful, Some of them make the practice of whizzing the ball uncomfortably close to the batsman’s head in order to drive him away from the plate and render him nervous. It is both dangerous and unsportsmanlike.