Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 January 1918 — PUT GRAND KIBOSH ON SHINANIGANS WITH BASEBALL TO PREVENT TRICKERY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PUT GRAND KIBOSH ON SHINANIGANS WITH BASEBALL TO PREVENT TRICKERY

The annual howl about trick pitching has been heard already. Connie Mack is the howler, and, while Connie can scarcely claim that sharp practice by the pitchers beat his trick Athletics out of the championship streamer this year, he can come out in favor of legislation by the rule-makers .which will put the grand kibosh on shinanigans with a baseball. And that is just what Cornelius has done. He opines that it would be better for everybody concerned if the aged /tepitter, the alleged shiner, the emery ball and all other tricks known to the pitching trade be forever abolished from the national pastime. Would Stop Trickery. “I hope that the rule-makers will pay some attention to the pitchers when they get together the next time,” said Connie recently. “Something should be done to abolish trickery and 6harp practice by the slabmen.” Connie goes on to opine that something should be done to increase batting, and he believes one of the best ways to do it is to take some of the advantages away from the sharpshooters. He claims that the batting averages show a decided decrease in hitting from year to year, and, while

this may not always work out, it is a fact that the heavy hitters of today are few in comparison to the fencesmashers of bygone years. Percy Haughton of the National league was the first one to boost for new pitening rules In the winter of 1916, but he didn’t succeed in convincing the rule-inakers that there was anything radically wrong with the code as it stood at that time, so the pitchers were left alone. , Shine Ball a Myth. puring the season just closed, there was much discussion in the American league regarding th§ shine ball. Eddie Cicotte has since declared that there “ain’t no sech animal,” but that doesn’t make it unanimous by a long shot, for there are any number of would-be .300 hitters who will tell you that there Is such a thing, and that it isn’t a bit of help to an athlete who is trying to swell his slugging figures. There will be a lot of changes in baseball discussed before the winter is over, and the pitching rules may come in for an airing. If they do the boys who make their cakes by wielding a mean salary flipper in the regular season will all try to get themselves traded to the heavy-hitting clubs.

ADVOCATES OF CLEAN BALLS AND USER OF SHINE BALL.