Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 203, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1919 — QUESTION ARISES AS TO MOST FORM OF THROWING WITH INFIELDERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

QUESTION ARISES AS TO MOST FORM OF THROWING WITH INFIELDERS

What is the better form in baseball, to throw underhand, side arm or overhanded? We will not venture an opinion. We leave pundits of the pastime—and t£L the goTf'-ptaj; ers, writes Tom Rice in Bboeklyn Eagle. In their recent series with the Bqs--tan, Brayes, the Brooklyn Superbas had to face theihprtstop-work of Maventure the opinion that Maranville is the best thrower we have ever seen. In that we are supported by the Brooklyn papers. Larry Cheney remarked that Maranville could shoot a ball faster and with more accuracy than any other athlete he knew r . Larry wrns right. Maranville Is a Puzzle. Maranville seems to get the ball away without making half of the usual motions. He can under or over handed, but his best trick is in-shoot-ing from a sort of side-arm overhand. That; is not a clear description, but it is not our fault. Maranville’s throw has always been a puzzle, even to players on the field with him. He seems to push, rather than throw, the ball. Another peculiarity is that the players on the same team say he has a “light” throw. That is, it hits the receiver’s hands without jarring them. Why that should be so Is one of the mysteries of baseball. It is notorious In the profession that a throw from some players will nearly knock the receiver down, even when the thrower

Is by no means famed for his supposed speed. On the other angle Is the player whose throw falls into the glove lightly and gives the other fellow plenty of time for making the play. The reason for that has never been explained. It may be that the thrower unconsciously twists the ball as he lets it go, but in that <?ase it should curve. Sweeping Side-Arm Throw. Take, then, Mickey Doolan, who played short for Brooklyn on various occasions. Mickey has the most beautiful sweeping side-arm throw we ever saw, and the motion was totally different from that of Maranville. Which has the better form? There ain’t no such animal as “form" in baseball, as It is applied to golf and other sports. Doolan made his reputation on the side-arm stuff. Of course he could throw from other positions,, but that was the efficient element which made him a star for ten years, although he seldom batted over .230. Smith Throws Overhand. Another case is that of J. Carlisle (Red) Smith of the Boston Braves. Smith for nearly ten years has been a third baseman. The best asset of a third baseman is supposed to. be an underhand throw; yet Smith has always been an overhand thrower. He never learned the other style, and does not use any other to this day. 'll “form,” as ordinarily understood, had counted, Smith never would have gotten a job on an amateur team.

Infielders Who Have Their Own Peculiar Way of Throwing.