SPORTS. 



bat b broken, a new one can take its place. Each 

 batsman generally Las a bat to suit his own taste 

 and strength. The ball is spherical aud elastic 

 enough to spring when hard hit, but not so elastic as 

 pure rubber. It must weigh between 5 aud /ij 

 ounces avoirdupois, and measure between 9 aud (>l 

 inchest iu circumference. The bat is a round, taper- 

 ing club, though a portion of tho surface maybe flat 

 on one side ; it luu.st not exceed lii inches in diameter 

 in tbe thickest part and must not exceed 42 inches 

 in length. Tho bases are canvas bags stuffed with 

 saw-dust or excelsior ; the home base being mode of 

 rtilil'.T, that it may have a Hut surface and avoid in- 

 jury to runners. The catcher uses u wire mask, in- 

 flated rubber chest-protector, and padded gloves ; 

 the pitcher wears a brass toe-plate ; the first base- 

 man also wears padded gloves. The players are 

 uniformed, each club wearing regulation huts, suits, 

 belts, and shoes. 



.1 .Vii/.-/i-</'iM With the above facts in mind, a 

 still clearer knowledge of base-ball can be obtained by 

 going through a game. Therefore let us play one or 

 two "innings," and introduce the "points" as they 

 occur. We will suppose tho game to be between the 

 Philadelphia, and Chicago Clubs. The two captains 

 having decided by toss which shall go out in tho 

 field and which shall stay iu to do the batting, the 

 umpire " calls " the game to begin. The Philadel- 

 phia players have the " outs " and take Iheir places 

 in tho held; the Chicago Club have tho "ins." 

 When three of their players have beeu "put out," 

 their whole side will be "out," and the Philadelphia 

 club will take it s turn at the bat. The game usually 

 consists of nine of these double innings. AH being 

 in readiness, th-5 umpire calls " game," tosses a new 

 ball to tho pitcher, anil prepares to judge the throw- 

 ing. The first batsman of the Chicago Club steps 

 into the quadrangle, beside home base, and gets 

 ready to hit the ball. The Philadelphia.* wish now 

 to prevent the batsman from reaching first base. 

 The pitcher wants to throw the ball in such a man- 

 ner as to deceive the batsman and make him " strike " 

 out. The batsman's uim is to avoid this by hitting 

 the ball so that h>> may run and reach first base be- 

 fore the b.ill can bo thrown there. Tho pitcher 

 takes careful aim and sonds the ball whirling toward 

 the catcher. Every ball must pats over the homo 

 base between the knees and shoulders of the bats- 

 man. Every time it fails to do this, the umpire calls 

 " ball," and every time the ball passes as required, 

 he calls " strike," whether the batsman aims at it or 

 not. Four of these " balls" entitle the batsman to 

 run to first base, while three of these " strikes " put 

 the batsman "out ; " i.e., force him to give place to 

 the next batsman, so that, generally, the pitcher lias 

 never to pitch more titan seven balls to deei.le 

 whether a batsman goes out or not. The game be- 

 ing now in motion, let us suppose that tho batsman 

 has tried to hit the ball with his bat, but has failed. 

 This failure may be owing to the speed of the ball or 

 the curve it takes, and the batsman's misjudgment. 

 Every such attempt and failure to touch the ball is 

 called also a "strike," and three of these will pnt 

 him out. In other words, a batsman can be put out 

 on "strikes" in either of two ways: on strikes 

 called by the umpire or on strikes made by himself. 

 At length he knocks the ball into the field along 

 the ground in such a way that tho fielders fail to 

 stop it before he reaches first base. This is called a 

 " base hit." He has now become a "base runner," 

 and his object is to reach second base, then third 

 base, and then " home." He can do this in either of 

 two ways : run swiftly to second base while the ball 

 is passing from pitcher to catcher, or wait till the 

 next batsman hits the ball, and sends him to second 

 base. If he does the former he is said to have 

 "stolen" second base; if the latter, he has been 



" forced " or helped to second base. Batsman No. 

 2 knocks tho ball " fair " enough, because it goes 

 in front of tho "foul lines," but it flics up into the 

 air, and is caught in the air by centre fielder, and 

 held. This is called a "fly" bull, and batsman No. 

 2 is .said to be " out on a fly." No. 1 is still on thst 

 base, not being allowed to nin on a caught tlv." 

 aud No. It steps up to bat. He knocks the bull 

 it rolls slowly toward first baseman, who jacks it up 

 and touches his foot to the bag before No. ;( can 

 I reach there, but not quick enough to prevent No. 1 

 from running to second base. This puts No. 3 nut. 

 There are now two men out, Nos. 2 and :!, nnd only 

 one more needs to be put out to prevent No. 1 from 

 reaching " home " and scoring a run. No. 4 hits tho 

 ball so hard as to send it flying over the head of tho 

 left fielder, and before it can be stopped ami thn>n 

 in toward the pitcher No. 1 has touched third base 

 and the home base, and scored a run ; while No. 4 

 has reached second base, having made a " tw* 

 hit," because he reached second bast- before the ball 

 did. No. 5 comes to bat, and while waiting, tho 

 pitcher, trying to catch No. 4 napping, makes a (Vint 

 to pitch the ball but does not do so. The timpiro 

 I him. nnd calls it a "balk," which permits 

 No. 5 to take first base, just as if he had hit the ball, 

 this being the penalty for " balking." There are 

 now two men on bases and No. 6 conios to bat, but 

 while he is waiting to aim at tho ball No. 4 tries to 

 "steal" thiid base; but the pitcher, ever-\vatchful, 

 detects him, hurls the ball to third baseman, who 

 catches it and touches No. 4 before he can reach tho 

 base. This puts him out, and (since three 1 ave now 

 1'oen "pnt out") closes the Pbiladelphias' pait c.f 

 the " inning." The Chicagos now go into the field, 

 and the Philadelphias come into bat. Batt-iniin No. 

 1 steps up to bat. Ho hits the ball fiercely to nhoit 

 stop, who picks it up and throws it (swiftly tow aid 

 first baseman, but it is too high nnd goes over his 

 head. Before it can be recovered No. 1 has run In .1 

 the base. He has gained RO much on an "error" 

 mode by the short stop. No. 2 waits in vain for a 

 " good " ball. The pitcher is excited by the short 

 stop's mistake, and throws the ball so wildly that 

 the umpire calls "ball " after "ball " until four are 

 counted, and No. 2 goes to first base. This forces 

 No. 1 to second base. Nobody is out yet, two men 

 are on bases, and No. 3 is ready to bat. The pitcher 

 is still unstiung, and pitches RO wildly that the ball 

 hits No. 3 i'l the side. Tho umpire tells No. I! to 

 tnke his base, this being the penalty for hitting a 

 batsman with the ball. No. 3 forces No. 2 to second 

 base, and No. 2 forces No. 1 to third base. The 

 bases are now said to bo " full " and no one out. 

 Tho chances for " runs" are excellent. No. 4 luKes 

 up tho bat nnd knocks the ball to shortstop. I 

 man is forced to run. It is a critical stage. Short 

 .stop picks up the ball, touches No. 2 like a flush, 

 and then throws the ball to the catcher, who receives 

 it before No. 1 can reach home. Two men are thus 

 put " out" No. 2 and No. 1 and a " double play " 

 is made. There ore now two out, und two men on 

 : No. 3 on second and No. 4 on first base. The 

 Philadelphias are anxious for a " run," and No. 5 

 hits the hull so hard that it goes far beyond centre 

 fielder, and before it can Vie recovered No. 5 has 

 made the whole circuit and reached " home." mak- 

 ing a " home run " and sending in Nos. 3 and 4, each 

 with "runs" to his credit. No. 6 hits the ball, but 

 it goes np into the air outside of the " foul lines." 

 The catcher is nimble and catches it before it touches 

 the ground, and No. 6 is said to be out on a "foul 

 fly." Three men are out, and the other part of the 

 " inning" is finished. Two such parts make up an 

 'inning" and nine "innings" constitute a game. 

 The "score" for this first inning is 3 runs to 1 in 

 favor of the Philadelphias ; and the Chicagos coma 



