BASEBALL 



605 



BASEBALL 



play of teams in the professional leagues and 

 so nearly perfect the defense of the players 

 in the field that their opponents know the 

 difference between a successful and an unsuc- 

 cessful attempt at scoring to be a matter not 

 of seconds, but of fractions of a second. The 

 knowledge of strategy and of psychology which 

 both sides employ would enlighten some gen- 

 erals. 



Each pitcher and catcher knows the indi- 

 vidual peculiarities, abilities and weaknesses 

 of opposing batters, and the pitcher who throws 

 the kind of a ball that the batter least expects 

 is the one who wins games. The batter on 

 his side must know the very few places he 

 can hit the ball where it will not be caught 

 in the air or thrown to first base before him. 

 One who makes three safe hits in ten times 

 at bat ranks with the best. Base running is 

 perhaps the most scientific feature of the game. 

 If a runner starts from first base to steal 

 second just as the pitcher throws to the catcher, 

 he is pretty sure when he arrives there, three 

 seconds later, to find that the catcher has 

 thrown the ball to someone at second base in 

 time to put him out. If he has a lead of a 

 few feet and a start from first base when the 

 ball is thrown he may just win the race with 

 it, but if he is too daring he is apt to be put 

 out by a sudden throw of the pitcher to the 

 first baseman. The instant the ball is hit 

 fielders dash for the proper spot to catch or 

 stop it. Almost before the spectators realize 

 l>all has met with a bat, a fielder may be 

 many yards on his way. He throws it to the 

 proper base almost with the same motion that 

 intercepts it, and with machine-like accuracy 

 to which a distance of two hundred feet seems 

 no hindrance. 



Almost perfect physical control marks the 

 beat players. Tin- pitcher who can "pull him- 

 self out of a hole" into which his own or In- 

 *' errors have put him, and the batter 

 who can hit safely in an emergency, are sure of 



Mire. m. 



Organized Baseball. There an m tin- United 

 States two major /iYif/ur*,the National, founded 

 in 1S76. and tin- American, its rival since 1900. 



!i league has ci^ht teams, or cluhs. wln<-h 

 play Mini Tom April to October, 



two pennant winners are then matched, and 



<lul> \\uimiu: four games is declared the 



world's champion team. A third league, known 



lie Federal, was organized in I'.M.'l. with a 



lit of six clubs, but the organisation was 

 not successful financially, and passed out of 



existence in 1915. The several minor leagues 

 of the United States and Canada are affiliated 

 with the major leagues, and the two organiza- 

 tions have a working agreement whereby the 

 "big" leagues are supplied with recruits from 

 the minor. Such transfers of players ore ac- 

 companied by payments in money; the sum 

 of $50,000 has been paid for one infielder, and 

 it is believed that more was once paid for an 

 outfielder. 



Baseball, as it is now conducted, is not only 

 a clean, popular sport, but a highly-specialized 

 business. The grounds and grand stands held 

 by lease or owned outright by the major 

 leagues represent a money value of from five 

 million to ten million dollars, and it costs from 

 $400,000 to $600,000 to purchase the franchise 

 of an average club. The baseball "fans" of 

 the United States and Canada constitute a 

 goodly proportion of the population of those 

 countries. The total receipts for the five games 

 of the World Series of 1916, played by the 

 Boston and Philadelphia clubs, were $385,590.50, 

 and the total attendance 162,359. The last 

 game of the series played in the magnificent 

 new park of the Boston team was witnessed 

 by 42,620, the largest number that ever paid 

 to see one game, while hundreds of others 

 enjoyed the contest from roofs of neighboring 

 buildings. Probably not far from 10,000,000 

 people find time to see the national game dur- 

 ing a single season. 



The professional baseball player may not 

 regard his occupation lightly. Men who win 

 honors on the "diamond" are trained and disci- 

 plined. Temperance and clean habits ore ex- 

 pected of all ball players, and late hours, 

 eating, drinking and other forms of dissipation 

 are strictly forbidden. For several weeks be- 

 fore the opening of the season the men are 

 put through a severe course in physical train- 

 ing, usually in the South, that they may enter 

 upon the serious work of the year in first-class 

 condition. During the season they travel in 

 the most comfortable cars available and they 

 live m the best hotels. The manager of a 

 winning team, m other words, must see to it 

 tiiit his team is kept in fighting condition 

 throughout the season. 



Th. p. i-onn. I of a club is constantly chang- 

 ing, for men are released as they lose tin ir 

 ?-kill. new material is ever being sought, and 

 desirable players are often purchased from one 

 team by another. Ten thousand dollars is not 

 considered an excessive price to pay for a 

 good player. The number of men on the team 



