Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

HERE'S WHAT THE "BIG FIVE” OFTHE AMERICAN LEAGUE ARE HITTING RIGHT UPTO DATE COBB 330 140 .424 SPEAKER 348 136 .391 JACKSON 337 125 .371 LAJOIE 216 72 .333 COLtINS 312 102 .327 T . her * ' Peach'" leagu ® * esterda y- Cobb ha» a lead of 33 points over Speaker, while Jackson is I Collins has struck his stride again and is likely to boost his average during the week. Today he is 97 points behind the leader. It be- 33 points behind the lieoigia reach. Lajoie is still out of the game and will have to do a lot of hustling to give Ty a race this year. I nins to look now as though Cofb is sure of again carrying top honors with the wagon-tongue. BRADY CURDED TOmLTDDAY AGAINST BILLS MONTGOMERY, July 22.—Charley Hemphill led his Crackers into this vi.i.ige today for a series with the Bil iikens. The Atlanta chief predicted this morning that it is right here that his team will start climbing and that noth, irg will stop 'em until they get right into the first division. Brady is carded to do the hurling for the visitors this afternoon, and as he f 5 now in tiptop condition he is sure t'n give the local batsmen a peck of trouble if he gets the "breaks.” The Crackers came over from New Orleans. They were scheduled to play tn? Pelicans a double-header yester day but it rained hard and Charley Prink was forced to postpone the bat tles. The Cracker-Billiken series Is sure to j,rove a red-hot argument. McElveen -tiys he will play the best ball of his career here and show that Dobbs made a fatal mistake when he traded him to Atlanta. There is bitter feeling between the t«o teams over the McElveen-Dobbs fi.-t fight in Atlanta, but no trouble is expected on the field during the series. Cnless Manager Hemphill feels bet ter than he did this morning. Graham will take his place in the outfield. Oth erwise the line-up will remain un changed. Paige will hurl and McAllister catch fm the Montgomery team. Danzig, the big former Montgomery first baseman, who has been ill several weeks, re joined the team last night,. Hereafter he will he used as a pitchet. THREE MANAGERS AFTER •UMP’ WESTERVELT’S JOB XKW YORK, July 22.—A protest against empire Westervelt to be lodged with President Ban Johnson, of the American league, will be drawn up at a secret meeting of Manager Stovall, of the St. Louis Browns; Manager Harry Davis, of Cleveland, and Manager Jim my Callahan, of the White Sox. it be came known today. The baseball men ne t secretly yesterday in a hotel here. It was learned that the protest against Westervelt is on the ground that many of his decisions are wrong. Manager Stovall was suspended recently because of an argument with Westervelt. This will be the first known organ ized protest against an umpire, and the result will be watched with keen in terest by baseball men in .both the leagues. SOUTHERN LEAGUE TO HAVE FIVE UMPIRES MEMPHIS. TENN., July 22.—Pres ident Kavanaugh, of the Southern league, stated today that, the season •multi be completed with five umpires. They will be Pfenninger. Rudderham, Kellum, Breitenstein and Hart, who re cently left for the bedside of his sick « ife but will return in about a week. During the day President Kavanaugh was In consultation with F. E. Kuhn, former president of the Nashville club. Ii is understood they were discussing matters pertaining to the Nashville cluli but nothing was given out by either. THE BASEBALL CARD. SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Games Today. Atlanta in Montgomery. Chattanooga in Birmingham. Nashville in Mobile. Memphis in New Orleans. Standing of the Clubs. W L. P C. XV L. P C. R ham 54 35 .607 C'nooga. 41 43 .436 Mobtie . ,49 43 .533 N'ville. .39 44 .470 M mphis 43 41 .513 Mont ..39 49 .443 x "r. 40 39 .512 Atlanta .35 46 .432 Yesterday's Result*. New < trleans-Atlanta, rain. Mobile 1. Chattanooga 0. Memphis 4, Birmingham 2. SOUTH ATLANTIC. Games Today. ' Minah in Albany. '/'lumbia in Jacksonville. ' '’lambus in Macon. Standing or tne Clubs W. i. p XV. L. P C ' I t 6 .700 Macon . .11 10 .524 • 13 7 .650 Albany . 715 .318 J •" 12 9 .571 Cola. . .6 16 .273 Yesterday’s Result*, games scheduled. AMERICAN LEAGUE. Games Today. it" in New York. c' i.oids tn Philadelphia. /"'’•t in Washington. 1 eland in Boston. Standing of the Clubs. W I. PC W L P.C. 61 27 .693 (."land. .43 46 .483 . 54 33 .621 Detroit .43 46 .483 50 29 .562 N. York .25 56 .30!) 1 'E" 15 40 .529 S. Louis 25 59 .298, Yesterday’s Results. 1 carries scheduled. NATIONAL LEAGUE. f ' Games Today. / , ' in Pittsburg. / w “fk in Cincinnati. / ‘ Kl> nin Chicago. / 1 I idelphla in St, Louis. / Standing o* the Clubs. Y , L ,'Y'nF' P - C . W 5- P <? "A ..I, Phlla. . 45 Art 495 L ',’l O N. I.ouis 34 45 430 1 . :.. c ’ ! * ; 'BO Br'klyn. !•/ 53 .n*.., 1 44 44 -524 B/ston . 62 .262 Yesterday's Result*. 1 ork 12. Cincinnati 6 Lv,' F ’ ro,,k ''" 1 Gl’.wi game > - I ' «• ond game.) ■ urn .1. PhfladelplU t n J ‘‘tsburg-Boston, oft Chief Meyers Tells of “The Job of a Catcher” Heavy-Hitting Backstop Reveals Inner Workings By John (“Chief”) Meyers. SOMETIMES on a hot summer aft ernoon when I’m there behind the plate all weighted down with an iron mask and a big protector and a four-pound mitt and shin guards—and the boys come sliding in. spikes first, regardless—l think that’being a base ball catcher is no business. The boys don’t care much for you when they’re headed from third to home. And they’ve got the right of way, you know. You've got to stand there and duck the spikes and the col lision. and put the ball on them first— outpoint the fast ones, loaded down as you are. And you've got to stand behind the swinging bats (and get one onhe in a while) and pick up foul tips on the end of your bare fingers, and you’ve got to do more work than anybody on the club, considering that you’re on the job every day, and the only harder working fellow, the pitcher, goes in only every four or five days. But I wouldn’t trade my job as a catcher for any other T know of. at that. To my mind, it’s the most interesting, most exciting of all. You see more, know more, learn more about the game behind the bat than in any other po sition. And the game is still the big thing to me. I am going to try to tell here just what "the job of a catcher" is, from the inside viewpoint, the catcher's—just how he works, what he has to do, how many things he has to watch. Work Starts in Morning. Mell start, then, in the morning. That’s the beginning of the catcher’s day. Say we’re at home and are to play the first game of a series with a visiting club that afternoon. Before doing anything else, I get with the pitchers and we talk over these fel lows we've got to deal with, beginning with the top of their line-up and going all the way down. What can they hit? Or, rather, what can t they hit? That's our problem. What are we going to serve them? We talk over each of the eight men down to the pitcher. We don’t usually bother about him, for pitchers are notoriously poor hitters, although I’ll bet many a National league battery in the morning discusses Old Doctor Crandall, of our club, who’s the Larry Lajoie of twirl ers. However, that's incidental. How do we know what these visitors can or can't lay their bats on? We have to study every man. That’s a catcher's job all his catching life. When I broke Into the big league the old catchers and pitchers on the New York club taught me all they knew about the other chaps. Once in a while I have got tips on batters’ weaknesses from friendly mask men of other clubs, but not often. Nearly always it is a matter of close study. When there is a new man in the op posing line-up whose weakness hasn’t yet been got at. of course, we’re up against it. There’s nothing to do but* try him out. Perhaps for a few times we’ll serve him something which is just what he wants. He whales it and laughs at us. That's why, because of the undiscovered weak point, many a, youngster splurges .400 in the big show for a time and then drops back to .200.4 We get him. Like General Laying Plans. You see, then, the theoretical part of the game comes first. It's like a gen eral laying his plans before the battle. How these plans are going to work out Is the big question that only-the game, itself can settle. Before the bell rings in the after-, noon the man who is going to pitch has talked over with me the first three /or four or five of our opponents again. As the first man walks out swinging a couple of hats we know just what w»’re going to offer him. And he knows, that we know that. "Play ball!" Now, this fellow, say, is a flow ball hitter. That means lie can Mind on a ball served between his waJsn and his knees and lift it far and fast. His weakness, then, is a high /ball. There fore. the first one coming/to him is one high up around his nectk—in the hope that he may take a sw*tng at it. If he lays his bat omthat or/e at all. it will be a weak blow. Well.—-he doesn’t. Ball one. The next one* then, comes a trifle lower—enough lower, maybe, to fool the batter into nraking a try for it. or to fool the umpire into calling it a strike. The <l lever fellow knows this, and lets that>one go. He’s getting us in a hole. "Tmo and nothing." Now on»y must be handed to him within hiy hitting range—say, a ball about hi'^/waist—but with a curve that breaks toward him or away from him. We must see whether or not he can be fooletl/that way. Bung! "/here il goes! A pretty single to right and he’s safe on first. Now my job gets exciting. In my /bpinion, the toughest situation for a catcher is "one on and none down.” Especially if the runner is a clever, brainy fellow. He's going 10 try to worry me. And so is the next man up at bat. Bescher is a bad worrier who comes to my mind just now. A couple of others are Lobert and Paskert. Any one of these boys will make me a lot of trouble. The base runner dances off while my pitcher is getting ready. Is he going down? If he is, I have to call for a "pitch-out" -a hall delivered straight, fast, away outside the plate and just to my right shoulder, so that 1 can get it I'HK ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. .MONDAY. JULY 22. 1912. Meyers One of the Greatest Backstops Chief Meyers i« one of the greatest catchers of all times. When he first joined the Giants a few years aggo, fans all over the country thought McGraw had a "lemon" on his hands. But the Giants’ manager saw the makings of a first-class backstop in the Indian and developed him. Today Meyers is the greatest “man behind the bat" in the country, with the possible exception of Jimmy Archer, standing up and snap It to second. I've got to judge, before the ball leaves the pitcher’s hands, whether that break of the runner is a real one or the "bunk," If he fools me, and it's a fake start, and I have called for a pitch-out, there’s a ball wasted on my pitcher and handed as a gift to the batter. And he’s trying to fool me every time. The next time, knowing that I'll hes itate before wasting another one, the clever runner may go down and, force me to try to nail him after having caught a difficult curve ball in an awk ward position. He's trying to outguess me, I to outguess him. It’s a pretty battle of wits. The successful catcher is the one who learns to pick out the genuine at tempt to steal from some little foot or body movement of a runner, and to know these characteristics of each op ponent, and to remember them. A big thing, too. Is the throw to sec ond. Now, a catcher need neither know nor care who's going to take that throw. Most of the time he does not know. He throws for the bag. not for the basemen. The perfect throw to second starts from a point about six feet high (above the catcher's shoul der), just to the right of the plate, and goes on a straight downward line to a point about two feet over the bag, so that it can be put on the runner with a swift downward sweep of the base man’s hands. The second baseman and shortstop decide between them who is going to take the throw. I generally know whether it’s to be Doyle or Fletcher, from their movements; but it doesn't make any difference. One Is always there to back up the other anyhow. Well, in this case, say I've out guessed the runner; Matty or Mar quand or whoever is pitching has given me a perfect pitch-out; the baseman has put It on the opponent at second— and we're all mighty relieved. I can turn my attention to the batter. He turns out to be one of the easiest kind to handle. The easiest kind is the batter who makes up his mind that he’s going to strike at a certain ball; or that he is not going to strike. I mean a man who, when he is going to swing, gives some little sign. He pulls bhett the shoulder nearest to me. for; in stance; or he digs in the ground with one foot to get a better "toe-hold.” There are many such batters. I've spotted lots of them from just such lit tle things. If I see that he is not go ing to swing, I signal, or "sign,” as we call it, for a fast one right in the groove. He isn’t set —and it's a strike. Then, when the pitcher is getting ready for the next onA. the batter does set himself. I sign for a bad one "to bis weakness.” He goes after this and we’ve got him in a bad way—two strikes and no balls, and nervous or rattled I’ve often got such batters on thiee pitched balls. But the great majority of players give the catcher no such welcome tip as to what they’re going to do. And a few of the real good ones have no known weakness. Os course, every body's heard the old story about the new pitcher who asked the veteran backstop what Hans Wagner's weak ness was, and was told: “A base on balls, old top!” Refuses to Take Chance. Well, there are two down. The worst of the worry is over for a time. But we don’t take a chance. I sign the pitcher against the third man's weak ness (or, if he is one of the older pitch ers, I don't have to sign him; he knows). This fellow "stops” a drop ball, it bounds easily to short, and a 1 elegraph KUU There is something compelling about a telegram. It commands instant attention. It is never laid aside to be read later. No man is too busy to stop and read a telegram. Let the Western Union handle your business letters by telegraph. Information by Telephone. THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY quick throw to Merkle has him beaten by a yard. As soon as we reach the bench the pitcher and I sit side by side again and go over the next lot of batters to come up. Every single one is talked over. He may be a high-ball hitter, a wide ball hitter, a close-ball hitter, a low ball hitter. He gets, first, what we think he can’t hit. Here we are to the second inning. The other club's "clean-up man/’ fourth on the list, is at bat. He hasn’t any particular weakness, and he wal lops a long double to the fence. He goes to third on a short single by the next man to left. Now comes up a play that puts grav hairs on top of the catcher’s head. That man on first is going to go. or pretend to go, down to second, where another single will score both him and his mate. He is going to try to draw a throw from ms to the middle bag, which may allow his mate to come home with a run before the throw back reaches the plate. It is up to me to stop them both if 1 can; at ail events, to stop the run, ami, if there is one of the two to be put out. to get the man on third. There are variations of this play, and here I need the fastest and brainest kind of help from pay Infielder who takes the throw. I have to judge quickly whether or not the man on third is coming home. If he apparently is. and if he has a fairly good lead off the bag, I will make a bluff throw to second, and. instead, throw to third, trying to get him in a “run-up" be tween Snodgrass and myself. Between us we’ll probably nab him. Different Kinds of Throws. If I think lie is bluffing or hasn't got a good start, or isn’t a very fast man, I will make a full throw to second base. But it will be a different kind of a throw from the one I made with a single runner on base. This will be a high throw, which the infielder will take "coming in,” and take at his shoulder height, so he can whip it back to me low, so I can put it on the fellow coming home. Or, there may be a '’delayed steal” bluff by the mtyl on first, in which there may be no thfoxY at all, and both runnot-s -Trip stay .Mere they are. /f&i-.pLay.. ticklish, excit irlg'situMicm which Dm always glad‘to get out of. We beat it oftener. 1 think, than not. So the game goes on. The game of baseball, of course, be gins and ends at the plate. The batter starts ,there and-.tries to finish there. And so The catcher sees the whole game spj-fad b?fbrq iym. I have read many articles about in tricate systems ot signalling, and I must say that most of that sort of talk is foolish. J have very few signs. There is one for a fast ball, one for a curve and one for a pitch-out. Those three are the only ones I use constant ly, and with some of our pitchers 1 can work almost without anything but the pitch-out sign. Occasionally I give a sign for the pitcher to snap-throw to first to catch a runner far off. But most I}' he works that play himself. Signals Are Never Stolen. I have never known any of our signs to be stolen, either by a batter looking around, by a coacher, or by a runner on second base. If ever we think the other boys are getting wise to us we can shift signs In a second. The easiest club for a catcher to work against—to help his pitcher, and that’s his main Job —is a club where the majority of batters have the same weakness. Brooklyn, for Instance. Out of their eight regular men. seven all except Daubert are high-ball hitters. so we serve them low balls regularly. TlTat's why I think we can beat them easier than any other club. For the Fuhs and the Pirates and some others we have to "mix 'em up," and that’s hard going. So. you see, the job of a catcher is no easy one. He must be a big, strong fellow, able to take hard knocks, able to work through eighteen innings of a doiible-header on a July afternoon with all his h e avy Junk upholstery, and able, above all, to keep his head working every’ minute of the .time. He doesn’t get the glory a pitcher does, though lie’s getting more credit than be used to and the fans are com ing to realize that lie must be a pretty responsible and capable sort of a fel low. SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE WILL FINISH SEASON SELMA. ALA., July 2'-’. The South eastern league was resuscitated yester day and indications appear right for it to finish the season as a four-club or ganization, though efforts may be made during the week to increase it to a six-club organization again. If the six club organization is decided on Pensa cola will get in and some other city will be selected for the other club. Manager Stickney, of the Selma dull, and Manager Seigle, of the Gadsden club, were communicated with by Man ager Biggs, of the Talladega club. An nouncement was made that Rome will stick, and now there is little doubt but the c lull will finish out the season. A new schedule will be made for the rest of the league season during the week. SEASHORE EXCURSION VIA SOUTHERN RAILWAY. MONDAY, JULY 22, 1912. $6 Jacksonville; Limit 6 days $8 Tampa; Limit 8 days $6 Brunswick: Limit 6 days $6 St. Simons: Limit 6 days $6 Cumberland: Limit 6 days TICKETS GOOD RETURNING ON REGULAR TRAINS WITHIN LIMIT. Tickets to Jacksonville and Tampa good only on special trains leaving At lanta 8:00 p. m. (Pullman sleeping cars only) and 8:30 p. m. (coaches only). Tickets to Brunswick, St. Simons and Cumberland good only on regular trains leaving Atlanta 9:30 p, m. Both phones, Main 142. Write James Freeman, D. P. A., Atlanta, for further information. Dr. Hughes SPECIALIST Nerve. Blood and Skin Diseases I treat successfully all private diseases. Kidney, Bladder and Prostatic Tr.ouble. Blood Polson (In herited and otherwise). Piles, Fistula and Nervous Debility I give 606 suc cessfully. 1 cure you or make no charge. FREE examination and con sultation. Hours: Ba. m. to 7 p. m.; Sundays 10 to 1. Call or write. DR. J. D. HUGHES. Opposite Third National Bank. 16' j N. Broad St., Atlanta, Ga. PRESENTED FOB MAPS ONLY 6 HEADINGS ip^^ 7 CLIPPED FROM THE '.•y if FIRST PAGE LIKE THIS w :'p. Atlanta Georg I.lust to show part of heading with <lnt< and the expense fee to defray the neces I? '• ’■ t *•‘•*‘•.'■‘B/• <• sary items of the cost of handling i '••■’-’■.jSTlpjp-*. '. .‘.'A ’ ‘.‘*.*pryj?'l-‘.V.*.' i*.i packing, shipping, checking, account- L”; SWiWO I To got your Alla-., just pr< <-• ill th.- '■ -S bondings of cons, cutiv. dates P ot this 0ff,.... ;ih the . xpr-ns. As .’;’.-;5 >; BY MAIL, 15 CENTS EXTRA FOR POSTAGE yillS Standard Atlas MM * should be in every fam $ ?• ilv win re there are t-hibkci! ’-/’j of school ae'e. It is the one book that < 4 olll a i 11s 11 i(» i• <■ ■ ■’> $ M’litial features of a dozen bt oks, in such concise form -y'-j>'• that one may get the desired ?:::!;}• w r miormalion at a glance. Il's the liandy Atlas for every- ‘Fy.f <liiv 11se - :w GFT IT TODAY 'J 0 2 11 117 17/A I REDUCED ILLUSTRATION—ActuaI Size 8 3-4x7 Inches Crackers* Batting Averages, Including Saturday's Game These averages include all games played to date: Players. G. AB. R. H. AV. Becker, p. 3 s 1 3 .375 Hemphill, es. ... 78 296 35 93 .314 Harbison, ss. . . . 29 95 10 29 .305 Alperman, 2b. . . 83 315 44 89 .283 Bailey, es. . ... . . 83 295 51 82 .278 Donahue, c 32 100 9 25 .250 Callahan. If. ... 41 171 20 40 .234 McElveen, 3b. . . 89 327 39 76 .232 Graham, e 31 92 9 21 .228 Baying Trusses BUYING a truss is easy enough, but a little thought. Rupture is too serious to leave to guesswork. You should get the truss that fits exactly. In our truss department we have not only the scope of stock, styles and sizes, but an expert who knows which is best and how to fit a truss exactly. Private Fitting Rooms at. our Main Store, Second Floor, quiet. and apart from the general business. Men and women attend ants. Belts and Bandages Stout persons can be made mo-e comfortable by using a belt to sup port the abdomen. It will lessen the girth and prevent strain of the ab domlnal muscles. a ui T" <■— We have every style In the finest imported German goods. , Jacobs’ Pharmacy Atlanta, Ga. Low Summer« ExcirsioHaies CINCINNATI, $19.50 LOUISVILLE, SIB.OO CHICAGO, - $30.00 KNOXVILLE - $7.90 ; Tickets on Sale Daily, Good j Io October 31st, Returning | Citv Ticket Office, 4 Peachtree Brady, p. 12 36 17 .194 Atkins, p 16 43 3 8 .188 Aglei, II). 20 63 8 11 .175 Sitton, p 17 43 8 7 .168 Coombs, utility . . 6 10 0 1 .100 Waldorf, p 2 5 0 0 .000 I Save while the children are young. Your ex penses will in crease as they grow older. There must be a | larger house, more and better cloth ing, and the outlay for schooling must be larger each year. A savings ac count started now I will provide for these obligations and free your mind ' J from worry and ■ stress. i We pay 4 Per Cent on Savings y J City Savings Bank I y 15 E. Alabama St. ■ 1 — r — . I / x&x MARTIN MAY xT I 19U PEACHTREE STREET UPSTAIRS strictly confidential UNREDEEMED PLEDGES ✓ R 11