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HERE'S WHAT THE "BIG.FIVE" OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE ARE HITTING RIGHT UPTO DATE COBB 330 140 .424 SPEAKER 348 136 .391 JACKSON 837 125 .371 LAJOIE 216 72 .333 COLLINS 312 102 .327 There /f®” 5 ?° 9®™®* P 1 J” th ® . American league yesterday. Cobb has a lead of 33 points over Speaker, while Jackson is 1 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- j 53 points behind tne vaeo g»a reacn. uajoie 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 Cobb is sure of again carrying top honors with the wagon-tongue. BRftDY GAUGED TOHURLTODAY AGAINST BILLS MONTGOMERY, July 22.—Charley Hemphill led his Crackers into this village today for a series with the Bil ,ken- The Atlanta chief predicted this morning that it is right here that his (fam will-start climbing and that noth. ing 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 i ? n o« in tiptop condition, he is sure to 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 th p Pelicans a double-header yester day but it rained hard and chancy Prarfk was forced to postpone the bat tie?- The Cracker-Billiken series is sure to move a red-hot argument. McElveen savs 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 two learns over the facElveen-Dobbs tight in Atlanta, but no trouble is expected on the field during the series. Tnless Manager Hemphill feels bet ter than he did this morning. Graham ,xill take his place In the outfield. Oth erwise the line-up will remain un changed. . Paige will hurl and McAllister catch for 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 pitcher. THREE MANAGERS AFTER •UMP’ WESTERVELT’S JOB NEW YORK, July 22.—A protest against Umpire 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 met 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 would be completed with five umpires. They will be Pfenninger. Rudderham, K> llum. Breitenstein and Hart, who re cently left for the bedside of his sick wife 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. I is understood they were discussing matters pertaftting to the Nashville club but nothing was given out by either. THE BASEBALL CARD. SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Games Today. Atlanta in Montgomery. Chattanooga in Birmingham. Nashville j n Mobile. Memphis in New Orleans. Standing or the Club*. W, I. «» C W. L. P C. ‘4 35 .607 C’nooga. 41 43 .488 Mobile 49 43 ,533 N'ville. .39 44 .470 M mphis 43 41 .512 Mont ..39 49 .443 w Ur. 40 39 .512 Atlanta .35 46 .432 Yesterday's Result*. o' " < >rleans-Atlanta, rain. t, Chattanooga 0. Memphis 4, Birmingham 2. SOUTH ATLANTIC. Games Todav. • s . d aunah in Albany. ' “liimbla in Jacksonville. ' 1 - imbus in Macon. Standing or tne Ciuba W. 1. )• . W. L. C H 6 .700 Macon . .11 10 .524 13 7 .650 Albany . 715 .318 J ' 12 9 .571. Cola. . .6 16 .273 v Yesterday’s Results, games scheduled. AMERICAN LEAGUE. Games Today. , "C ■in New York. i.miis jn Philadelphia. ’’ li > in Washington. ' >nd in Boston. Standing of the Clubs. , ■ . 'V I. I■ c w L. P.C. M 27 .693 e land. .43 46 .483 p, ‘ f, l 33 .621 Detroit .43 46 .183 ~. 2r r.« 2N. York .25 56 .309 •V" l.i 40 529 S. Louis 25 59 .298 Yesterday’s Results. • 1 games scheduled. NATIONAL LEAGUE. Games Today. < ■ "ti m Ihtisburg. T > • »rl< in <’incinnati. ~, ’’ nm I ’hicago. "leljihia in st. Louis. Standing o f the Clubs. W. L. P e W. L P C h ®’2 21 .747 Phila. . 45 46 .495 32 .614 S. Louis 34 45 .430 f ■ ; -'BO Br’alvn. 29 53 .354 44 41 524 P/ston . 22 62 .262 V esterdav’s Results. ’ ’k '’incinnati 6. . r ,; Brooklyn 1 (first game.) „• ,r, Q .?' i '' n ’ 'second game i P,. , ’ 3 Philadelphia 0. ■wing-Boston, off day. 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 ”ay, 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 once 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 I 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 pie 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. Well start, then, in the norning. 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 pltijjier. We don't usually bother about him, for pitchers are notoriously poor hitters, although I'll bet many a National league tjattery in the morning discusses Old Doctor Crandall, of our club, who’s the Larry Lajoie of twirl era. 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. 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 bats we know just what we’re going to offer him. And he knows that we know that. “Play ball!” Now, this fellow, say, is a low ball hitter. That means he can land on a bull served between his waist 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. neck—in the hope that he may take a swing at it. If he lays his bat on that one at all, it w ill 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 making a try for it. or to fool the umpire into calling it a strike. The clever fellow knows this, and lets that one go. He's getting us in a hole. “Two and nothing." Now one must be handed to him within his hitting range—say. a ball about his waist—but with a curve that breaks toward him or away from-him. We must see whether or not he can be fooled that way. Bang! There it goes! A prettj single to right and he's safe on first. Now my job gets exciting. In my opinion, the toughest situation for a catcher is "one on and none down." Especially if the runner is a clever, brainy fellow. He's going io 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. i The base runner dances off while my pitcher is getting ready. Is he going down? If he is, 1 have to call for a pitch-out"—a ball delivered straight, fast, away outside the plate and just to my right shoulder, so that 1 can get it THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY. JULY 22. 1912. Meyers One of the Greatest Backstops Chief Meyers is 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, Here’s a ball wasted on my pitcher ami 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 rime 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 quard 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 back 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 one. the batter does set himself. I sign for a bad one “to his weakness." Ha 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 three 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, ft bounds easily .to short, and a I elegraph 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 ope is talked over. He may be a hlgh-ball hitter, a wide- 2 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 gray 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 me 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 I can: at all events, to stop the run, and, 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 my infielder who takes the throw. I have to Judge quickly whether or not the man on third Is coming home. If ho 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 he 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 man on first, in which there may be no throw at all, and both runners will stay where they are. This play provides a ticklish, excit ing situation which I’m 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 spread before him. I have read many articles about in tricate systems of signalling, and I must say that most of that sort of talk is foolish. I have very few’ signs. There is one for a fast ball, one for a curve and one for a pitch-out. Those tbiee are the only ones 1 use constant ly. and with some of our pitchers I 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 mostly 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. That's why I think we can beat them easier than any other club. For the Cubs 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 ■double-header on a July afternoon with all heavy junk upholstery, and able, above all, to keep his head working every minute of the time. He doesn't get the gl6ry a pitcher does, though he’s getting more credit than he used to and the fans are com ing to realize that he must be a pretty responsible and capable sort of a fel low. SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE WILL FINISH SEASON SELMA, ALA., July 22. —The South eastern league was resuscitated yester day and indications appear right fob’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 club, 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 club will finish out the season. A new schedule w ill he 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. SDr. Hughes SPECIALIST Nerve, Blood and Skin Diseases I treat successfully all private diseases. Kidney. Bladder and Prostat i.c Trouble, Blood Polson (in herited and otherwise); Piles, Fistula and Nervous Debility. I give 606 suc cessfully. I cure you or make no charge. FREE examination and con sultation. Hours: 8 a. m. to 7p. m.; Sundays 10 to 1 Call or write. DR. J. D. HUGHES. Opposite Third National Bank. 16! 2 N. Broad St., Atlanta, Ga. pnrQrNTrn T0 »™ ERS rBIL 0L « I to Georgian FOR p mOD'FB-N AND ONLY £ HEADINGS , CLIPPED FROM THE ‘/n FIRST PAGE LIKE THIS //•d:-’: / * r~ i j? g $ Atlanta Georg iite w? s s (Just to show pari of heading with dalci '.***A‘j ■*.*•*• ‘I ‘ **.*•j *-** and the expense fee to defray the neces. V. sary items of the cost of handling. '• 'V packing, shipping, checking, account .*•**.'» *.*,* **fHi;*' V;•*•*•*•’•*• * i "'' w : . SsO?! j' To get your Atlas. Just j.resent the si’ •I'.X’.'W.lfflK headings of cnseoutlvo dates T J '■ '. <• ot this office « i’h 'he expend “5 .'f.G.S A.' ' r v ft '■ £ BY MAIL, 15 CENTS EXTRA FOR POST AGE & $ THIS Standard Atlas 11 In >ll It I I »(• iii even f;ini ft’-i ft • V-Oq V; ?• il\ where there lire eliihl’-ei' ft;# of school an'e. It is the cue •»?•:,' ::: hook that contains the es- ft.ftXU'i; •/: if: sential features of a dozen ■/••‘•j ft ft b( oks. in such concise for in •• ‘"V \ that one may get the desired ft ■ miorination at a glance. 11’.- ft./ the handy Atlas for every- sty ; ft: ft day use. & % GFT IT TOBAV Uul 11 1 Wrl I REDUCED ILLUSTRATION—ActuaI Size «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 8 1 3 .375 Hemphill. «f. . . . 78 296 35 93 .314 Harbison, ss. ... 29 95 10 29 .395 Alperman, 2b. . . 83 .315 44 89 .283 Bailey, es 83 295 51 82 .278 Donahue, c? 2 100 9 25 .250 Callahan. If. . . . 41 171 20 40 .234 MdElveen, 3b. . . 89 327 39 76 .232 Graham, c 31 92 9 21 .228 Buying Trusses BUYING a truss is easy enough, but deserves 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 a.t our Main Store, Second Floor, quiet and apart from the general business. Men and women attend ant*. Belts and Bandages Stout persons can be made more comfortable by using a 'belt to sup port the abdomen. It will lessen the girth and prevent strain of the ab- . domlnal muscles. We have every style In the finest Imported German goods. I Jacobs 9 Pharmacy Atlanta, Ga. Low Summer Excursion Rates CINCINNATI, $19.50 LOUISVILLE, SIB.OO CHICAGO, - $30.00 KNOXVILLE • $7.90 Tickets on Sale Daily, Good to October 31st, Returning City Ticket Office, 4 Peachtree Brady, p. 12 36 17 .194 Atkins, p 16 43 3 8 ,18« Agler. Ib. 20 63 8 11. .175 Sitton, p 17 43 8 7 .163 Coombs, utility' . . 6 10 0 1 .100 Waldorf, p 2 5 0 0 .000 Save while the I gc li i 1 dr e n are I I young. Your ex- I ■ pen se s will in- I ■ crease as they I I grow older. | There must be a Hi larger house, more II and better cloth-' || ing, and the outlay II for schooling must || be larger each IL year. II A savings ac- |r count started now I] will provide for It Itiiese obligations || and free your mind I ! from worry and H stress. IWe pay 4 Per Cent on I Savings I City Savings Bank 1 a 15 E. Alabama St. 191/2 PEACHTREE STREET UPSTAIRS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL UNREDEEMED PLEDGES y FOR SALE A 11