Page:Spalding's Baseball Guide (1894).djvu/42

 38 department to lead to the thorough work in the position which regular team playing brings about; and by "team playing" is meant that united effort of the two players of the battery team of the nine which leads to their working together as a team, and not as two distinct players, such as would characterize the battery of a so-called picked nine. The books of instruction on this subject state that "pitchers should bear in mind the important fact that, no matter how skillful they may be in the delivery of the ball to the bat, they must be largely dependent for success upon the character of the assistance rendered them by their catcher. It is especially a matter of the first importance to a strategic pitcher that he should have a first-rate man behind the bat to second him in all his little points of play. For this reason is it that pitchers and catchers should always work together in pairs. They should be familiar with each other's peculiar methods of playing their respective positions. A first-rate catcher for one pitcher might be almost useless for another, as far as helping the pitcher in strategic play is concerned. Each should fully understand the other's signals in a match—the catcher those of the pitcher, so as to be able to be prepared for a sudden change of pace; and the pitcher those of the catcher, so as to know when the latter wants his partner to pitch for throwing to bases; for it is almost impossible for a catcher to do his best in throwing to bases unless the pitcher sends him in balls especially for that purpose. A pitcher must largely depend upon his catcher in playing the point of catching a batsman 'out of form,' for unless the catcher is quick in returning the ball to the pitcher the chance to play the point is lost."

The utter folly of a pitcher's kicking against decisions on called balls and strikes, was plainly shown, time and again, in the League pitching of 1893. In fact, there were not a half-dozen pitchers in the professional fraternity in 1893 who knew even "a little bit" about the art of "pitching for the umpire." In a chapter on this topic in Spalding's "How to Play Base Ball," the editor says:

"The experience of pitchers has taught them that, as a general rule, umpires are but fallible beings, and that their errors of judgment frequently militate greatly against the success of a pitcher who avails himself of his skill as a strategist in the position. It, therefore, becomes a point to