Christy Mathewson

“ From back of first base Joe Groom shouted at the top of his lungs to Sam on third, and back of Sam Mr. Gifford clapped his hands and added to the noise. And then Mr. Williams brought down upon himself ridicule and wrath by deliberately passing Peterson! The Wigwam was incensed indeed! Mount Placid and Greenwood, however, laughed and applauded, and Peterson, deprived of the chance to distinguish himself as a pinch-hitter, scowled darkly at Mr. Williams as he walked unwillingly to base.
Steve Brown was up then, and Steve had played in hard luck all day. Not once had he been able to get to first. ”

“ Sam, returning at dusk along Main Street from the ball field after an afternoon of fall practice, paused in front of Cummings and Wright’s and, one hand thoughtfully fingering the change in his pocket, viewed admiringly the array of football goods displayed in one big window. He had more than half promised the captain of the high school eleven to try for the team as soon as baseball was shelved for the winter. ”

“ Smith mowed down his adversaries mercilessly, seldom pitching more than four balls to each. Tom had to work harder, and in that first of the fifth had a narrow escape from punishment when the Lynton right fielder cracked out what looked to be good for two bases, but resolved itself into a remarkable put-out by the Blues’ centre fielder, who ran almost into left garden for the ball and then got it an inch from the turf, receiving from an overwrought audience a burst of applause that quite embarrassed him. ”

“ Well, look here, I wish you’d try this winter and see if you can’t get yourself ready. If nothing comes of it, it won’t do you a bit of harm. But—well, I hope something will come of it, old man. I’d like very much to be sure that you were going through college. Perhaps you think I’m a strange sort of a chap to meddle so much in your affairs, but you’ve made quite a hit with me, Sam, especially since last night; and when I like anyone I want to see him get all that’s coming to him. I don’t care a continental what college you go to or whether you play ball or don’t. That’s out of it. ”

“ Sam was all for doing things for himself, even for being allowed to get up and have his breakfast downstairs, but when, at Mr. York’s request, he gently bent that right knee, he concluded that he was not, after all, quite ready to assert his independence. The thing was as stiff and lame as could be.
“Thought so,” said the other. “You keep it quiet to-day, Craig. To-night we’ll get at it with liniment and to-morrow you’ll be up and around again, I guess. After breakfast we’ll get you down on the veranda. There you are, now. How’s your appetite?” ”

“ Gifford was busy writing. “Sometimes a good deal depends on that.”
“Oh, I guess they’ll find a chap who’ll be fair to both sides,” replied Sam.
“I don’t doubt that. Only thing is, will he know how? I’d rather play with an umpire who knew how to ump and who was ag’in’ me than with one who didn’t know and was as fair as all-get-out. It’s the blundering sort who raise the dickens with a game sometimes.”
“There you are,” said Mr. Gifford. “And let’s start things up as soon after two as possible. We’ve got good material in camp, fellows, and we ought to be able to turn out a corking team. ”

“ And when that pitcher knows, besides, that before the fracas is over he or his mates must dispose of three of the enemy, that situation is greatly complicated. It’s a time when pitcher and catcher must work together perfectly and when the infield must back them up as never before. A time, too, when the slightest miscue proves fatal.
Tom had not only to keep the next three batsmen from hitting safely, but he must avoid allowing a long fly, since Lynton could score two runs on as many outs if the ball went to the outfielders. And he could give no passes without forcing in a tally. ”

“ He can’t hit you!” “One more just like it, Tom! Let him hit!” “Give him a good one, Tom; we’re right here, old man!”
And then, with a change of pace that caught the batsman napping, Tom sped one over the outer edge of the plate and the swinging bat was too late, and Amesville roared and clapped as the disgruntled batsman turned away.
“One gone!” cried Sam, holding up a finger. “Here’s the next man, fellows!”
A high one failed to prove the strike that Tom had meant it to be and he followed it with an out-shoot that was not offered at and that also went as a ball. ”

“ Codman hit safely, Benson got his base on balls, Porter struck out, Thursby sacrificed, and Nettleton, with only one gone, filled the bases by a pop fly to Dick, which that overeager youth dropped. Things looked desperate then for Sam’s charges, but a minute later Sawyer had fouled out to third baseman and the Mascots and their allies breathed freer. They were not to emerge unscathed, however, for Meldrum hit a bounder that just tipped Dick’s upstretched fingers and was finally fielded by Groom too late to throw to the plate or to first, and the Indians scored their fifth run. ”

“ Kitty-Bett disdained coal, and the meats had a wonderful wood-fire flavour that appealed to appetites grown out-o’-doors. Blueberries were in season and wild raspberries were to be had for the picking. Fresh vegetables were brought every day from a neighbouring farm. There was hot meat at noon—steak or roasts—and cold meat for supper. The eggs were freshly-laid, and, whether boiled or made into one of Kitty-Bett’s inimitable omelets, were delicious. And as for Kitty-Bett’s pies and doughnuts and griddle-cakes! Well, words would have quite failed Sam there! ”

“ Here’s the way it’s done, Craig. Most graduates like to see their college stand high in everything, athletic as well as educational efficiency. Some of them have money and they’re glad to spend a portion of it for their college. When they run across a fellow who—well, a fellow like you, for instance, who has a talent for baseball, they say to themselves, ‘Here’s a chap who could help us win our games. He can’t afford to go to college unless he can find some way to meet his expenses. ”

“ You have something to exchange for your course. You have a fine talent for baseball. Take my own college, for instance, Warner; and there isn’t a finer one East or West. We need a chap like you to play on our ball team in a couple of years. And in return for your services we’ll give you an education. We won’t do it by buying you, Craig. We will do it by finding you a position that will meet your money requirements. And there’ll be no strings to you. We simply say, ‘Here’s a four-year course at Warner for you, which you are to pay for by filling this position to the best of your ability. ”

“ And so, if the fielders know what the pitcher is going to pitch they can either shift their positions or, anyhow, be prepared.”
“Doesn’t shifting position give the thing away?” asked Steve Brown.
“I think it does,” Sam agreed. “But for all that some of the big teams do it. I don’t think, though, that it’s necessary. If you’re playing in the outfield, say, and you get the signal that the hit is coming to your right, that’s enough. You’re ready to move that way the instant the ball goes to the batter.” ”

“ A pinch-hitter was sent in for the next man up. He was a tall, ungainly youth and looked anything but dangerous. But looks are sometimes deceitful. That awkward-appearing youth soon showed himself a canny batsman, and the first thing Tom knew he was in the hole with two balls against him and no strikes! And then, sensing the psychological moment, Lynton called for a double steal as Tom sped the next delivery to the plate. Off for third scudded Smith and down to second flew the next runner. The ball sailed to the plate, as nice a strike as you like, and——
“Hit it!” implored the Lynton coachers. ”

“ Sam smiled. “What he told me sounded pretty good, though,” he said defensively.
“It was good; no doubt about that, Craig. Theoretically, John York was the best catcher Warner ever had. Actually, he was the most uncertain. You see, he was full of theories. He doped everything out ahead and when things didn’t go the way he’d arranged them there’d be trouble. He’d study a new batter when he came up and decide that the man would hit a high ball over the outside corner into left field. ”

“ But this Pollock chap had a head on his shoulders. When the man on third dug for the plate the other runners set out after him, of course. Well, Pollock realised that if he threw to the catcher the ball might go wide or the catcher might—begging Mr. Craig’s pardon—might drop it or it might be too late in any event to make the out. So what does he do but whirl around and slam the ball over to third baseman, who was running back to cover the bag. Third baseman makes a nice catch, blocks off the runner from second and—there you are! Three out and the score three to two! ”

“ There were some eight or ten older boys who showed real ability, and one, Tom Crossbush, a youth of nearly sixteen years, who, before the summer was over, learned to duplicate nearly every feat of Sam’s, whether of diving or swimming.
Dinner was at half-past twelve, and, following it, came thirty minutes of siesta when every occupant of the camp, barring Kitty-Bett and Jerry, the chore-boy, was required to lie on his bed and keep absolutely quiet. The boys corrupted the word to “sister” and, most of them, thoroughly disliked that period. At two o’clock came recreation until four-thirty. ”

“ One out, then, and a man on third base! And one run needed to give the lead to Amesville! And the occupants of the stand on their feet, shouting and stamping and begging a hit! It was Sam who walked to the plate, Sam a little bit nervous and trying to make up his mind whether to follow Mr. York’s advice and take a short swing or follow the method he knew best. But he hadn’t had time to learn Mr. York’s way yet, and when, after sending a ball, Pitcher Smith sped one across the outer corner, knee-high, Sam’s effort went for naught. ”

“ It’s the man who takes a short swing, not a ‘chop’; that’s poor stuff; but a healthy short swing, who comes across oftenest. You try it, Craig. Don’t stand back and have to reach for the ball, either. Crowd the plate a bit. Get ‘over the ball,’ as they say.”
“I will,” replied Sam. “I guess you’re right about a long swing. It is harder to judge the ball. I’ve noticed that, especially when the ball breaks close up. On a straight ball I can generally connect, but anything foxy has me guessing. I almost always get fooled on a drop or a floater.” ”

“ Smith accepted his fate philosophically, tossed his bat aside and walked to first.
Mr. Hall sighed. “Here’s where it goes glimmering,” he murmured.
“Looks that way,” replied Mr. Talbot. “Bases full and none out. It’s up to Tom to show some of the real stuff now.”
“If he’s got enough of it to keep one or two of those chaps from scoring, I’ll take my hat off to him,” was the reply.
“Well, you can’t tell. The weak hitters are coming up and there’s always a good chance for a double when the bags are filled. Wouldn’t care to step in there and try your hand, would you?” ”

“ Gifford, Sam, and Steve went off to get into their togs and gather the players together. When they had left, Mr. York said: “A born ball-player, that young Craig. I’ll be glad to see him in action again. It’s funny about catchers. Their job is the pivotal one on the team and yet they don’t get half the credit they deserve. I suppose the average fan will tell you what every man on the team did in a game before he will mention the catcher’s work at all. There’s not very much chance for spectacular stunts behind the plate, and I guess that’s why the catcher doesn’t get in the spotlight more. ”

“ Eating in the dining-hall was much like eating out of doors, for, besides the big doorway and a shuttered opening at the front, the two sides of the building from three feet above the floor to the eaves opened out and up, admitting light and air and, it must be confessed, not a few flies! ”

“ But you want to remember that it is a heap easier to run in for a ball than it is to run out, because when you’re running in you can judge the ball as you go, and when you’re running out you have got to make up your mind about where the ball is coming down and then turn your back and scoot. The only way to judge the ball is to look over your shoulder, and that isn’t easy. So the best thing for an outfielder to do is to play his position about two-thirds back. ”

“ Langham is his name.
We played baseball and swam and dived, and then we ate some more,
And when you mention doughnuts I would like to cry ‘encore!’
We like the way you’ve treated us, you’re all in our good books,
But oh, the one we like the best he is the man who cooks!”
Sidney ended with a final strum of the banjo and the audience set up a wild howl of laughter and applause and loudly demanded more. But Sid declared that that was the only song he knew. “Besides,” he said, stretching out and pillowing his head on Tom’s knees, “I’m too full of doughnuts to sing. Somebody else try it.” ”

“ On Tuesday there was no real game, but there was a full two hours of the most strenuous batting and fielding and base-running, with every candidate getting a chance. And then, on Tuesday evening, the three councillors got together and picked the team that was to battle for the honour of The Wigwam on Thursday. It was no light task, that, as Mr. Gifford explained later at camp-fire.
“We all wished,” he announced to the attentive audience, “that a baseball team comprised eighteen men instead of nine, because there are at least eighteen of you who deserve places. ”

“ Talbot smiled. “Not of long standing, then.”
“No, the fact is we have a mutual friend, Craig and I. We’re just getting acquainted. I like him, though, so far.”
“You’ll keep on then, for Sam doesn’t change much. That’s one thing that makes him a mighty [284] good catcher. He’s as steady as a rock. Plays the same game to-day he did yesterday, except that he probably gets a little better all the time. He isn’t the sort who have flashes of fine form one day and then slump the next. That’s the stuff, Tom! Who’s scoring? You, Steve? When does that pitcher of theirs come up? ”