Lester Chadwick

“ But the Giants had proved to themselves that Hooper could be hit, and it was with renewed confidence that they took their places in the field.
Joe in the meantime was mowing his opponents down with the regularity of a machine. His mighty arm swung back and forth like a piston rod. He had never cared for the spitball, as he knew that sooner or later it destroyed a pitcher’s effectiveness. But in his repertoire of curves and slants he had weapons far more deadly. His fast straight one whizzed over the plate like a bullet. ”

“ The Pirates simply did not have a chance. All through the game they were swinging wildly at a ball that seemed to be bewitched, a ball that dodged their bats and appeared to be laughing at them. Angered and bewildered, they tried every device to avoid impending defeat. They bunted, they put in pinch hitters, they called the umpire’s attention to Joe’s delivery in the hope of rattling him, they tried to get hit with the ball. ”

“ But as Joe kept on, day in and day out, lacing out tremendous hits that landed in the bleachers and at times sailed over the fence, the doubters grew silent, or joined in the wild applause as Joe jogged around the bases and crossed the plate standing up.
The keenest interest was manifested in the race that the Yankees were making to land the flag in the American League. If they should come out on top, the World Series would be held between New York teams, and Rose and Joe could be seen in action against each other. ”

“ McRae and Robbie on the bench watched with fascination and delight the work of their king pitcher.
“It’s magic, I tell you, John, just magic!” blurted out Robbie, as another victim went out on strikes and threw down his bat in disgust.
“It sure looks like it,” grinned McRae. “He has those fellows jumping through the hoops all right. I’m free to say I never saw anything like it.”
“He’s got the ball trained, I tell you,” persisted Robbie, rubbing his hands in jubilation. “It’s an educated ball. It does just what Joe tells it to.” ”

“ I thought he hung out in New York.”
“That’s what I want to know,” replied Jim. “Wherever that fellow is, there’s apt to be dirty work brewing. And the frightened look that came into his eyes when he saw me, and the way he hurried past me, made me uneasy. He acted as if he’d been up to something. I don’t like the idea of a pal of Braxton being in the same hotel with us.”
“I don’t care much for it myself,” answered Joe. “Still, a hotel is open to anybody, and this is one of the most popular ones in the city. It isn’t especially surprising that you should happen to run across him.” ”

“ If the Giants could hold the men from over the big bridge to an even break, it might mean a great deal.
The Brooklyns came, saw and—were conquered. Four times in succession they went down before superb pitching and heavy batting. Four times they called on their heavy sluggers and their best boxmen, but the Giants rode over them roughshod. The sporting writers sat up and rubbed their eyes. Was this the same team that had come home forlorn and bedraggled after their last trip? Had the Giants really come to life? Was the pennant still a possibility? ”

“ Baseball circles had rarely been more deeply stirred than by the issue of the game, by winning which the Giants had tied their record. It was not merely the winning, but the sensational way in which Baseball Joe’s home run had turned the scales in the last minute and snatched victory from defeat that excited the fans. ”

“ A warning cry from Menken and a roar from the crowd told Albaugh what was happening. He stopped his windup and threw to Menken, who was covering the rubber and yelling to him to throw. He threw high in his excitement. Menken caught the ball and bent down, just as Joe slid over the plate in a cloud of dust. Menken dabbed frantically at him, and they rolled on the ground together.
“Safe!” cried the umpire.
The game was won and the Giants had “got the jump.”
The crowd went mad. By thousands they rushed down from the stands and swarmed down over the field. ”

“ In a few minutes more the whole team had gathered there, laughing and shouting and going over the details of the game, while they took the showers and changed into their street clothes. There too came Robbie and McRae, as full of glee and happiness as the rest.
“You old rascal!” chortled Robbie, as he [76] slapped Joe on the back. “What are you trying to do? Be the whole team—gyp the other fellows out of their jobs? Such pitching, such batting—and then to cap it all by stealing home! Joe, old boy, I’ve seen lots of ball games, but your work to-day takes the cake.” ”

“ Columns of space were devoted to the story of the game, and there was unstinted praise of Joe for his wonderful exploit.
But mingled with the jubilation was a strain of apprehension. The accident that had befallen the great pitcher was a subject of the keenest anxiety. It was recognized that a great blow had been struck at the Giants’ hope for the pennant. To have the greatest twirler of the team put out of the game just in the hottest part of the fight was a disaster that might prove fatal. Pittsburgh stock took a decided upward bound in consequence. ”

“ The way he stands at the plate, the way he holds his bat, the way he times his blow, the way he meets the ball—those are the things that mark out the natural batter. It’s got to be born in a man. You can’t teach it to him. All the weight of those great shoulders go into his stroke, and he makes a homer where another man would make a single or a double. Now mark what I’m telling you, Robbie, but keep it under your hat, for I don’t want the kid to be getting a swelled head. In Baseball Joe Matson we’ve got not only the greatest pitcher in the game, but the hardest hitter in either league. ”

“ More than anything else in the public mind was the coming duel between Kid Rose and Joe Matson as home run hitters. Which would make the longer hits? Which would make the more home runs? These were the questions that were on the lips of the fans wherever two or more of them met. And the sporting pages of the daily newspapers were full of it.
The series this year was to consist of nine games if so many should be necessary. The team that first won five games would be the champions of the world. ”

“ As a rule we’re easy meat. The other pitchers are glad to see us come up to the plate. It has got to be a proverb that pitchers can’t hit. But you gave the lie to that proverb to-day. Those two hits of yours were ticketed for the fence. And that steal home was the classiest thing I’ve seen for a blue moon. That’s the kind of thinking that wins ball games. Do the thing the other fellow doesn’t expect you to do.”
“It was a case of touch and go,” replied Joe. “I knew that I had touched the plate before Menken put the ball on me, but I wasn’t sure the umpire would see it the same way. ”

“ IN THE THROES OF A SLUMP
Robson’s round face had lost its usual smile. McRae’s was like a thundercloud, and the players evaded him as much as they could. Even Larry was “Laughing Larry” no longer. It was a disgruntled crowd of baseball players that shook the dust of Cincinnati from their feet and started for Chicago.
“Better luck next time,” Joe comforted his mates. “After all it’s the uncertainty of the game that makes baseball. How many people would have been at the park if they thought their pets didn’t have a chance to win?” ”

“ He had never been any too strong mentally, and his addiction to liquor had still further contributed to throw him off his balance. But he had been a remarkable pitcher, with a throwing arm that made up for some of his mental deficiencies, and had played in several major league clubs. For some years he had been a member of the Giants, and was still a member when Joe joined the team. His vicious habits and utter failure to obey the rules of discipline had made him a thorn in his manager’s side, but McRae had tolerated him because of his unusual skill in the box. ”

“ It is an extraordinary thing to pitch a two-hit game at the beginning of the season. But it is still more extraordinary that, despite the strain on the muscles and nerves of the pitcher who achieves that distinction, he should also have a perfect batting average for the day. That is what occurred yesterday. In four times at the bat he was passed twice and the other times poled out a triple and a home run. And this was done against heady and effective pitching, for Albaugh has seldom showed better form than in yesterday’s game. ”

“ Hartley seemed for a moment as though he would bar the way, but the steely look in Joe’s eyes made him think better of it. With a muttered imprecation he stepped aside, and the two friends moved on.
“A bad egg,” remarked Jim, as they walked along.
“I don’t know whether he’s just bad or is mad,” replied Joe regretfully. “A combination of both I suppose. He’s got the fixed idea that I’ve done him a wrong of some kind and his poor brain hasn’t room for anything else. It’s too bad to see a man that was once a great pitcher go to the dogs the way he has. ”

“ The man who hates you worse, probably, than any man on earth—the man to whom you gave a terrible thrashing—knew that you would be driving a car just before daylight—knew that you would have to climb a hill—knew that as you got near it you’d probably put on speed to carry the car up—knew that an obstacle put near the bottom of the hill would almost certainly wreck the car and hurt the driver. Knowing all this, might not such a man as we know Braxton to be see his chance and take it? ”

“ Kid Rose was a phenomenal batter of whom every baseball fan in the United States was talking. He had been a pitcher on the Red Sox and had done fine work in the box. It was only after he had been playing some time in that position that he himself, as well as others, began to realize the tremendous strength that resided in his batting arm and shoulders. He was a left handed batter, so that most of his hits went into right field, or rather into the right field bleachers, where they counted as home runs. In one season he accumulated twenty-nine home runs, which was a record for the major leagues. ”

“ A tremendous roar arose from the stands, and the people who had started to leave sat down suddenly and sat down hard.
In the Giants’ dugout, all was excitement and animation. McRae ran down to first to coach Denton. Robbie rushed over to Joe, who was next in turn and had already picked up his bat.
“For the love of Pete, Joe,” he begged, “paste the old apple. Show them again what you’ve been showing us all along. Kill the ball! Just once, Joe, just once! You can do it. One good crack, and you’ll save the winning streak.” ”

“ The first jump of the team was to Cincinnati, and there they found their work cut out for them. The Reds had just lost three out of four to Pittsburgh, and they had got such a talking to from their manager, from the fans, and from the press of the city that they knew they had to do something to redeem themselves. They knew that if they could hold the Giants even, it would be something; if they could take three out of four they would be forgiven; while if they could make a clean sweep of the series they would “own the town.” ”

“ Then Joe had Jim pitch him some easy ones in practice, and found that he could line them out without ill effects. Finally he let Jim put them over at full speed, and was delighted to find that he could lift them into the right field stands and not suffer much of a twinge. At last he was himself again, as far at least as batting was concerned.
His recovery came just in time to be of immense benefit to the team. The men had slumped considerably in batting, though they still held up to their usual form in fielding. But fielding alone cannot win games. ”

“ The fact is that you’ve got into such a habit of knocking the ball into the right field stands—mighty good habit, too, if you ask me—that the umpires have asked us to paint this line so that they can see whether the hit is fair or foul. The ordinary hit they can tell easy enough. But yours are so far out that they have to have especial help in judging them. It’s the first time it’s had to be done for any hitter in the history of the game. ”

“ Of course I would have told you sooner or later.”
“Well, now Mabel, listen to me,” said Joe, as he placed a chair and sat down beside her. “I don’t know what fellow has done this. But whoever he is, he is a coward as well as a rascal, and will never dare to carry out his threats against me. And even if he should, you know that I am perfectly able to take care of myself. You know that others have tried to injure me, but I always came out on top. Fleming tried it; Braxton tried it, and you know what happened to them. ”

“ For the next three innings not a man reached first base and in the eighth inning he mowed them down on strikes as fast as they came to the plate.
“Oh, if we’d only started the game with him!” groaned McRae, as the eighth inning ended with the score unchanged.
For in the meantime Larry’s prophecy had not been fulfilled that the Giant batsmen would gain the lead. They had been hitting more freely than in the early part of the game, but had been batting in hard luck. Every ball they hit seemed to go straight to some fielder, and the Pittsburghs were giving their pitcher magnificent support. ”

“ The whole League is laughing at us. Look at the way the other Eastern teams held up their end. The Brooklyns copped ten games, the Bostons got eleven, and the Phillies pulled down seven. We ought to sneak back into New York on a freight train instead of riding in Pullmans.”
“I guess there won’t be any band at the station to meet us,” remarked Joe. “But after all, any team is liable to have a slump and play like a lot of dubs. Let’s hope we’ve got all the bad playing out of our systems. From now on we’re going to climb.” ”