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Show DISCUSSES FOTJI, STRIKE. Connie Mack Says There Are Many Hardships About the Rule. Trlbuno Special Sportlne1 Service. PHILADELPHIA, Feb. lO.-Connlc Mack, manager of the Athletics, and who is one of the Joint committee on baseball rules, said this week: "There aro many hardohlps about tho fcul-strlko rule, but I hardly think thero Is any chunce to have tho rule repealed. So the best wo can look for Is some modification. modi-fication. Take, for Instance, the foul tip that goos back straight over tho catcher's head. Now. I don't think It Is fair to call a strike on a man for a tip of that sort unless It 1b evident that tho bastman Is trying to foul. But thoro Is no man living liv-ing so clever as to be ablo to lip tho ball over tho cntcher's head. If wc could havo this sort of a foul strlko cut out It would help some. The foul-strike rule, however, has Its advantages and will bo retained. We would like to seo a little moro battlne; at that. Batting Improving. "By the way, did you over take Into consideration con-sideration the improvement In the pitchers pitch-ers In the last ten yearn? A batsman who Is hitting 275 nowadays Ib as good aman ns he who ten years ago'hlt .KO In thoso dnyB each club hnd one or two good pitchers, pitch-ers, and the bastman would lay for the poor ones, hit them nil over tho lot and fatten their averages. But when two first-class first-class pitchers met In those dnys they hnd low scores, too. Well, at the present time each club carries four or five first-class pitchers, and the batsman seldom gets a chance nt anything soft to swell his average. aver-age. Whv, I don't think we liar moro than six or eight really "easy" games last year. As the public wants close games, theroforc, It scorns that tho rules are all right as far as thoy go, with a slight modification In the foul strike to cover tho point I have mado." |