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Show I HOW I WIN Copyright, 1910, by Joseph B. Bowles. BY PBANK ISBELL "Tho Bald Eagle of Wichita," Formor Leader of tho World 'h Charapiou Wliito Stockings. BY FRANK ISBELL. .Keep your dnbher up and challonpc every one who opposes you. Jvoep fielitin and hustling all the time. Thai's the wny lo win. I have worked -on baseball clubs that, have beaten much atronpev clubs, nnd tlio secret, of our success has boon that wo always have kept in better condition condi-tion than our opponents and fou-harder. fou-harder. I think I. see thincs clearer now that T nm n club owner than T did when I wns a player, heinp nblo to get both views of tho gaino, and tho first tliinp that strikes mo Is the necessity of having a loader to keep tho entire team moving at top speed, and one who can get the best work out of each man. The gamo is a peculiar one, because the work of oach man depends so much upon tho work of (hose around him. There is the spirit of victory or of defeat in the air almost, and the success of a team depends greatly upon the confidence confi-dence it has in itself. My idea ns a club owner of how to win often conllicls with the ideas 1 had whou a player. I have a theory now that picking tho men more because of their nerve, their courage and fhuir dispositions than for their playing ability abil-ity is tho winning system. On tho field I think T have helped win more because of ".iollying" other players, watching them, stopping thorn when ihev nre going too fast, ihnn 1 over did by individual hitting or fielding. field-ing. It was the devotion to .Tones and to Comiskey. and the confidence we felt in them and in each oilier that won pennants pen-nants for the White Sox. and if that spirit does not exist in a team the team is beaten, no matter how great its. in- dividual strength may be. As for playing play-ing tho game, 1 lxsliovo in doing the unexpected un-expected and pulling off plays just when tho other team is loolcing for somothing else. I always have been a bcliovcr in tho hit and run game, rather than sacrificing,, sac-rificing,, and also of hitting tho ball at unexpected times. Por instnnco, iC runners run-ners nro on bases and all tho rules of play seem to point to a sacrifice bunt, nnd if tho other toam palpablv is expecting ex-pecting a sacriikc, 1 bolioro it. is good policy to plar hit and run ns soon as tho infield is'pullcd out of position. J. bcliovc, also, and T think, I may claim that 1 have won many games by it, that running wild on tho bnjws is oun of the best systems of winning baseball tramcs. I know that while T was in tho major leagues I wns severely criticized many times for going from" first to third, or from second home, on short hits. Rvcrj-time Rvcrj-time 1 was caimht 1 was criticized for taking too reckless chances, and man' defeats wero blamed to ma, and many times T was called bono head or worse. I was running with systom most of the time, although, of course, there wore times when T did run blind. During my mnjor Icngrto career, however, 1 think 1 won two games by wild running run-ning where I lost one. The first theory I ever had in regard to baseball was that the team that mnkes tho other team throw the ball will win. Nothing in the gamo causes as many wild throWB as wild base running. T never lost a chance to stretch a hit just ns fnr as possible, to take rwo bases on every base hit unless the other side was watching. When T was caught T was a bono head. When I inado it I was "lucky," but it won ball games. |