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Show JOHNSON IS GREAT PITCHER Has Added to Hie Terrific Speed Excellent Ex-cellent Control, Slow Ball and Quick Breaking Curve. "Wnltcr Johnson la today a ported por-ted pitcher," said ono of tho veteran umpires of tho American leaguo recently re-cently In dlscuesiiig the Washington marvel. "It you could havo a hurler mado to ordnr you couldn't design ono rbo would bo n, bit moro effective than tho big Swede, whoso namo Ifl n terror to tho best batsmen in thj country. "Johnson Isn't using his terrific speed much nowadays. In fact, he seldom sel-dom cuts ono looso with nil his might unless ho happens to bo In a tight plnco nnd opposed to n' hitter who Is weak on tho fnBt ones. Ho throws n lot of fast bnllB with n break on them still, but thoy nro not of the old ar-mor-picrclng typo that mado him famous. fa-mous. "At ono ttmo ho had to depend almost al-most entirely on tho velocity of his bnll nnd Ills control to mnko him formidable, for-midable, but now ho has acquired a good curvo nnd a nlco change of paco. I-'or some, tlmo ho has been experimenting experi-menting with a slow ball, nnd now ho has got command of It. Think of the dendly efficiency of a slow ono coming nftcr a bnll thnt hns been turned through a mile a minute. "Walter's curvo is not the widest In tho world, but it is a quick one, and tho break plenty largo enough to no- WtXsk til rmlMiI'1 n Jz Hfl iiiit v" i Walter Johnson. compllsh tho desired purpose His control, con-trol, which always has boon good, seems to bo Improving. "On top of this ho hns a splendid disposition for a pltchor. Nothing Booms to rnttlo him. Somo pitchers get up in tho ulr it they think nn umpire- tins missed n strlko in n pinch, but Wnltcr Just smllcB, knowing that he can lay tho next ono ovor If ho has to. Ho is by nil odds tho greatest pitcher In tho gnmo today and to my mind there never lived ono who was nny better. Ab near ns nny hurann being be-ing enn hopo to nchlovo In nny lino of endeavor Johnson hns nchlovcd it us u pitcher." |