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Show LEGALIZE VOLUNTARY PASS, IS SUGGESTED i I Recent Innovation for Artfully Passing Batsman Shows Impracticability of Present Plan. Out of the Three ! league where many new, curious and original stunts are arrrnng comes news of a novel way in which to purposelv pass a heavy bitter. bit-ter. The pitcher throws four balls to the first baseman instead of the catcher, ajod oven the rangiest batter, armed with the longest stick, would hardly be able to reach out arjd cop one that was being fired in that direction. As to the intentional pass, since it is impossible to prevent it, why not Morten the time wasted in giving it? Why not. when it has been decided to give a dangerous batter his free ticket, ullow the pitcher to say: 'Mr. Umpire. Um-pire. I wish to give this man his base," and let the umpire motion the batter down to first ? Suggested legislation against the free pass is all bunk; any clever pitcher, instead in-stead of throwing them far out to one side, could fire them too low or too high, and have every appearance of honestly striving to get them over. Therefore, since the intentional pass must be given now and then, why not shorten the time and the monotony by omitting the throwing entirely and let the big batter walk straight down to first? Some day, perhaps, some batsman will duplicate the marvelous feat achieved twenty years ago by Uncle Auson, when pitcher was trying to pass him. Uncle Un-cle always boiled with rage when that trick was worked on him. and. on this occasion, was specially savage. Just as the fourth ball was coming along, the old man furiously flung his bat at it ; the ball struck the bat. and actually actu-ally rebounded into safe territory, producing pro-ducing a hit that won the game. The row that followed can be imagined, imag-ined, but the umpire stood pat and declared de-clared that Anson 'a hit was o. k. and legal. Nowhere, said he, could he find any rule that said "the bat must be kept in the hands of the batsman during dur-ing hi entire turn at bat,.'' and Bo he bad to let the hit count and the run score. |