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Show OLD OS IM . EXPERT ON BASES It it la tha baae stealing deportment that the big ires t difference between the eld time ball players and the present K aeration ia found. A comparison be-eea be-eea the figures of twenty years ago and aow showa remarkable falling off. Ia 18M in the National league three men stole more thaa fifty baaee. Barry 8toey led the American association with 94 steals. In 1887 Stovey broke all records by etealiag 148 bases. Arlie Lathees wae a eloee second with lea, Ia the National league Jekany Ward led with 101 steals, the late Jimmy Fo-garty Fo-garty being second with 108. Ia lSt Storey made a record thet will hardly be touched. He stole 1A bases. Five other American association players stole more thaa 100 basse. Dummy Hoy led tha National league with eigntr-two steals. Billy Hamilton came to the front aa the American association's best baae runner la 1889. He put 117 steals to hie credit, leading Storey br two. Fogarty did the best work in tne National, Na-tional, stealing ninety-nine baaee. Twee ty-aine men Ia the two leagues went over the ftftv snark. Since the advent of Ty Cobb and Eddie Ed-die (.'ciliaa base ruaniag haa had a re-viva, re-viva, but the two American league tars are the only players who show anything like the baae stealing ability of the old timer. In 1908 bb led with eeranty-eix steala. Collins waa second with sixty-seven. Last rear Collins attained his ambition aad beat out Cobb, stealing eighty-one baaee to sixty-five for tha tiger. Some fens may argue that the catchers catch-ers ef the olden days were not as strong as these of the preeent time. A glance at the names of the catehers en the rosters of the -two leagues will refute re-fute that theor-. There never were any better catchers than Ewing, Bennett, Ben-nett, Clements, Gents!, rliat, McGuire, Kelly, Carroll. Amos and Lave Cross, Bu-hong, Robinson and Snyder. Billy Hamilton, one of the beet base runners of all time,, wbe ia three different dif-ferent years led the country in stolen bases. Is ef the opinion that baae ruaniag rua-niag had reached its height of perfection perfec-tion rears ago. The veteran fails to see where there eaa be foaad aay new tricks ia the art of taking seeoad on a pitch. It ia the defense, the breaking up of steals, thet haa the field for development, de-velopment, according; to Hamilton. Worrying the pitcher, getting the lead off first, the quick start and the fail away elide into second." saya Hamilton, "were all pretty well doped out (during the eld twelve-club National league, and in fact away back ia that orgsnnstioa's lafanry. Every- year some chap bobs ap who is more or less of a phenomenon ia atealiag, but it is fleetnees end not earthing new that makes him shiae on the paths. "In my opinion baae stealing has reached perfection ae far as one men annexing aa extra bag. New tricks era possible ia the double steal or any other combination of the defense or where the bell is in plav. Development must eome ia the defensive work in breeking up these combination steals. But it is now largely a rase of arm and eye against the lege aad dash of the ruaner." |