Show SMALL RUBBER SPONGE it I AN AID TO CATCHERS v Heros Hero's a tip for Cor young catcher whose k hands are soft enough to make them f susceptible u to tl stone bruises es A t rubber tubber bath spouse sponge procurable in any r f Chat class drug store and user used bettt between een the palm paint of the hand and the tho glove loe 11 the hc shock of the ball baU act ad aci 1 as a perfect on and nd still be kept hept perfectly f lean and sanitary at a all times The should be about the size of the hand band itself The anta ad advantage e of this means of padding is that it will Compress easily easil into a sma small space has elastic qualities and yet ct iJ will protect the hand perfectly j i Walter WaUer Alexander tho the young youn catcher for the Oakland Coast poast l league ague club is using this device now t to protect his h hands and finds it in infinitely infinite in tely preferable to the raw ran which h some catchers catchers' catch catch- refS refS' ers ers' use in the spring until their hands get tl et t hardened to the constant pounding it Alexander is one of tho the few young joung a t catchers in the West Nest who employ the thel l tame e tame style of receiving the hc ball as was Jis JisI I famous b by JimmIe Archer dis die dIStin Unfinished tin Cub marksman ll t Archers Archer's way of catching the hall haJJ in inI I bis fingers seems to be bp the best and I nr it accounts for the steadiness with which he holds the ball at the plate As soon as the ball strikes the center of his hu huge e mitt his fin fingers ers close dose tightly over o it thereby preventing entin its dropping out I His trick of using his fingers instead of his ban hands s also accounts for his hiB un un- unfailing uni i Ii failing ability to catch foul fl fJ fly halls balls Fans have hoe seen catchers go back to the tho stand for foul fouls on only I to see sec them strike the glove glo and antI bounce out again Archer e sel seldom om drops one as his hia fin fingers cr grip the ball balli i viselike as soon foon Ii as tie the ball hits bits no matter how difficult the catchI catch 4 I The star Cub backstop did not have havo an error cr credited to him all last season season sea sea- son lSon for tor dropping a foul fout fly Like hike all great catchers he seems to know intuitively intuitively in in- where the ball hall roes coes 1 after ter lea leav leaving ing lag the bat s As the ball goes gocs back of the plate his mas mast mask is thrown u off and he ho ba has plenty of time to get under r the hall han and generally makes all the catches look caB easy |