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Show BILLY EVANS SOLVES BASEBALL PROBLEMS f ij: (Written Especially for This Paper by the Famous American League Umpire.) .'It ijij Very often a "bone" on the part of some player1 who believes that ij-: he is pulling something new causes trouble galore. iji: In a game played last summer between two proni- g: inent semiprofessional clubs, with the score a tie i:-in i:-in the ninth, one down and runners on second and third, things began to happen. The catcher of the : visiting team noticed that the runner on third was taking a big lead on each ball pitched. He de- : cided that an accurate snap throw ought to catch him napping. The play worked as he had expected, a pretty throw getting the runner on third flat : footed. There being no chance for the runner to :jj get back to third, he made a dash for home. A run-up then ensued, practically every player of the team in the field joining In the play to retire the man who had been caught off third base. In the meantime, the runner on second, believ- ing that the other runner was sure to be retired, advanced to third. Upon reaching that bag, he had an inspiration, said Inspiration creat- : ing all the trouble and argument that followed. He decided that while the other players were busy trying to retire the man who had been : caught napping, he would slip by them and score the winning run. : Following out his plan, he got under full speed and dashed by the jg other players, crossing the pate a fraction of a second before the other runner was touched out on the lines. A goodly portion of the crowd surged on the field and began to celebrate the supposed victory. What i;:-was i;:-was the proper decision, and what do you suppose the umpire was : finally forced to do? Answer to Problem. The player who dashed past the other runner and believed he had : pulled a bright play, perpetrated an awful "bone." Just as soon as he passed the preceding base runner, who had not yet been legally retired, he was out for so doing, had automatically retired himself, so to speak. His actions made the second out of the inning; the other runner, when jij: finally touched out, made the third out and retired the side without a i run. The score being still a tie, extra innings were necessary. Such a : crowd had surged on the field, believing the game over, that the umpire jij was powerless to clear the diamond for action. He called upon the jiji jij police, but they could not get the fans off the field. As a result, the : ijij umpire forfeited the game to the visitors and then took it on the : jij: run. (Copyright by the Wheeler Syndicate, Inc.) |