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Show i I BILLY EVANS SOLVES BASEBALL PROBLEMS ? . . (Written Especially for This Paper by the Famous American -fr I J League Umpire.) J It Is strange how some of the really good base runners and star J I catchers, iu the excitement of the battle, will allow themselves to be I 1" I 1 F " N confused by plays which In reality are simple and which they know well. In so Important a game as the play-off in IPOS between the Giants and the Cubs for the championship of the National leasee, n simple play came up that changed the entire com- .5. plexion of the game. The men who figured iu the play all have the reputation of having more than the average amount of baseball brains. J Early in the game, in either the first or second -H inning, I believe, New York had men on first and 2 second and only one out. Things looked good for a -H run or two, and puns at that stage meant a whole lot. As luck would have it, the batter, usually a pretty good man in the pinch, struck out. The J catcher dropped the ball, which rolled a short (lis- tance away from him. The batter made a dash for first base. Tho & runuer on first, noticing this, made n start for second. Quick as a flash, Kling, who was catching for Chicago, made a beautiful snap -t. f. throw to Chance, who was playing first base for the Cubs. The run- j ner, who had started for second, seeing that he was trapped, there 4 being no chance to get to second, made a wild slide in an effort to regiiin first. Chance was equal to the occasion, however, and cleverly ir tagged him out. At this stage of the proceedings, Manager McGrnw of the Giants -f began to rave not at the umpires but at some of his players. Had J you been in charge of the game how would you have ruled on the -f mix-up? Answer to Problem. f J According to section 6 of rule 51, unless two men are out, the i- batsman is out If, while first base be occupied by a base runner, the jg third strike be called on him by the umpire. In the New York-Chicago -s. game, first base was occupied, and as only one man Was out at the time, the batter was automatically retired when the third strike was 4. called, even though the catcher dropped the ball. This rule was made for the protection of the base runner. With a man on first, It was .$. customary, before the rule was framed, for the catcher purposely to & drop the third strike, force the runner at second and double up the batter at first. -There has been much discussion in Gotham why the i- batter ever started to run. He has always insisted that he merely .made a false start, hoping that the catcher might make a bad peg, but forgetting that it was not necessary to throw to first. Others are of the opinion that the batter for a moment believed two were out. How- ? ever it was, tjie runner at first was deceived by the running of the batter and fell into the very trap that the batter believed he was laying for the opposition. J (Copyright by the Wheeler Syndicate. Inc.) , |