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Show SHORTSTOP BANCROFT NEAR BONEHEAD PLAY Brilliant Giant Player Fields Same Bail He Hit. Fast Runner on Third and Fielder With Poor Throwlnfl Arm Save New Yorker From High Rating In the List of "Bones." Dave Bancroft, brilliant shortstop of the Giants, Is rated as a smart player, Hughey Jennings, now acting as assistant as-sistant to John McGraw in directing the Giants, says that Bancroft Is the brains of the New York club. Only recently In a game In the National Na-tional league, Bancroft pulled a play that might have given him high rating in the list of "bones," had not the umpire come to his rescue. With a runner on third bnse, Bancroft Ban-croft lifted a fly ball to the outfield. It was a hard-hit ball and the fielder was compelled to go deep to make the play. It so happened that the runner on third was a very fast man, also that the fielder making the patch had a I'w! ; - jiff . Dave Bancroft. rather poor thror.ing arm. These two things tended to save the day for Bancroft. Ban-croft. ' The runner on third' held his base until the fly ball was caught The moment It struck the hands of the fielder he daA-'d for the plate. The fielder with the weak arm realizing that be was too deep to have any chance of cutting the runner down at the plate, returned the ball leisurely leisure-ly to the Infield. Bancroft, playing proper baseball, had run out his hit to the limit and was between first and second when the relay came back into the Infield. Banny couldn't resist the temptation to field the ball and toss It to some other player of the team In the field. The team In the field contended that In fielding the ball, Bancroft had killed a chance for a play at the plate, and for such Interference the runner who had scored should be declared out. The umpire at the plate, however, rul?d that the nm hvA crn!i the plate before Bancroft even touched the ball, and that the act of the New York shortstop In no way prevented a play, since there was no play possible. pos-sible. It was a close call for the brainy Bancroft. |