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Show BAKER MAY ALTER ANCIENT STRATEGY Chicago, July 5. It begins to look as though all accepted rules of baseball base-ball strategy would havo to be cast in tho discard whore John Franklin Baker of Trappe, Md., is concerned. If Frank continues to hit home runs in pincheB with the same frequency, that he has displayed this talent in the last couple of years, it would not be surprising to see a general order to all pitchers, to pass him when one -run will win or tie a hall game. Of coarse, this is desporato to all ideas of sane baseball, but desperate cases require desperate remedies. Last week on his home grounds he was instrumental in breaking tho Washington club's winning streak of Beventoen consecutive victories, banging ball over the right field fence with the visitors ono run ahead two men out in the ninth inning and two strfkea on Frank bimeH. In the next inning the Mackmen took a new lease of life and secured the winning tally. Baker's recent feat Is strangely reminiscent of that mighty drive of his that saved the third game of tho world's series for the Macks At that time the ninth Inning had como with New York having ono run and the Athletics none. Ono was out and the count was two balls and one strike on Bakor, with tho great Mathewson pitching Matty put the fourth ball he pitched to the slugger right over the plate, and it never has been seen since, disappearing amid a crowd of fans in tho extension exten-sion of the big horseshoe grandstand propectlng Into fair ground in deep right field. This tied the score, and two innings later the Athletics won th game. The safest way to dispose of Baker in such arises, therefore, seems to be to hand him a baso on balls and trust to luck that the next batter will refrain from any feats of boundary bound-ary bridging. |