OCR Text |
Show FEW BATTLERS THRIVE ON REAL SPEED BY WALTER JOHNSON What Is the best type ball for a I pitcher to use 0 If a pitcher has a good fast ball that Is always his one best bet I don't mean Just an ordinary fast j ball but one with a lot of "swift" on it, as Nick Altrock would say. When I came to the American league I scarcely knew there was anything other than a fast ball In a pitcher's repertoire. For three years I ised a fast ball entirely, to fool the great hitters of the American league. I really believe I enjoyed my greatest success during those three years In those first three years, I could Just about throw my fast one by the bat.mnn. as wo put it in baseball. No pitcher could retain forever the terrific ter-rific speed that I had when I came to the American league At the close of my third year. I began to realize that I was slowing up n bit. I had been working on a curve ball In the meantime, and when It became be-came evident to me that I was losing a bit of my speed, I began to resort to the curves to cross the batters up I met with almost as much suC- cess with my curve as my fast one. However I will always believe that' I made a mistake In using too many curve balls, after once acquiring a good ' hook " I am convinced that the wise pitcher who has dazzling speed hold'J 1 his curvo In resorve. That is what 1 1 should have done. W hen I switched to a curvo ball j pitcher, from a fast ball pitcher ex-I cluslvely. I still had perhaps more, speed than any other pitcher In th American league J should have continued con-tinued tho use of the fast ball, with the curvo as a constant threat. I am sure I would have been a better pitcher had I done ao. |