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Show MATHEV30N HAS BOTH PHYSIQUE AND BRAINS A Splendid Combination Which Helps to Make Him the Greatest Pitch-in Pitch-in the Game Today. , Christy Mathewaon, whom Frank Chance picks as the greatest pitcher hi the game today, is Indeed a remarkable re-markable athlete. He had the luck to fill when ho drew to physique and brains. There are a few pitchers lu tho big league who haven't the speed and the curves they used to have, but they retain their control of thi ball and they have, as a stock lu trade, an Intimate knowledge of the weakness of every hitter who face3 them. They "get away with it" because be-cause they mix brains with their limited ability and win over youngor men who have speed and curves to burn. Sometimes a Phenom. Oaw in a long, long time there comes a pitcher who ha.i everything speed curves, control and knowledge knowl-edge of his opponents. Mathewson In such a pitcher. He , has great physical strength, a fine, assortment of curves including that heart-bicak-cr, tho "fadeaway " for which there seetos to be no antidote, and with all this knowledge of weak spots of hitters hit-ters which enables him to feed a man tho very thing which he cannot u.ie. Mathewson has been "up there" a long time. Ho was a great pitcher before the illness which came near putting him out of business for good. Whiie he was recuperating from that illness he experimented with a new series of curves which might bo delivered de-livered with as slight a tax on his strength as possible. He discovered tho "fadeaway " aud he is tho onl man lu the world who can make use of this peculiar drop. It is now his trade mark. Lots of fellows know how be throws it; they know bow to go through the motions, but when it comes to whipping the tips of thcir lingors over the cover of tho ball in order to make It float up and fall dead in front of the plate they have to pass out The "fadeaway" belongs to Mr. Mathewson and he will never have to have that delivery patented. A Thirteen-lnch Gun. Matty is the Mg gun of the Ginnt battery. They shoot him lu when I they need a game and the confidence which this big chap inspires send the New Yorkers out like champions. Last year the Gian's did not hi a save in streaks. Mathewson pitched just as well as though his tcam-matcs were tearing the cover off tho ball and making runs for blm. In ono game at tho polo grounds the bl i blonde, rather jeeed because t ho hitters hit-ters would not give him an ate to win on, soaked tne hall Into the bleachers for a homo run and called It a day. It was I he only one he cot In a season, but he got It at the rlyht time. Mnthewsnn's great . ppcclalty is finding out what the new. leugurs do not likn. He has a memory like u filing cabinet. By the time he has watched a new tu;i.n work through a game against a right-hander Matty comes pretty neur having tho cao diagnosed and he knows, what Is moro Iruportunt what he docs not like. Of course, uccidonts happen, bit tln-re H a rulo which can bo followed ' with a great deal of safety. Mo.it. batters have a fondness for a certain kind of. ball. One man will hit a speedy ball and fall down inglorlously on a slow one which floats up straight as a string. The next fellow may pray for a blow ball and hit a mile. A nervous man worries over a low ball. He has too much time to npend In thinking about it and watching it come. The man without nerves stands like a tlgar-store Indian uutll he can lead tho trade mark and then whanfo! Liked the Hard Ones. Some players like a ball close in and misjudge on tbe outside. Cra-vath. Cra-vath. tho outfielder who went to Minneapolis Min-neapolis last season after playing with Boston and Washington, used to murder the most difficult of all fast balls, one high up under his ear on the Inside. He gave the American Ameri-can association pitchers an awful llmo lat season before they noticed that "Woodtn Shoes" could ''bit one off his cbln." ' |