Healthful Sports for Boys Part 11

CHAPTER XVI

BASEBALL, THE GREAT AMERICAN GAME. A FEW POINTERS THAT MAY HELP YOU

The best baseball field is level and smooth. It is best, if it can be had, to start with the right kind of a layout.

The catcher, or back stop, as he is called by professionals, is usually in front of the observation stand, or a board wall or other obstruction. This is usually ninety feet from the home plate.

If you fasten a cord one hundred and twenty-seven feet four inches long straight out in the field, the place for second base is found.

This done, take a rope or line one hundred and eighty feet long, fasten one end to the home plate and the other to second base; then draw the middle of the line at first to the right and then to the left, till it is tight. This will mark the places of first and third base.

The place of the pitcher's box is fixed by measuring a line of fifty feet from home to second base. The pitcher's box should be five feet six inches long by four feet wide. For batsman there are two positions, one for the left and the other for the right handed. The batsman's stand is two rectangular s.p.a.ces, each six feet long and four feet wide. The nearest line should be six inches from the home plate, and should extend three feet in front and three feet behind the center of the home plate.

Having thus laid out the field, we proceed to further mark the various points. In doing this, if the field is to be a permanent one, it is best to make use of the most improved apparatus; but if the field is only a temporary one, there are various devices which save expense, and which answer the purpose quite satisfactorily. The home plate is, by the rules, a whitened piece of rubber a foot square, sunk flush with the ground, its outer edges being within the lines to first and third bases. An excellent subst.i.tute for rubber is a piece of board painted white, or a bit of marble such as can be readily obtained at any marble yard. The first, second and third bases are canvas bags, 15 inches square, stuffed with any soft material, and so fastened as to have their centers at the corners of the diamond which we have already marked out. They will thus extend several inches outside the diamond.

The customary method of fastening the bag is by means of a leather strap pa.s.sing through loops upon the bag and directly around the center. This strap is slipped through an iron staple in the top of a post driven firmly into the ground at the corner of the diamond, and the strap is then buckled on the under side of the bag.

The wooden post and the iron staples can easily be had. It is better to have them to keep the base fixed. A stone is apt to work injury.

The bags can be homemade, from old carpets, or old mattresses, or even from shavings or hay, stuffed into little calico or canvas pillows. A piece of stout clothes line will answer for more expensive straps.

The pitcher's box must be permanently marked. This is done by sinking into the ground an iron plate, stone or a wooden post, four or six inches square.

If there is thick gra.s.s in the infield it must be cut from the pitcher's box to the back-stop, nine feet in width, or better still remove the sod and fill in the s.p.a.ce with hard-packed earth. The players will soon make the batting-crease and base lines marked on the field.

To make a fair division of labor in laying out a field, let three boys agree to furnish the iron staples, and posts for the bases and pitcher's position, seven in all. The four for the pitcher's box may be anywhere from three to six inches square at the top, and two feet long; those for the bases being three inches in diameter; and all of these sharpened to drive in like stakes. The staples, three in number, should be two inches wide. Let three others agree to furnish the bases; one boy to provide the six pieces of stuff--about sixteen inches square, another boy to furnish three two inch straps with buckles, or else sufficient rope. The straps must not be less than a yard long. The third boy can see that the bags are looped for the straps, stuffed and properly sewn. Three other boys can agree to furnish the home plate, and to bring to the ground implements for marking and laying out, viz.: a tape line two hundred feet long, a supply of cord, a sharp spade, a sledge hammer to drive stakes, a small hammer to drive in staples, some lime to mark out the lines, and a pail to wet it in. A tennis marker will save much work. The best ball to purchase is the regular "league" ball. These b.a.l.l.s are the most uniform in manufacture and quality, and give the best satisfaction in the long run. It is worth while to purchase more than one, because it often happens that wet gra.s.s ruins the cover of the ball. When a base ball has been used in wet weather it should be put aside, and the next time the nine wish to practice on a wet day this ball, which will be very hard, should be used. As soon as it is wet it softens again, and it is just as useful as a new one would be after wetting. Constant wetting rots the covers, but a harness-maker will re-cover the b.a.l.l.s, and they can be used for practice.

In bats there is more variety. A special bat is said to be made of wagon-tongue, but the more commonly favored is of ash, second growth, thoroughly seasoned. These can be bought for from twenty-five cents to one dollar each, according to quality. Lighter bats are made of willow; and the cheapest of ba.s.swood. These do not last so well as ash, however.

The rules specify that the bat shall not be over two and a half inches in diameter, nor more than forty-two inches in length. In selecting a bat, individual taste is the best guide as to matters of weight and balance, but the grain should be examined carefully. If a bat is varnished, the handle should be sc.r.a.ped, so that it will not turn easily in the hands.

The first baseman and catcher should each wear gloves to protect the hands from the pounding which playing these positions involves.

You can make a pair of baseball gloves out of a stout pair of buckskins. The fingers and thumbs should be cut off at the first joint for the baseman, and if any extra padding is needed, pieces of felt can be sewn on. The catcher's gloves can be made in a similar way, except that the left-hand glove is kept whole and the ends of the fingers reinforced by heavy leather tips. A shoemaker can put on these tips which should be about an inch and a half long. Both gloves should have padding in the palm and over the ball of the thumb. This padding can be made of as many layers of felt as are desired, sewn in when the glove is turned wrong side out. The pads should be so cut that they run up into the finger a little way, and thus form a protection for the base of the fingers. Every man who catches should wear a mask. A body protector will also save many a bruise.

Individual uniforms should be considered where clubs are formed, and let me say it is better to start with a club. Uniforms for boys need not be expensive; s.h.i.+rts of one color will do with the addition of a home cap. Pads on the knees and along the thighs, as well as rough mitts are of use in sliding.

Any number of players may belong to a club, but only nine can play on a side. Each side must have a captain, who must be a good leader as well as a good player.

The umpire is chosen by both sides to decide questions in dispute.

There is no appeal from his decision, even where both sides think him in error.

It would take a whole book properly to go into the details of baseball, but no instructions can take the place of practice, and it will be better if this can be done under the direction of an expert.

RULES

Here are a few baseball rules that it will be well to remember:

1. The infield must be thirty yards square.

2. The bases must be four in number.

3. The ball must weigh not less than five nor more than five and a quarter ounces. It must be not less than nine nor more than nine and a quarter inches in circ.u.mference.

4. The bat must be wholly of wood, except that the handle may be wound with cord or wire. The length must not exceed forty-two inches nor the diameter, at the thickest, more than two and a half inches.

5. The players on each side shall be nine. The captain a.s.signs them their places.

6. The pitcher must keep both feet on the ground, except when throwing the ball.

7. Players' benches, out of the way, must be furnished by the home club. 8. Each game must consist of nine innings. If the side first at bat scores less in nine innings than the other did in eight, the game is ended.

9. If after nine innings the score is a tie, the game shall continue unless called off by the umpire.

10. The game shall be forfeited if a player comes too late, or does not take the bat after five minutes when "game" is called.

11. Every club shall be required to have one or more subst.i.tutes, in the event of an accident to a regular player.

12. Men on the bases cannot have subst.i.tutes run for them.

13. The choice of innings shall be given to the captain of the home club.

14. A dead ball is one that strikes the bat without being struck at.

15. A score shall be counted every time a base run is made.

16. A ball that goes over the fence, outside the two hundred and thirty feet line, wins two bases.

17. A foul strike is when the batsman hits, when he is not in position.

18. The runner must touch each base in its order.

19. No umpire shall be changed during the game.

20. A coach is restricted to instructing the base runners only.

AUTUMN

CHAPTER XVII

SOME DETAILS ABOUT FOOTBALL