Baseball Joe, Captain of the Team; or, Bitter Struggles on the Diamond

by Lester Chadwick

  CHAPTER XII

  AN AMAZING FEAT

  Thompson, still believing that Jim was trying to get a rise out of him,walked back to his own bench, growling to himself.

  Reis was the first to face Joe in the last half of the ninth. Joemeasured him carefully, took his time in winding up, and then, with allthe signs of delivering a fast high one, sent over a floater that Reisreached for and hit into the dirt in front of the plate. Joe ran on it,picked it up and tossed it to Burkett for an easy out.

  Rance, the Brooklyn pitcher, came to the plate. Joe sent over a hopthat Rance caught on the under side for a foul high up back of therubber that Mylert caught without moving from his position.

  With two out, Tighe missed the first one that came over so fast thatit had settled in Mylert's glove before the batter had completed hisswing. The next he fouled off for strike two. Then Joe whizzed over hisold reliable fadeaway.

  "You're out!" cried the umpire.

  The game was over and the Giants had beaten their redoubtable foes by ascore of four to none. They had whitewashed their opponents and brokentheir winning streak.

  And what was sweeter to Jim at the moment was that Joe had fulfilledhis prediction. Only the pitcher, catcher and first baseman had beennecessary to turn the Brooklyns back. The other six men of the Giantteam had had nothing to do and might as well have been off the field.It was almost magical pitching, the climax of the art.

  Joe and Jim grinned at each other in a knowing way as the former cameinto the bench.

  "You pulled it off that time all right, Joe!" exclaimed Jim gleefully,as he threw his arm around his chum's shoulder. "I piped off Thompsonto what you were going to do and he thought I had gone nutty. He'd havegiven me an awful razz if it had failed to go through."

  "You were taking awful chances," laughed Joe. "Of course, I might dothat once in a while, but only a superman could do it all the time. Butin this inning, luck was with us."

  Thompson at this moment came strolling over toward them. He wasevidently consumed with curiosity.

  "I'll take the wind out of your sails at the start by admitting thatyou put one over on me," he said, addressing himself to Jim. "Thoughhow you knew what was about to happen is beyond me. How did you do it?"he asked, turning to Joe. "Have you got a horseshoe or rabbit's footconcealed about you?"

  "I assure you that I have nothing up my sleeve to deceive you," Joesaid, rolling up his sleeves in the best manner of the professionalconjurer. "It simply means that the hand is quicker than the eye."

  "Cut out the funny stuff and tell me just how you did it," persistedThompson.

  "I'll tell you," said McRae, who had been an amused listener to theconversation. "That's an old trick of Joe's that he's tried out whenwe've been playing exhibition games in the spring training practice.More than once, we've called in the whole team, except Joe, thecatcher, and the first baseman. Then Joe's done just what he did thisafternoon. Of course, it doesn't always go through, but in many caseshe has put it over."

  "There isn't another pitcher in the League who would dare try it!"exclaimed Thompson.

  "There's only one Matson in the world," said McRae simply. "On thelevel, Thompson, what would you give to have him on your team?"

  "A quarter of a million dollars," blurted out Thompson.

  "You couldn't have him for half a million," said McRae, with a grin, ashe turned away.

  It was a jubilant crowd of Giants that gathered in the clubhouse afterthe game.

  "How was that for your birthday present, Joe?" sang out Larry. "Itwasn't quite what you asked for, but it was the best we could do."

  "It was plenty," laughed Joe. "I'd rather have those runs you gave methan a diamond ring. Keep it up, boys, and we'll soon be up at the topof the League. We've been a long time in getting started, but now justwatch our smoke. This game pulls us out of the second division. We'reright on the heels of the Brooklyns. Let's give those fellows to-morrowthe same dose they got to-day. Then we'll get after the Pittsburghs andthe Chicagos."

  "That's the stuff!" cried Larry. "We'll show 'em where they get off.They've been hogging the best seats in this show. Now we'll send 'emback to the gallery."

  Joe smiled happily at the enthusiasm of the boys. It was what he hadbeen trying to instill ever since he had been made the captain of theteam. He knew that the material was there--the batting, the fielding,and the pitching. But all this counted for nothing as long as thespirit was lacking, the will to victory, the confidence that they couldwin.

  There was just one piece of the machinery, however, that was notworking smoothly, and that was Iredell. He had been sulky and mutinousever since he had been displaced by Joe in the captaincy of the team.Joe had been most considerate and had gone out of his way to be kind tohim, but all his advances had been rebuffed.

  "You're certainly getting the team into fine shape, Joe," said Jim, asthey made their way out of the grounds. "They played championship ballbehind you this afternoon."

  "They sure did," agreed Joe. "Those plays by Larry, especially, weresparklers. I never saw the old boy in better form. He's one of theveterans of the game, and you might expect him to be slipping, butto-day he played like a youngster with all a veteran's skill. Ifeverybody had the same spirit, I'd have nothing more to ask."

  "Meaning Iredell, I suppose," said Jim.

  "Just him," replied Joe. "It isn't that there's anything especially Ican lay my hands on. He plays good mechanical ball. His fielding isgood and he's keeping up fairly well with the stick. But the mischiefof it is, it's all mechanical. He's like a galvanized dead man goingthrough the motions, but a dead man just the same. I wish I could putsome life into him. After a while, that dulness of his will begin toaffect the rest of the team. It takes only one drop of ink to darken awhole glass of water."

  "I noticed that in the clubhouse this afternoon," said Jim thoughtfully,"all the rest of the fellows were bubbling over, while he sat apartwith a frown on his face as though we'd lost the game instead of havingwon it."

  "Well, he'll have to get over that and get over it quickly," said Joewith decision. "We can't have him casting a wet blanket over the restof the team. The trouble is, we haven't any one available to put in hisplace just now, and it's hard to get one at this stage of the season.Renton's a likely youngster, but he needs a little more seasoningbefore I could trust him in such a responsible position as that ofshortstop."

  "If that Mornsby deal had only gone through, we'd have had acrackerjack," said Jim regretfully.

  "We sure would!" replied Joe. "But I felt from the beginning that wedidn't have much chance of getting him. If the St. Louis management hadlet him go, they might as well have shut up shop. The fans would havehooted them out of town. Anyway, I'd rather develop a player than buyhim. I'm going to coach young Renton with a possible view to takingIredell's place, if it becomes necessary."

  The next day Brooklyn again came to the Polo Grounds, determined toregain their lost laurels of the day before. This time they relied onReuter, while McRae sent Jim into the box.

  That Reuter was good, became evident before the game had gone very far.He had a world of speed and his curves were breaking well. Up to theseventh inning, only two hits had been made off of him, one of whichwas a homer by Joe and another a two-base hit by Burkett. His supportwas superb, and more than one apparent hit was turned into an out byclever fielding.

  Jim, in the early innings, was not up to his usual mark. He had most ofthe stuff that had given him such high repute as a pitcher, except thathe could not handle his wide-breaking curve with his usual skill. Thefailure of that curve to break over the plate got him several times inthe hole. He relied too much also on his slow ball when, with the dull,cloudy weather that prevailed, speed would have been more effective.

  But, although he was not in his best form, his courage never faltered.He was game in the pinches. Leete, for instance, in the fifth inning,laced the first ball pitched into leftfield for a clean homer. Therewas no one out when the mighty clout was made,
but Jim refused to bedisconcerted. He struck out Mornier, the heavy hitting first baseman ofthe Dodgers, made Tonsten hit a slow roller to the box that went foran easy out, and fanned Trench, after the latter had sent up two foulsin his unavailing attempt to hit the ball squarely.

  Again in the sixth, after a triple and a single in succession hadscored another run, he settled down and mowed the next three down inorder.

  But though his nerve was with him, the Brooklyn batsmen kept getting tohim, picking up one run after the other until at the end of the seventhinning they had four runs to their credit while only one lone score hadbeen made by the Giants. The Brooklyn rooters were jubilant, for itlooked as though their pets had just about sewed up the game.

  But in the Giants' half of the eighth Reuter began to crack. He startedwell enough by making Curry pop to Mornier. Iredell came next and shota single to left, his first hit of the game and the third that had beenmade off Reuter up to that time. Then Burkett followed suit with abeauty to right that sent Iredell to third, though a good return throwby Reis held Burkett to the initial bag.

  The two hits in succession seemed to affect Reuter's control, and hegave Wheeler a base on balls. Now the bags were full, with only one manout, and the Giant rooters, who had hitherto been glum, were standingup in their places and shouting like mad.

  McRae sent Ledwith, a much faster man than Wheeler, to take thelatter's place on first, while he himself ran out on the coaching lineand Robbie scurried in the direction of third.

  Jackwell was next at bat, and the chances were good for a double playby Brooklyn. But Reuter's tired arm had lost its cunning and, try as hewould, he could not get the ball over the plate. Amid a pandemonium ofyells from the excited fans he passed Jackwell to first, forcing a runover the plate. And still the bases were full.

  It was evident that Reuter was "through," and Thompson signaled him tocome in. He took off his glove and walked into the bench to a chorus ofsympathetic cheers from the partisans of both sides in recognition ofthe superb work he had done up to that fateful inning.

  Grimm took his place and tossed a few balls to the catcher in order towarm up. It was a hard assignment to take up the pitcher's burden withthe bases full.

  The first ball he put over came so near to "beaning" Larry that thelatter only saved himself by dropping to the ground. McRae signaled tohim to wait the pitcher out. He did so, with the result that he, too,trotted to first on four bad balls, forcing another run home and makingthe score four to three in favor of the Brooklyns.

  Grimm braced for the next man, Bowen, and struck him out, as Bowen leteven good balls go by, hoping to profit by the pitcher's wildness. Butthis time he reckoned without his host and retired discomfited to thebench.

  Joe came next and received a mighty hand as he went to the plate. Histhree comrades on the bases implored him to bring them home.

  Grimm was in a dilemma. Under ordinary circumstances he would havepassed Joe and taken a chance on Mylert. But to pass him now meantthe forcing home of another run, which would have tied the score. Onthe other hand, a clean hit would bring at least two men home and putthe Giants ahead. There was still, however, the third chance--thatJoe might not make a hit. In that case there would be three men out,leaving the Brooklyns ahead.

  He took the third alternative and pitched to Joe, putting all the stuffhe had on the ball. Joe swung at it and missed. Two balls followedin succession. Then he whizzed over a high, fast one that Joe caughtfairly and sent out on a line between left and center for a sizzlingtriple, clearing the bases and himself coming into third standing up.

  The Giants and their partisans went wild with joy as the three menfollowed each over the plate, making the score six to four in favor ofthe home team.

  And at that figure the score remained, for Jim pitched like a manpossessed in the Brooklyn's half of the ninth and set them down as fastas they came to the bat.

  "That's what you call pulling the game out of the fire," exulted Larry,as the Giants were holding a jubilee in the clubhouse after the game.

  "Yes," agreed Jim. "But it was a hard game for Reuter to lose. Heoutpitched me up to that fatal eighth inning. He had a world of stuffon the ball."

  "He's a crackerjack, all right," agreed Joe. "And it certainly lookedas though he had us going."

  "Didn't have you going much that I could notice, except going aroundthe bases," declared Larry, with a wide grin. "That was a corking homerof yours, and the triple was almost as good."

  "Better, as far as the results were concerned," put in Jim. "For itbrought home three men and settled the game. It was a life saver, andno mistake. Talk about Johnny on the spot. Joe on the spot is thesalvation of the Giants!"