who knew him well.

In picking up low thrown balls which strike the ground in front of the
baseman, some become much more expert than others. One of the best, I
think, is Phillips, who played last season with Brooklyn, and is now
with the Kansas City Club. When the bound is what is called a "short
bound," that is, where it strikes but a few inches in front of the
hands, the play is really not a difficult one if the ground is at all
even; but where it strikes from one to three feet beyond the hands, it
requires considerable skill to get it, especially if the ground cannot
be depended upon for a regular bound. In this latter case the bound is
too long for a "pick-up" and too short for a long bound catch; so that
the only thing to do is to calculate as nearly as possible where the
ball should bound and then try to get the hands in front of it. It will
be found easier to reach the hands as far forward as possible and then
"give" with the ball, that is, draw the hands back toward the body in
the direction the ball should take on its rebound. A player should never
turn his face away, even at the risk of being hit, for by watching the
ball all the time, he may be able to change the position of the hands
enough to meet some slight miscalculation as to the direction of the
bound.

In fielding ground-hits, the same rule applies to the first baseman as
to every other fielder; that he should get every hit he possibly can,
with the single qualification that he shall avoid interference with
other fielders. But as between a possible interference and a failure to
go after a ball that should have been stopped, the interference is much
to be preferred. There are some basemen who seem to think there is a
line beyond which it is forbidden them to go; they act as though they
were tied to the base-post by a twenty-foot lariat. Having fielded a
ground-hit, the baseman will usually himself run to the base; but
sometimes the hit is so slow or so far toward second or he fumbles it so
long that there is no time left for him to do this. In such case he will
toss the ball to the pitcher, who has covered the base. In making this
play a baseman should not wait until the pitcher reaches the base before
throwing, as it loses too much time, and he should not throw the ball at
all, because it makes a difficult catch; but he should pitch the ball
easily in front of the pitcher so that he and the ball will both meet at
the base. A little practice will mak