lizes the runner when he looks up and finds the baseman
in the path where he had expected to slide, and it forces him to go into
the base in a way different from what he had intended and from that to
which he is accustomed. The veteran Bob Ferguson always stood back of
the line, and more than once made shipwreck of my hopes when I might
have evaded him if he had given me a chance to slide. The time taken in
turning around and reaching for the runner is often just enough to lose
the play, whereas, standing back of the line, this time is saved, and,
in addition, the baseman has the play and the runner's movements in
front of him.

With a runner on third and not more than one out, the batter may try to
hit a ground ball to the in-field, sacrificing himself but allowing the
runner from third to score. To prevent this the in-fielders will
generally play nearer the bat, so as to return the ball to the catcher
in time to cut off the runner, and how close they must play will depend,
of course, upon the fleetness of the runner. Even then the ball may be
hit so slowly or fielded in such a way as to make the play at the plate
impossible, in which case the fielder will try to retire the batter at
first.

With runners on first and third the one on first will often try to steal
second, and if the catcher throws down to catch him, the one on third
goes for home. To meet this play on the part of the runners is by no
means easy, but it can nevertheless be done. If the one run will not
affect the general result of the game, it may be well to pay no
attention to the runner from third and try only to put out the one from
first, thus clearing the bases. But if it is necessary to prevent the
run scoring, the second baseman must be prepared to return the ball to
the catcher in case the runner starts for home. In order to gain as much
time as possible, he should take as position to receive the catcher's
throw ten feet inside of the base-line; keeping one eye on the ball and
the other on the runner at third, if he sees the runner start for home,
he must meet the throw as quickly as possible and return the ball to the
catcher; if the runner does not start, the baseman should step quickly
backward so that by the time the ball reaches him he will be near enough
to the base-line to touch the runner from first. The play is a difficult
one and requires more than the ordinary amount of skill and practice.
There is another and, I think, better way of