still see out of "the
corner of my eye" how much ground the runner on first base was taking.
As the baseman is already on the base, there is no necessity of
notifying him of an intention to throw, so, watching the opportunity, I
would throw across my body without first having changed the position of
my feet or body at all. The throw is, of course, not so swift as by
first wheeling toward the base and then throwing, but it will catch a
runner oftener. "Smiling Mickey" Welch plays the point to perfection,
and last season caught many men "napping" in this way. Its advantage is
that it is entirely legitimate. Some pitchers, in order to catch a
runner at first, make a slight forward movement, visible to the runner
but not to the umpire, as if about to pitch. This, of course, starts the
runner, and before he can recover, the pitcher has turned and thrown to
first. Notwithstanding the strictest prohibition last season of any
motion even "calculated" to deceive the runner, there were umpires weak-
kneed enough to allow these balks.

The easiest men to catch are the best base-runners, because they are
always anxious to "get away," and they take the most chances. An
ambitious runner will keep moving up and down the line trying to get his
start. The pitcher should not appear to notice him, pretending to be
interested only in the batter, but watching the runner closely all the
time. Suddenly, and without the least warning, he should snap the ball
to the baseman. If the pitcher will choose a time when the runner is on
the move away from the base the batter will be off his balance and may
be caught before he can recover.

For the third base it may be advisable to have a signal with the baseman
to notify him of a throw. It is very seldom possible to catch a runner
off third by a throw from the pitcher, though it may sometimes be done.
Clarkson and Galvin both accomplish it at times, though they always do
it by the aid of a "balk." Clarkson's method is this: With a runner on
first and one on third, the man on first will usually try to steal
second, and if the ball is thrown there to catch him, the runner on
third tries to score. In this situation Clarkson makes a slight forward
movement of the body as though about to pitch, and the runner on third,
being anxious to get all possible ground, moves forward. With the same
motion, and before the runner can recover, Clarkson, by a prior
understanding with the third baseman, throws to the b