and keep his nerve even under the most trying circumstances. He must
also have good control of the ball and be able to pitch it where he
wants it to go. After that he must have a knowledge of curves and know
how by causing the ball to spin in a certain way to cause it to change
its course and thus to deceive the batsman. The art of curving a ball
was discovered in 1867. Before that time all that a pitcher needed was
a straight, swift delivery. The three general classes of curved balls
used to-day are the out-curve, the in-curve, and the drop. There are
also other modifications called "the fade away," "the spitball," and
others. Curve pitching will only come with the hardest kind of
practice.

In general the spin is given to the ball by a certain use of the
fingers and the method of releasing it. It is necessary to conceal
your intentions from the batsman in preparing to deliver a curve or he
will divine your intention and the effort may be wasted. All curves
are produced by a snap of the wrist at the instant of releasing the
ball. Excellent practice may be had in curving by pitching at a post
from a sixty-foot mark and watching to see the effect of various
twists and snaps. Pitching is extremely hard on the arm and practice
should be very light at first until the muscles become hardened. Even
the best professional pitchers are not worked as a rule oftener than
two or three games a week.

A good baseball captain always tries to develop several pitchers from
his team. It is of course very desirable to have a "star pitcher" who
can be depended on, but if the star should happen to be ill or to
injure his fingers on a hot liner or for some reason cannot play,
unless there is a substitute, the effect of his absence on his team
will be to demoralize it. For that reason every encouragement should
be given to any boy who wants to try his hand at pitching. If a game
is well in hand it is usually safe to put in a substitute pitcher to
finish it. This is done in college teams for the reason that no amount
of practice is quite like playing in an actual game.

It may be said to guide the beginner that the method of producing
curves varies greatly with different pitchers, but that in general the
out-curve is produced by grasping the ball with the first and second
fingers and the thumb. The grip for this curve should be tight and the
back of the hand turned downward. The out-curve can be produced either
with a fast ball or a slow