tage. And if they guess wrong, the
pitcher is so taken by surprise that it is always possible to return to
the base before he can throw. Of the two methods I prefer the latter.
Remaining near the base disarms suspicion, and the runner is not tired
out, by repeated feints to throw, on the part of the pitcher.

In either case the practice of standing with the feet wide apart is
altogether wrong and in violation of every principle of quick starting.
Unlike a sprinter, a base-runner must be in shape to start in either
direction, and this can be done best and quickest by standing upright
with the feet almost together. A second qualification is speed. While,
as before said, mere speed will not make a base-runner, in the full
sense of the term, yet, other things being equal, the faster runner will
be the better base-runner. Straight away running is something to which
ball players do not devote sufficient attention. While, to a certain
extent, it is a natural gift, yet every man can improve himself greatly
by practice, and if the spring training of players included more of this
work, the result would certainly be an improvement in the base-running.
Notwithstanding the importance of starting and running and sliding,
there is absolutely no attention given these matters, and, consequently,
the majority of players seem to be entirely ignorant of the proper
"form." It would be a good investment for some clubs to employ a
professional sprinter to teach their men how to stand, in order to start
quickly, and how to put one foot in front of the other in the approved
form.

An important aid also to successful base-running is the knack of sliding
well. A player skillful in this respect will often save himself when he
seems caught beyond escape. Every runner should know how to slide if he
expects to accomplish anything at all, and every man will slide who has
the proper interest in his work. Some players do not do so because they
have never learned and are afraid to try, while others seem to care so
little for the team's success that they are unwilling to take the
chances of injury to themselves. As for the former class, a half hour's
practice on sawdust or soft earth will show them how easily it is
learned, and as for the latter, they should be made to slide, even if it
be found necessary to persuade them through their pockets.

Sliding, as an art, is of recent growth, though it has long been the
practice of base-runners to drop to avoi