Clipping:The primacy of fielding

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19C Clippings
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Date 1875
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The question is, which nine are in the best condition to support their pitcher? For whichever team can do this best that team will win. It is not batting that wins—it is fielding. The pitching that prevents base-hits being made, and the fielding that interferes with success in base-running, will “knock spots” out of the play of the best batsman; for the latter rarely succeeds in the face of thoroughly effective strategic pitching aided by sharp fielding support. Of course keen-sighted and experienced batsmen are valuable in a nine; but there is not, nor can be, in baseball such ability shown at the bat as there is in the field. There is too much of the element of chance in batting to make it as invariably successful as an element of play as fielding, and hence the principle of saving runs by skillful fielding is of more importance in winning games than that of trying to make runs by hard hitting.

Source New York Clipper
Tags Fielding
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Submitted by Richard Hershberger
Origin Initial Hershberger Clippings

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