Could you or I have dominated the 1880s?

[TheBig6]

Here's an excerpt from Tim Keefe's Sabr Bio, take from it what you will. It was a different game in the 1880's , but do you think you could hit keefe at 50ft. away.

Besides pitching at different speeds, Keefe threw with different arm motions, often side-arm and underhand (submarine style, in today’s parlance) even though the overhand delivery had been legalized in 1884. He also made liberal use of the entire pitcher’s box, throwing from different angles (not simply straight on to the batter) and taking multiple steps before releasing the ball, not always pitching from a set position. Keefe was a master of the multistep hop, skip, and jump delivery, which he described in 1888 as combining “plenty of speed and strength and a series of gymnastics to terrify the batter,” in which “the pitcher had the batter completely at his mercy.” As Keefe recalled later in life, “We were pitching from a 50-foot distance then, and honestly, I sometimes used to wonder how they even hit us, with those advantages which we had.

[tjb1952tjb]

Originally Posted by TheBig6

Here's an excerpt from Tim Keefe's Sabr Bio, take from it what you will. It was a different game in the 1880's , but do you think you could hit keefe at 50ft. away.

Besides pitching at different speeds, Keefe threw with different arm motions, often side-arm and underhand (submarine style, in today’s parlance) even though the overhand delivery had been legalized in 1884. He also made liberal use of the entire pitcher’s box, throwing from different angles (not simply straight on to the batter) and taking multiple steps before releasing the ball, not always pitching from a set position. Keefe was a master of the multistep hop, skip, and jump delivery, which he described in 1888 as combining “plenty of speed and strength and a series of gymnastics to terrify the batter,” in which “the pitcher had the batter completely at his mercy.” As Keefe recalled later in life, “We were pitching from a 50-foot distance then, and honestly, I sometimes used to wonder how they even hit us, with those advantages which we had.

A pitcher's rubber and the balk rule would have doomed Keefe...such a different time.

[Frank A]

It seems that many of you guys think these guys were bums. I dought very much if anyone could go back and do better. Look at the equiptment they had. Wood bats with a handle almost as big as the head of the bat. You wouldn't be whipping that bat around like today's. How good do you think you would be in the field with a glove no bigger than your hand to catch with. Some how you guys think you would be great hitter with the mush ball they had. Most major league players would have a hard time adjusting to that, let alone a star softball player. You can never compare different eras. Frank

[boneheadandrube]

Shortly after Keefe's hopping and wiffle ball pitching style gimmick's got him pulled, Pud Galvin would have to be helped off the field, suffering whiplash from spinning to watch the moon shot formerly known as his "speed ball" bouncing off of a beer cart in right field. My bat would later be nicknamed the "Galvinizer" and immortilized in a Harpers woodcut depicting the majestic blast.

[mechanicalman]

Originally Posted by boneheadandrube

Shortly after Keefe's hopping and wiffle ball pitching style gimmick's got him pulled, Pud Galvin would have to be helped off the field, suffering whiplash from spinning to watch the moon shot formerly known as his "speed ball" bouncing off of a beer cart in right field. My bat would later be nicknamed the "Galvinizer" and immortilized in a Harpers woodcut depicting the majestic blast.

I remember that game like it was yesterday. I recall, after the game, the boys split a jug of whiskey sour mash and almost missed the rail to Roanoke.