Walks & Runs

Every baseball fan has suffered at this spectacle: His team is one run behind, has two men on bases with two out, and its heaviest slugger at bat. A clean hit may win the game, which the opposing pitcher well knows. Hence, instead of serving a ball that the batter can hit, the pitcher throws four wild ones in succession, passing the batter to first base.

One fan who thought long and hard about this pitching strategy was a Birmingham. Ala. jeweler named Pat Linnehan. Jeweler Linnehan figured out a remedy, suggested it to friends on his hometown team in the Southern Association. Last week at the convention of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in Galveston, the Southern Association announced adoption of a new rule: When there are two out. and the pitcher walks the batter on four consecutive balls, "runners occupying bases shall be advanced two bases, except in the event both second base and third base are occupied, when the runner on third shall score and the runner on second shall advance to third."

Some critics approved the basic idea of the rule, but suggested it ought not to apply if the pitcher begins by throwing a strike to the batter. Others tartly observed that the pitcher could still get around the new rule by hitting the batter with the ball, walking him to first base.

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