Pitching in a Pinch

Pitching in a Pinch, originally published in 1912, is an insider's account of the world of baseball, blending anecdote, biography, instruction, and social history. It celebrates baseball as it was played in the first decade of the twentieth century by famous contemporaries like Honus Wagner and Rube Marquand, managers like John McGraw and Connie Mack, and many others. Always sensitive to psychology as well as technique, Mathewson describes the “dangerous batters” he faced; the “peculiarities” of big-league pitchers; the “good and bad” of coaching, umpiring, sign-stealing, base-running, and spring training; and the importance of superstition to athletes. “Matty”, as he was called, makes the listener feel that tense moment when a player in a pinch must use his head.