Touching Second

Johnny Evers was widely considered the brainiest ballplayer of his day and, along with Ty Cobb, one of the most guileful and cantankerous. (He and Joe Tinker, two thirds of the famous double-play combination, battled each other nearly as viciously and as often as they did their opponents.) One of the great practitioners of the inside game, Evers was quick to pick up on the unwatched-for advantage that might upend his opponent and propel his team to victory.
In 1910’s Touching Second, Evers and sports writing great Hugh Fullerton describe the game as it was played during the first decade of the 20th century. With an emphasis on what Evers saw as baseball’s development “into an exact mathematical sport,” he describes the great plays and players, shares “anecdotes and incidents of decisive struggles on the diamond,” and discusses “the signs and systems used by championship teams.”

Johnny Evers played 18 seasons in the major leagues, spending most of that time with the Chicago Cubs. He was an instrumental part of three world championship teams, and later served brief stints as manager of the Cubs and Boston Braves. Evers was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946.
Hugh S. Fullerton is now best known for his role in uncovering the Black Sox Scandal. He also helped found the Baseball Writers Association of America, pioneer use of the athlete interview, and modernize sports writing style.

John J. Evers and Hugh S. Fullerton. Series Editors Gary Mitchem and Mark Durr
Format: softcover (6 x 8)
Pages: 285
Bibliographic Info: photos, diagrams, index
Copyright Date: 2005
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1869-5
Imprint: McFarland
Series: The McFarland Historical Baseball Library

List of Illustrations      ix

Editors’ Note      1

Introduction      5

1. The Game      7

2. The Players      18

3. Baseball Law      33

4. Creating a Winning Team      44

5. Managers and Their Duties      58

6. Catching      71

7. Pitching      82

8. The “Inside Game”      100

9. Outfielding      119

10. Batting      132

11. Base Running      144

12. Umpiring      155

13. Developing New Plays      167

14. Combination Plays      178

15. Spring Training      187

16. Fine Points of the Game      210

17. On the Bench      225

18. Deciding Moments of Great Games      240

19. Scoring      254

Index      267

“One of the best but least-heralded developments in the recent history of baseball literature was the inauguration of the McFarland Historical Baseball Library in 2003”—I>Spitball; “well-detailed…wonderful analysis…thoroughly enjoyable reading”—SABR Deadball Committee Newsletter; “invaluable McFarland Historical Baseball Library series”—Edward Achorn, The Providence Journal.