For several years he had been throwing the fade-away ball in the wrong manner. Not entirely wrong, to be sure, or he never would have attained the results he had, but it was sufficiently wrong to prevent him from having perfect control of that style of ball, and perfect control is the first law of pitching.
For some time the two practiced, unobserved, and Joe was glad of this. He felt more hopeful than at any time since his team had commenced to “slump.”
“Am I getting there?” Joe anxiously asked of the veteran, one day.
“Indeed you are, boy! But that’s enough for to-day. You are using some new muscles in your arm and hand, and I don’t want you to tire out. You’ll probably have to pitch to-morrow.”
“I only wish I could use this style ball.”
“It wouldn’t be safe yet.”
“No, I suppose not. But I’m going to keep at it.”
It was not easy. It is always more difficult to “unlearn” a wrong way of doing a thing, and start over again on the right, than it is to learn the proper way at first. The old method will crop up most unexpectedly; and this happened in Joe’s case more times than he liked.
But he persisted and gradually he felt that he was able to deliver the fade-away as it ought to come from a pitcher’s hand. Now he waited the opportunity.
Meanwhile baseball matters were going on in rather slow fashion. All the teams, after the fierce rush and enthusiasm of the opening season, had now begun to fall off. The dog-days were upon them, and the heat seemed to take all the energy out of the men.