Mordecai Brown by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Mordecai Brown

Page 17

to the split fingered fastball and forkball, is an extremely difficult pitch to control, though Brown mastered it to the point where he was always among the league leaders in least walks per inning pitched.

One unverifiable story has it that it was while working in the mines that Brown decided to become a professional baseball player. With the encouragement of a co-worker; a former minor leaguer named Legs O'Connell, Brown mustered his determination and learned to grip and toss the baseball with his injured hand. With O'Connell's help Brown overcame the pain of handling the ball, yet time and again when he tossed it, the ball curved and jumped stubbornly, landing with an awkward twist. Brown was frustrated by this inability to control the ball, until O'Connell convinced him to turn the odd throwing style into an advantage. With practice and perseverance, Brown learned to pitch a natural curve ball with a special flair made possible only by the mass of crippled fingers on his right hand. In pursuing a goal of playing professional baseball he had never held hope of becoming a pitcher until he came to appreciate his own uncanny ability to throw a sinker ball.

In those days the workers found relief from the daily grind by playing the national pastime, baseball, everywhere. Every town, big and little, had their own semi-pro barnstorming teams, which