“They certainly got plenty of exercise,” chuckled Wilson. “Of course, the batters in those days had a big advantage over the pitchers. Nobody knew anything about curving the ball until the time of Cummings and Mathews, and instead of the ball looking like a pea as it came over the plate it was more like a balloon. The ball had no friends, and everybody took a poke at it. The batter, too, could step out of the box to reach for a ball, and they took advantage of it. If they do it today, you call them out. There was no ‘waiting out’ the pitcher in order to get a base on balls. It was a point of honor to swipe the ball for all you were worth, and the public expected you to do it.