Judge, 1902-06-14 · page 16 of 16
Judge — June 14, 1902 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1901 Judge cartoon satirizes proposed baseball innovations through absurdist inventions. Each panel mocks a different MLB team by suggesting ridiculous "improvements" to address their weaknesses: - A "batting-machine" for St. Louis pitchers (implying they can't hit) - A "spider-web net" for Chicago's catcher (to catch everything) - A "basket and shoulder attachment" for Cincinnati's shortstop (to field better) - A "Marconi system" for Brooklyn (to help with close calls) The humor lies in presenting mechanical solutions to fundamental player incompetence. "Zim" (likely referring to a specific sportswriter or figure) proposes these tongue-in-cheek "unauthorized changes" as commentary on each team's notorious struggles. The satire targets both the teams' poor performance and contemporary faith in technological fixes for human limitations—a common Judge theme during this industrial era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
For accuracy in throwing swiftand uncertain curves ‘The batting-machine will work like a charm for this machine ought to catch on with the St. weak batters and help the New Yorks to “line Louts pitchers. them out" to victory. 8. We hope this will meet the eye of Boston's out- fielder. No right on this. stealer ought to COPYmENT 1901 BY JUDGE COMPANY OF MEW YORK: ZIM" MAKES A FEW UNAUTHORIZED 3. The “‘spider-web net" will prove a great labor- saver for the Chicago's catcher. All's fish in his net with this. burg’s most dreaded criminal, the "* Rooter.” CHANGES IN THE NATIONAL GAME. comicbooks.com 4. The “basket and shoulder’ attachment for the Cincinnati's short-stop will prove a wonder at * pulling them down.” And last, but not least, our Marconi system of wir- Jot ing close decisions would be just the thing for the Brooklyns. Sackett 8 Withens Litho & Pig Co. Rew York a