Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 229

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 229
Description:
Del Gainer, a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, stands directly to the left side of second base while holding his glove out in front of him. Gainer has extended his arms outward in front of his body while keeping his feet spread shoulder width distance apart.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Date:
1922
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Baseball fields
Gainer, Dellas Clinton
St. Louis Cardinals
Pegging
Fielding--Second Base
Sportsman Park, St. Louis, Missouri
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/220
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License (CC BY-NC-SA).
CC BY-NC-SA icon
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
Gainer is demonstrating the incorrect way for a second baseman to stand when awaiting a throw from the catcher in an attempt to pick off a baserunner attempting to steal second base. Gainer's form is incorrect because he is standing right in the baserunner's path. His entire body is in front of the base, which would block the ability of the baserunner to reach second base safely. The baserunner would either run into Gainer, or would be forced to slide by him. Even sliding by him is risky to both Gainer and the baserunner because of Gainer's location in this slide. Gainer would be interfering with the baserunner's safety, which would cause interference in baseball today. If interference was called, then the baserunner would automatically reach the base safely. This position is also bad because once the baserunner is past Gainer, Gainer has no chance. For example, if the baserunner had already slid by Gainer, then Gainer wouldn't be able to tag the baserunner. The only way Gainer can be successful from this position is if the baseball reaches him before the baserunner passes by him. If he had chosen to stand with one foot in front of second base and one to the left side, then Gainer would be in a better position to make a tag on the baserunner because he would be standing directly over second base, which is the baserunner's final destination. Gainer is giving the catcher an extra second, and now, all the catcher has to do is have the throw beat the baserunner's arrival at second base.
Dellas Clinton Gainer was born November 10, 1886 in Montrose, West Virginia. Gainer began his baseball career in 1909, playing Class D ball in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia League. From the beginning of his career, Gainer was known as being an excellent bunter, which may be why Mann chose Gainer to demonstrate many of the bunting slides he created. He played a couple games for the Detroit Tigers at the end of the 1909 season after the team had clinched the Pennant, and was sent to a Class B Central League in 1910 to be farmed out. He returned to the Tigers in 1911 and played with them through most of the 1914 season. However, his time with the Tigers was plagued by injuries, as he broke his wrist in 1911 and badly sprained his ankle in 1912. Gainer played more in 1913, but was a disappointment and missed some time due to repeated minor injuries. Gainer was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1914, but was immediately injured. The Red Sox tried to get rid of him, but no one wanted him. He remained with the Red Sox until 1917, mainly being used as a utility backup player. However, in 1916, Gainer had his career defining moment as he drove in the game winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning in game 2 of the World Series. He was a member of the 1915 and 1916 World Series championship wins for the Red Sox. Gainer joined the navy for World War 1 in 1918, and spent most of the next 10 years playing baseball in the minor leagues, expect for in 1922 when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Gainer played into his 40's in these minor leagues. After retiring, Gainer became a Deputy US Marshal.
I used facial recognition and similar slides to identify the player in slide 229 as Gainer.
Good condition;
This digital image is made from two separate digital scans; one scan of the lantern slide (reflective); one scan of the image (transparecy); the two images were then combined in Photoshop to create the final image.
Lantern slide from the Leslie Mann baseball instruction course, "The Fundamentals of Baseball"
Nowlin, Bill. "Del Gainer." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0b74e2be]. Accessed 30 Jan. 2018. ___Internet Archive___. [ http://web.archive.org/web/20180130152528/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/0b74e2be ].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-229-03
229