 " The baseball enthusiasts claim for Getzein that he is able to so pitch a ball that it will describe the arc of a circle on a horizontal plane before reaching the catcher , and that therein lies the secret of his marvelous pitching . . . Scientifically , this theory is utterly absurd . The forces that act upon a ball pitched by Getzein are not different from those which operate upon a projectile thrown from any other source , and the results must be the same , and governed by the same laws . The curves are in the imagination of Getzein 's admirers . When the ball leaves his hand it is beyond his control , and it moves forward from the impulse last given it as it leaves his hand . It is then controlled by the force of propulsion , the resistance of the atmosphere , and gravitation . . . . Getzein 's antic and deceptive motions may deceive the batter , so that he is unable to discover the exact course of the ball in time to strike it , but he cannot throw a ball so as to make a curve on the horizontal plane . " 
