The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-08-25
SPORTING NEWS.
The Crouch Being Used by All
Players at the Bat.
Most of the Men Adopt the
Hump at the Plate.
THE SCIENTIFIC WAY.
"Placs Hitting" COmpels Viii
low HIeIders 20 Change.
Think the Latest Method Best
I'm Facing the Pitcher.

Chicago. Aug. 25lThe News says:
Gradually the crouch is creeping into
baseball and the batter who stands up
right and faces the pitcher squarely is
becoming scarcer.< In these days of
scientific ballplaying, when it is not
all-important that the batter slam the
sphere to the far corner of the lot to
win a ball game. more attention is paid
to placing the leather where the bat
ter desires it, figuring on where the
felders are playing for him. Tt is
now game of guessing where the bat
ter will hit on the part OF the fielder
and the attempt OF the batter 10 prove
to the fielder that his guess was wrong:
Place hitting cannot be managed
as successfully by standing erect and
facing the tWirler as by crouching,
choking the bat and pulling" the
ball. Nearly every ballpIayer today has
adopted more or less oflsthe crouch
when in the batters box.
Nevertheless. some OF the greatest
stickers in the game today are those
who stand upright These are the free
swingers, and they are fully as dan
gerous as the more scientific ones
when a tight place in the game hobs
UP. Lajoie, king of the batsmen, stands
up at the plate as gracefully as any
one could wish, with practically no
crouch at all There are many others
who bat from a similar position, but
ne IS I2e greatest exponent OF Lnal
style OF smuggling. He leads the Amer
lean league in the number of base hits
made as well as extra bases.
Robinson of the Detroit Tigers. Isbell
OF the White Sox and a few others go
to the other extreme and crouch so low
that it is hard 70 IA twirler to pitch to
them. Between these Is the informed
fate class OF crouchers, who adopt as
many different positions as there are
different batters.
This crouch is adopted by batters be-
cause the pitchers have steadily in
creased their effectiveness and the bat
that will keep pace with the advance
ment OF the box artist. Take the case
OF Fielder Jones as an illustration. |
When he first entered professional ball !
with the Springfield club of the Eastern |
league Jones was what is known as a |
free" hitter. a "swinger," holding tho |
bat close to the end and hitting the |
ball hard. But the pitchers soon dis
covered his weakness and gradually he |
was compelled to shorten up on the |
bat that he might control it better. To |
do this and at the same time have the |
reach necessary to get balls on the |
of the plate a slight crouch was |
Indispensable. So his present style OF /
batting, known so well to all patrons
OF the game, was gradually evolved
Jones experience has been the ex-
perience of many another ball player. |
who found swinging on the ball use |
less, and to stay in the game they /
llBnleleQ up on the DaI ana Il
soon became members of the crouching |
corps.
Danny Green is practically the only |
member Of the White Stockings who |
has shortened mis- grip on the stick and |
still maintained an erect position when /
facing the pitcher. Green's attitude is /
somewhat similar to that of Keller, |
who Is known as king of the scientific |
men, as Ia1oie is known as the king OF /
all batsmen- Donohue and Davis both |
stand straight on the plate and swing /
more or less on the ball. Holmes mas /
shortened and crouches slightly. Gala |
stick close to the end, but he cannot |
place" the ball with the ability of |
Jones. Holmes or Green. He is an al |
most sure right-field hitter and it is |
there the fielders play for MIN. Tan |
nehill has a slight crouch but has not 4
Yet shortened up on his bat, with the /
result that he hits the ball hard when /
he does meet 1t, but he also misses |
many hard swing. He is handicap |
ped, too, because he pulls" away from /
the plate so badly.
Scientific batting, as it is known TO- /
day. cannot be accomplished by a bats
man who swings on the ball. say the |
critics who contend that a man who |
holds the ash close to the end cannot |
hunt we'll. The stick must be ''choked''
to do this. Pulling the sphere to an
other field than that in which the bat
ter naturally hits is difficult also un-
less the grip on the stick is shortened |
up so as to have perfect command of
It and hit at the ball at just the right /
time to, place it where the batter be-
get it