Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-02-24
WHlMS OF RATSMEN.
pitcher Cy Young wfeids the Long
est "wnEon ToaGue1


est "waEon Tongue
where do all the bats that the man.
Rgement and players OF baseball team
purchase every spring 30 top was ask
ed recently of a baseball club secretary.
You have got me. suppose that
the club management and players
bought over 200 bats during the last
season, and I doubt If there are TWEEN
~ of those left. A few are broken, but
the most are either given or thrown
away"
The truth OF 1t is that baseball play
ers are, as rule, extremely finicky as
10 their bats. Some players will have
an assortment of two dozen bats Mt
the start of the season, every bat war
raHted TO contain a batting average of
over 300. One by one, however, the
bats are discarded, and it is no uncom-
mon sight to see the fastidous player
pay visit to the visiting clubs bench
prior 10 game and ask the players OF
that club IL they have any bats that
are good that they do not want.
Lajoie uses one OF the longest bats
used by any player, thus enabling him
to reach for those wide out curves that
SO many twirlers like to give the cham
pion batsman when men are on bases
Another Cleveland player also used
Larry's bat.
This was Earl Moore, the length of
the stick allowing the big pitcher to
stand farther away from the plate
when batting than he would have had
TO had be used another bat.
The longest bat used by any player
OF the league. however, is that used
by 0y Young, the Boston twirler. 60
ing nearly to the limit in having his
bat turned out.
1.-The three biggest eranks In the
league. when it comes to bat" said
Bill Bradley, ARE Flick, Hickman and
Burkett. They are never satisfied.
When Flick gets one that approaches
his idea OF what the correct bat should
be. he takes 1t home with him and
locks it up in the apple bin. Should
another player take up that bat Elmer
worries himself thin until II is back in
the row unbroken.
ED Delehanty was another big crank
about his bat. and he never came to
Cleveland that he did not come over
TO our bench and size up our bats"
I'm my mind" said Charley Hick-
man, lit Is Lave Cross. Lave started
the season with nearly fifty bats, and
OF these he selected nearly a dozen.
which he carries with him throughout
the season. Kip Setback is another
that Is always begging bats from other
players. never being quite satisfied
with his own. So Brad says 1 am one
OF the biggest cranks, does he? Well.
1 certainly want the bat to be the right
weight
Yes, L guess l try out about thirty
in season. i give most OF them away.
Along that line do you know that when
went TO Detroit found the Detroit
players using six Of my bats--bats that
i had given them earlierY-
All i ask" says Manager Larry, "sis
that the bat shan be thirty-fve inches
long and the right weight. One bat is
all that i need. Some players have TO
have one bat for slow pitchers, another
bat for fast twirIers and n third for
bunting. One bat answers all purposes
TO me-
An amusing incident occurred last
season. While in Washington one OF
the Cleveland players either stole or
begged small black bat from the SEN
ators. Three OF the Blues-Bay. Lush
and Turner-would not use any other
bat for weeks until finally one day
Turner broke IL.
Il never saw bat that contained so
many base hits as did that little black
bat" said Cotton Top when mourning
his loss. While Cy Young, the largest
player In the leaguesuses the longest
bat, Harry Bay and Willie Keller. two
or the smallest players in the league.
use the smallest bats.-Boston Herald.