Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-10

erai reward for return OF same to-
The name doesn't matter. for reference
Is had to no particular ball player. They
all lose em. one time or another. The
players who don't hit in streaks,' but
maintain steady walloping OF the pellet
all the season round. without slumping.
can be counted on the fingers of the arm
less wonder. Even Willie keeier goes Off -
in batting form. The hunched-up Stone OF
the ST. Louis Browns has weeks when he
can't make any of that rataplan music
with his shillaleh.
There are weeks said Stone on his last
visit here. when the ball. 1t advances
toward the plate, looks as big to me as a
toy balloon. no matter who's pitching.
Then. right on top of such period, comes
a week when the ball looks like a grain
of mustard seed in a bowling gale even
when some finger who hasn't got thing
is lobbing them along. Explain 1t? You
might as well ask me TO explain an earth
quake"
II couldn't hit a bunk If l was too sleepy
to stand up" disgustedly remarked the
great Larry" Lajoie, one of the greatest
stickers the game has ever produced, one
day during the Cleveland clubs last visit
here. when he was walking back to the
bench after whiting most ingloriously.
His fellow players laughed They knew
that their boss sandering himself and
that he was taking his little batting slump
too much to heart
That night, at the hotel, Lajole was asked
how he was feeling
Never felt better in my life he replied
IF ! felt any better ia have to go to a
hospital and get the radium treatment or
try X-ray gag start something else
Feeling immense.
Then he was asked what he had meant
by making that crack about his hitting
The writer wanted to get at the point as
to whether a mans physical condition nee
essarily had anything to do with his hit
ting.
Cannot Explain It.
II see what you mean" said Larry"
But I'll have to pass along that question.
It's been too deep for me for a good many
years. Speaking not only for myself. but
for the other fellows who've picked up a
sort of a name for hitting, L can say that
the way a fellow feels doesn't have much
to do with his wallopng ability. OF course,
If player is run down in health and weak,
he's not there with the clouts. But there s
a difference between being actually sick
and weak, and being Just dopey and sort
of out of form Now. some of the best
hitting / ever did in my life was done when
I felt dopey. languid, and sick of the game;
when / didn't feel any more like playing
ball. than h!tching up with a chain gang.
When in that shape, especially along to-
ward the middle end of the season, when
tired of travelling and sort of harness-sore
from the whole business. I'd trudged up
to the rock and slapped the ball time and
again. taking everything the finger poked
at me, and mauling il infaliibly. no matter
where I caught 1t. Then, to show the other
way of this battling business. there are
times-like the present, for example-when
feel like pulling the tusks out of cata-
mounts with my naked hands, appetite
great, sleep fine. wind bully, and all keyed
up and on edge like fighting dog, when,
every time | nudge up to the plate. they
get me; can't hit persimmon tree with
a two-pound pebble. standing right under
it. I was fed all kinds of good ones today.
right over. and just the kind that I'd like
to catch between my teeth and spit em
out If I was there with the ticks, and 1
couldn't have pasted one of EN- with
Japanese screen
wei. WHAT'S the dope on the thing?"
Larry was asked. There must be an an
swer."
eff there's an answer it's one that's got
to be read in the stars, and I'm not there
at that kind of work." was Lajoies reply.
i've been trying to get at the bottom
meaning of batting slumps ever since
broke into the game, without ever getting
any farther than the fact that such bat
ting slumps do snake along and that they
hit every batsman practically the same
way. I only wish I could find out the
meaning of the slump, and the cause OF
1t. When a fellow knows what's the mat
ter with him he can rig up something
in the way of a cure. But when he's in
the dark as to what ails him the only
thing he can do is to walt till he gets back
to himself"
Crawford Gives It Up.
Sam Crawford, the fine hitter of the De-
troit club, has about the same way OF
putting it.
How are your lamps this year?" he was
asked, when the Tigers came here last
month.
"All to the film" was his quick reply.