Evening journal., 1908-09-12
BATS USED BY
GREAT PLAYERS
Sticks Are Big, Little, Long,
Short, Fat, and Some
Thin
O'BRIEN USES MASHER

Big bats and little bats. long bats
and short bats. heavy bats and light
bats, fat bats and thin bats are used
by the heavy sluggers and almost
every ball player of any Importance
n the country has his bats made to
order. The bats when lying in a row
IN front Of the players bench on the
diamond seem to be nearly all alike
20 the spectators, but when viewed
more closely they are as different in
size. shape and weight as could be
imagined Some bats are long and
iome are short and stubby and others
short ana thin.
The most popular bat is the Harry
Davis bat. for more wallOping clubs
ire made from this model than from
my others of the thousand models
ept at the factory. This particular
tick is of medium length, with a
tralght taper and a handle which.
shile not as thin as some players re-
uire, rs slender TO allow the batters
% get a good grip for a Hard swing.
The bats are limited TO a length,
weight and thickness. but there is no
INIT on the oppOstes of these meas
lrcments. The limit 10 the weight is
so ounces, and the only player using
4 bat so heavy is William McDonaugh.
Of the Denver club, whose swat stick
goes the limit The bat used by Nc
)onaugh is not particularly long, but
$ a thick, solid piece OF wood with the
handle not a great deal thinner than
the batting end.
Pete O'Brien Of the Minneapolis
hub has the "fealSiest" bat ever seen
on a baseball field. as his pet stick is
2S inches long and greatly resembles
m old-fashioned potato masher It's
handle is so short that it is barely
arge enough TO allow its owner and
designer to get his hands on it. The
batting end is fat and chubby and is
chopped off about where most bats are
beginning to taper Although small. itI
IS rather a heavy little swatter, as its
hubbnesE ISeeSl up its weight
cy Seymour's Bat.
Cy Seymour, the heavy-hitter CEN
er gardener of the New York Giants.
uses a medium length club and a
handle OF medium thickness. lie takes
good, quick swing that is capable Of
planting the ban on line over the
'ountry that has not heard Of Hans
Wagner. and those who have heard
q him have also heard OF his clouting
ability Cor he has long been one of
the heaviest hitters in the world Hel
uses a stick with straight taper and
handle of the usual thickness and
II medium weight, Wagner bats
ight-handcd and steps into the ball
With terrific force.
Mike Donlin uses similar sticks TO
Wagner ana is very particular In their
selection. Larry LaJoie is the closest
rival OF Wagner ana in many fans
minds outdces the great Pirate short
stop at the plate Lajoie's swatter Is
q triie longer than that of Wagner
and slightly thicker. The Cleveland
leaders bat is a good. solid shape,
with weight enough TO make the ball
90 when hit. Ty Cobb uses a longer
stick than either Lajoie or Wagner.
His piece of ash has a long handle OF
medium thickness and is thick at the
batting end with "a blunt, fiat end.
The Longest Bat Used.
Tacks Parrot is the owner and user
Of the longest bat used IN professional
ball. as his ash goes the full limit
Parrot plays down In the Texas league
with the Galveston club. and as he
says, there is plenty of room ont here
TO swing a long bat. and the only rea-
son / don't have a longer one made Is
because they wouldn't allow me to
use it, Parrot is well-lnown old
time player. and is a hitter of some
renown. From the tip of the handle to
the tip of the other end of the bat
used by Tacks the tape gets a good
chance TO stretch, the stick being AZ
/ inches long Charles Hickman. the
heavy hitting outfelder of the Toledo
club uses the lightest bat made, as
his walloper tips the beam at "a
ounces The bat is of medium length
but loses weight in the handle which
Is remarkably slender being only a
trine over an inch in thickness al
the thinnest part of the handle. The
big Indian catcher of the st. Pau
team holds the record Of having the
thickest bat. as his wand Is as thick as
the rules allow
Material for Bats.
The wood that the bats are turned
from i'm a southern factory comes from
the hilly regions OF Kentucky, wher,
they raise the ash that is required foi
the making Of clugging utensils. TIL,
wood is always grown on the nortl
hillsides, as the atmosphere on tina
side has a better effect on the trees
and enables the grain 70 be more per
feet. The north side of a hill is bet
ter for bats. and also the north sidl
Of a tree, and in ordering the yer,
finest OF bats the players sometimes
specify that they want the north sid
Of tree that was grown on the nortl
side OF a hin. The wood is all sec
ond growth ash and is seasoned 70
two years before II is turned out. ,