Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-09-03
BASE BALL
MEN WHO BATTED
 OVER 400 MARK
Just Twenty Two Who Have Reach ed That Mark in Thirty.Sevsn
 Years.

New York, an old fan, and a discrim- mating critic. The reports of the games played in New York by the Boston teams, unless they are ae- companied by staff writer, are writ ten for the Boston Globe by MT Tid- den - r +&~
 Fans nowadays" says this writer appreciate the fact that 1t is not al- ways the player with the fattest bats ting averages who is most valuable to a ball team.
 '"The player who manages to get on bases in some way or other Is the chap the average manager wants. The batsman who can bring in the runs, even if he does not get the ball to unoccupied territory, is much ! sought.
 Scientific batsmen who take ad- vantage of the placing of opposing f1elders at critical stages of the game are few and far between. Their work is not always appreciated in the stands, although they do more in the long run to help win their games than the slugger who has the fat batting average as the result of good hard swings at the ball. Often the star batsmen leaves the grounds with the feeling I made four hits-who won the gamer
 "A veteran ball player who has seen all the great batsmen of the past and present thinks the decrease In batting is owing to the fact that the ball has been deadened. The req son for the slump in batting, says this old-timer, can be traced direct ly to the fact that the ball now used is the deadest in the history of the game
 "The foul-strike rule has had some effect, but not enough to cause bat ting to fall off the way it has. Nov ing the pitcher back has also made the foe of the batters more effective rather than less so, as was intended. It was hard to attain good curve on break when the pitching dis tance was only 50 feet and the pitch CT had to rely more on speed. change of pace and control for their effec- tiveness.
 After the season of 1887, when nine batsmen made averages of .390 or better and no less than 51 men hit 300 or better, and got their names in the official averages, the crusade against the batters began in earnest. That year Pop" Anson led the league, with .421, Dan Brouthers hit .319, the late Charley Ferguson .412, and Sam Thompson .406. The pitching was good in those days with Charley Radbourne, John Clarkson and Charley Ferguson in the front rank.
 Napoleon Lajoie of the Cleveland club in the American league holds the honor of being the last batter to finish major league season with an average of 400. In the history of the big leagues this has been accom-. plished IS times. ~y E; Four men did 1t before the Ma tional league was organized in 1S76. The highest mark ever recorded was made by Ross Barnes of the Boston club in 1873. The record is .453. Hugh Duffy of Boston, now mag nate and manager of the Providence Eastern league team, is credited with the highest figures in the National league .438, made in 1894, and Willie Keeler of the New York High flanders, then with Baltimore, comes second with .482, made in 1897. The nearest marks to 400 without turning the trick were .399, made by Anson in 1881, and .39O, made by the late Ed Delehanty in 1895.
 Following is the record of great sluggers from 1871 to date, who have reached the 400 mark in hitting. The first five records were made be- fore the National league was formed and Lajoie is the only American league batter ever hitting 400: Name and team. Year, Games. Ave