Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-08
DO BASE BALL FANS
WANT MORE BATT|NG2
All the Clubs of the American
League Averaged Over Eight
Hits a Game Last Season.
By Billy Evans.

get it?
Every winter a thousand and one sug-
gestions are advocated TO improve the
game but the rule makers are wise in
ignoring practically all of them. Base
ball as now played brings all the clur
owners a big revenue yearly. Evidently
the fans like it, they wouldn't be
paying their real cash to see the athletes
perform. Why. then. tamper with the
rules and change the game?
certain amount of batting is relished
by all lovers of the game. but would
the fans like to have teams with all the
players able to slug the ball like Harry
Davis, Socks Seybold. Larry Lajoie, Ell
mer Flick, Sam Crawford and others?
If it was put to a popular vote it is a
pretty good bet that such a scheme would
be lost by a large majority.
In the American League last year the
Detroit team. which won the pennant. LED
the league in batting. with an average
of 0.266. The Tigers took part IN l.d
games and made 1888 hits. an average
OF trif1e over nine bingles game When
a pitcher gets touched up for ten mus
or more, the safeties going into the dou-
BILE figure column, it is generally con-
coded that he has been hit rather hard.
Yet the Detroit team averaged nine hlts
a game, within one of the double figures.
these modern days OF base ball, when
batting is regarded lost art.
, The Boston team, which did the poorest
hitting in the league, made 30 hits In
. 155 games, an average of almost eight
game. Thus comparison between the
eight clubs in Ban Johnson league Will
show that all of them averaged between
eight and nine hits game.
That there are other essentials besides
hitting in order to have winning team
is shown by the averages. In 1906 chi
cago won the pennant and the world S
SERIES yet finished last in batting honors.
. yet managed to make third place i'll the
race. Washington finished fifth in bat
ting, but was hopeless tail-ender
Every winter 1t is suggested that the
foul strike rule be cut out, that the batter
be allowed four strikes, that three balls
instead of four entitle the batter, that the
plate be made smaller. that the spit ball
: be eliminated and many others too numer-
Gus 20 mention. There is some logic In
few of the contentious. while most OF
them are foolish in the extreme.
Perhaps nothing would please the bat
tiers more than the abolition of the spit
ball, but such thing is out of the ques-
ton. The spit ball has come to stay and
about the only thing that would ever stop
any of the twirlers from using it would be
the failure of the saliva to flow. In
such a case some other method would be
used and the ball would continue TO be as
elusive as ever.
The cutting out of the strike rule is an
absudity. The desire of all managers Is
10 shorten the game and every effort is be-
ing made to eliminate the features that
delay. The foul strike rule did more than
any one thing to quicken the games and
there isn't the slightest chance of ii be-
ing abolished.
The. fans like to see smuggling, but two
or three hard hitters on team con-
tribute enough toward the cause. If
plenty of hitting was desired and really
essential to the success of the game, the
easiest way In the world to produce it
would be for each team to secure a poor
staff of pitchers. Yet every manager is
looking for twirlers who can keep the OPP
posing teams from connecting with the
ball. Not only are they securing the bush
leagues. but willing to pay fancy
price to any big league team willing to
part with d star
y mixture of fair hitters, good hitters
men who can bunt and men who can slug
is just the thing that produces the un-
certainty in base ball, and it's this fea-
ture that makes the sport so popular
When team has batters who are known
for their ability to slug, like Crawfor0
Davis and others, it causes thrill when
they come to the bat with the bases
populated. The fans fear them and the
pitchers are equally afraid. They have
been known to break up many a game
with a smash to the fence and their ap-
pearance at the plate always creates a
feeling of uncertainty. If all the batters
were hard hitters. men who were feared
such situations would never arise. It's
just such things on which the game
thrives.
If all players Were good hitters the
game would soon lose much of its popu-
larity. A winning ball team must have its
staff of good pitchers, good receiver its
share of fast base runners, a couple of
good hunters two or three players who
are realy able to clout the ball, wise
manager and most of players possessing
more than the average amount of gray
matter. Team work is necessary for d
club to make good showing. The. rec
ords show few instances where a club was
able to bat out championship.
Take the Detroit team. for instance
Few critics gave the Tigers even d first
division ranking when the season of 1907
opened, yet it must be admitted that Jen-
. nings and his crew played the game for
all II was worth. In the sacrifice depart
ment the Tigers were well up the front
Rossman having IS to his credit. Cough
lin. %; Schaefer. II: O'Leary 16; Cobb
IL; Jones and Crawford I'll each, and
Schmidt. 10. In base running the Tigers
held up their end. Jones pilfering 30,
schaefer, q; Cobb. 40; Rossman. 20:
Coughlin, Is: Crawford Is. and OLeary
IL. The Tigers also had three men who
hit over 800 and one twirler who worked a
sensational season. All these elements
combined gave Detroit the pennant.
In commenting upon the hard bitters
of the American League 1t would be quite
q difficult feat to determine to whom the
palm really belonged. Sam Crawford looms
up as quite man with the big stick at
Detroit. Harry Davis is the much feared
Philadelphia. Elmer Flick carries off the
honors at Cleveland. Lajoie used to be
recognized as the heavy man with the
stick among the Maps. but 1t looks as If
he had quit breaking fences. as he had
only two home runs to his credit last year,
and both of them were f1uke affairs.
Harry Davis can lay claim to be the
batter most feared by the twirlers. and
most of them are happy when he is safely
on the bench. In seven years Davis has
made fifty -four home runs, a remarkable
record. Last season he led the American
League with seven.
It's on the Athletics grounds that Da-
Wis is liable TO put the game on the blink
at any time. The right field fence Is a
trihe short. and drive over 1t has won
many a game that appeared to be hope
lessIy lost A big wire screening is built
: up from the fence. and it's really ques-
tion II the home runs made at Philly
wouldn't be a home run anywhere, as
= they have 10 be high up and far away to
p clear the fence.