The sun., 1909-01-03
COLLEGE BASEBALL FAULTS
WEAKNESSES EXIST CHIEFLY
IN THE OFFENCE.
Big Leaguers hat Twice as Well and
Hun Bases Three Times as Well-In-
experience, Not Lack OF Sense, Main
Handicap--SIOw to Grasp SItua Ons.

game as played by professionals. Any
body who has followed professional ant
college baseball closely must have narke eC
the wide difference in quality between
the two-that Is. taking the best college
baseball and the best professional base
ball as expounded by the teams OF the
big leagues. 1t isn't that the college
players are lacking in intelligence al
applied 70 tho national game. The res
son for the difference is that baseball
Is business with one, a side issue will
the other.
Rating the playing of the major league
teams at 100 ger cent. the college
game would be rs PER cent, in feeding
50 per cent. In batting, 90 per cent. In
pitching and SS Is per cent. in base
running. The college fielding is within
a quarter as good as the big league fed
ing. but the batting is only one-half as
good and the base running only one-third
as good. In short, the college game ID
veakcr in batting and base running than
in fielding and pitching, The college
player knows less of the inside game,
the offence. than Of defence as compared
to the best professional
These figures are the estimation OF
David Fultz, tran whom nobody Is better
qualified TO express an opinion on the
subject. Fultz was a first class college
/ player. first class professional player
and has had success as a coach, There
fore he had had opportunities TO acquire
knowledge Of the professional and college
game from all angles.
With the college man, he says, base
ball is more Of a conscious effort. The
profe ssional on the other hand does the
same things by intuition, though an
intuition born Of experience. Long train
ing along certain lines makes the game
second nature to him"
Does the professional play more intel
ligently than the college man.
"He does in 80 far as II is business
with him. His life is given up to it, is
spent with men who are the leaders in that
calling. He comes In daily contact with
the most advanced baseball that is played,
and no becomes capable Of dong things
that the college man knows about but
cannot perform; for instance, the squeeze
play and the hit and run play,
But why haven't the college men the
ability to perform these plays?'
Want Of opportunity. The college man
plays baseball about two months and a
half in theyear and then meets an opponent
about twice week Moreover, the teams
that his team meets are az Il rule of the
same BASEBALL grade as his own. and
when il comes TO learning the weak and
strong points Of his opponents play and
making the most Of them, you must re-
member that he goes against particular
opponent not moro than three times in the
season at the most The profe ssional plays
against tho same teams for six months at
q stretch
In answer to a question whether tho
collegian had the natural mental ability
Of the professional. needing only tho e1-
perienoe to bring it out, Fulta said:
Yes, his mental calibre Is such that
with the same experience and the same
physical ability he would make better
player az soon as he overcame "A certain
nervousness in executing the game. grew
accustomed to the excite melt and the
surroundings.
College base running is good way
behind the professional game. continued
Fultz. "and II is an idea Of mine that IL IS
further behind than il should be I've
seen college teams that never attempted
TO do anything in base running. seen them
stand still on the bases when the opposing
catcher was weak in throwing and the
opposing pitcher didn't know how TO
hold them close to the bases Again, the
opposing basenien didn't know how to
touch man sliding 10 a base. The
chances consequently we're all in favor
~ h0 hn an V1In vat hs. 10 n.
to take advantage Of the percentage in
his favor. The college player runs fast
enough. but he Is slower than the pro-
fessional IN getting lead and doesn't
slide as skilfully.
Il know that when ] was in college
never attempted to steal as should have
done, though ! always could run fast
and slide we'll" (Fuitz was one of the
Dcst sliders professional baseball ever
hadl Il didn't realize until later that
many time in college games ! could have
tried 10 steal and gotten away with it,
suppose | improved so per cent IN
base running after leaving college and
about % per cent n batting and 10 pcr
cent in fielding. OF course learned a
gres, deal of baseball as "a professional
never knew at college. especially about
the execution OF plays anu the times 10
try them.
The main point is that the col |
legian doesn't get the training II hap
pens that studying is Of more Importance
in his career than baseball, and that /
may have tie effect on his bail playing, |
particularly his batting. Baseball al 1
most more than any other game requires /
perfect eyesight-batting more than any |
thing else in the game. | don't mean .
that going TO college is bad for ones 8 ,
eyesight, but when one is studying a !
good deal his eyes. naturally get tired !
ON q ia aAo
on his batting.
i think it Is the tendency of the coach ;
TO expect too much from the college
players, the coach shaving seen a good
deal Of professional basball while some
Of his pupils may have seen little or even
none Of 1t. For all that. college players
sometimes do things in a game for which T.
the coach cannot find any excuse and he .
wonders what could have been in their
minds to prompt them
There was big college game in this
city last June in which the collegian's
want OF alertness in taking advantage
Of weaknesses In the enemy's armor was
clearly brought out. The catcher on the
side which eventually won had a sore
finger. but the opponents weren't aware
" that fact and never would have been
aware OF Il had they not been so informed
Oy John McGraw, who was sitting in the
grand stand and was very friendly with
he captain OF the side which eventually
ost. MoGraw's keen eye detected the
act that the opposing backstop had a
niger which bothered him when he threw
o the bases. A
The game went along for six innings
without his fsvoTites doing anything
u the base running line when under the
circumstances they should have been
aking every chance. Finally he went
lown the bench and remarked TO the
N NJ in Of hiS ia IN taa o