East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-09-06
BY Bill spargo.


most important part OF h Jall game
is the festive swat stick.
Every fan knows more or less
about gloves. masks, mltts, etc, but
how many ever stop to consider the
difference in the whaling yeapons
used daily by the semi-burned ath-
letes who cavort daily for the pleas
ure of the thousands of enthusiasts
who pay their good money to see the
National game.
Every player has his own pet stick,
without which he walks to the plate
with little expectation OF fattening
his batting average, but put his own
pet style of war club in his hands
and he feels sorry for the pitcher
who opposes him.
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
in the country has his bats made at
Louisville, where for nearly twenty
five years one factory has kept the
world supplied. Nearly a quarter Of
century ago a wood turner named
Hillerich made three bats for the use
of his son, and one of these fell into
the hands of a ball-player who. when
that bat was disabled, ordered more
of the same model. This was the
start of the ball bat business of ]. A.
Hillerich G. Son, who for years have
turned out many thousands of bats
each year,
At the factory on Preston street can
be seen a collection of more than a
thousands bats, all of which have
figured in games and all are labeled
with the name Of some player. Each
one has been a favorite stick of some
diamond star who has broken 1t in a
game and shipped 1t by express to
the factory at Louisville to have fac
simile made.
club. has the "freakiest' bat ever seen
on a baseball field, as his pet stick is
twenty-eight inches long and greatly
resembles an old fashioned potato
masher. It's handle is so short that II
Is barely large enough to allow its
owner and designer to get his hands
on It. The batting end is fat and
chubby and is chopped off above
where most bats are beginning to ta-
per. Although small, it is rather
heavy little swatter, as its chubbiness
keeps up its weight.
Cy Seymour, the heavy-hitting GEN.
ter gardener of the New York Giants
and who stands in the, cleanup po-
sition of McGraw's club, uses me-
dium-length walloping club and
handle OF medium thickness. He
takes a good. quick swing that Is ca
pable of planting the ball on a line
over the infield.
There Is not a fan in the country
that has not heard of Hans Wagner,
and those who have heard OF him have
also heard of his clouting ability, for
he has long been one of the heaviest |
hitters of the world Wagner, as
most all other players of any import
ance. has his bats made in Louisville. |
He uses a stick with a straight taper /
and handle of the usual thickness |
and of medium weight Wagner bats
and steps into the ball F.
with terrific force.
Larry Lajoie is the closest rival of
Wagner and in many fans minds out
Ch q a
plate. Lajoie's swatter Is a trifle
longer than that of Wagner and slight
IL thicker The Cleveland leaders
bat is good, solid shape, with
weight enough to make the ball go
when hit.
Ty Cobb, who for the last two sea-
sons has been attracting the attention
OF the public by his heavy hitting,
uses longer stick than either Lajole
or Wagner. His piece of ash has
long handle of medium thickness and
Is thick at the batting end with a
blunt flat end.
"Tacks" Parrot is the owner and
user Of the longest bat used in pro-
fesslonal ball, as his ash goes the fun
limit. Parrot plays down in the Tex
as league with the Galveston club,
and as he says, "there is plenty of
room out here TO swing a long bat,
and the only reason l don't have n
longer one made is because they
wouldn't allow me to use it," Parrot
8 a well-known old-time player and
S a hitter of some renown. From the
in of the handle to the tip of the
,ther end of the bat used by "Tacks"
he taper gets a good chance to
stretch, the stick being forty-two
inches long. !
Charles Hickman, the heavy hitting
,utfielder of the Toledo club, uses
he lightest bat made, as his walloper
ips the beam at thirty-four ounces.
rhe bat is of medium length, but
oses weight in the handle, which is
slender, being only
rifle over an inch in thickness at the
hinnest part of the handle.
The big Indian catcher of the st.
PAUL team holds the record of having
he thickest bat. as his wand is as
hick os the rules allow.
The wood that the bats are turned
rom at the Louisville factory comes
rom the hilly regions of Kentucky,
where they raise the ash that is re-
uired for the making of slugging
tensils. The wood is always grown
n the north hillsides, as the atmos-
here on that side has a better effect
n the trees and enables the grain to
e more perfect. The north side OF
hill is better for bats, and also the