Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-15
CRAWFORD IS BEST
BATTER, SAYS COBB
Tigers Star Declares Team
mate Is His Master
With Bat.
SAYS PRACTICE MADE
HIM GOOD STICKER
Pitchers Who Once Fooled
Him He Studied Until He
Found Their Weakness.


he said:
Sam era wford is better hitter than
me: Why don't YOU interview him. was
the way "Ty put it when the Republic
base ball man started to quiz him at the
Planters Hotel the other day.
B}it the writer was there to make Cobb
talk, and he finally got the great bats
man warmed up to his subject and after
that it was easy.
Crawford really is one of the greatest
hitters in the game" said Cobb. He
isn't as fast me, 1 beat out many in
field hits and hunts that Sam could never
get away with Then. again. Sam is not
as ambitious as he might be- For in
stance, when his batting takes slump he
doesn't worry, but goes right along in
the same old way and waits for his luck
to turn. Now. it's different with me.
When my hitting falls off !, practice twice
age begins to slump, L spend my morn
ings at the ball yard, working as hard as
I know how.
practice makes perfect and I've dis
covered that the best remedy for a slump
in batting is get out and practice against
any old kind of pitching. Go to a big
league ball park any morning during the
cham pionship season and you'll always
play ball until they are chased from the
lot. These are the boys that would rather
play ball than eat q
Il ha to stand up at the pate and
whale away at every old kind Of pitching.
Some Of the boys are hard to hit, Qsh~&k
are easy But it all comes out in the
wash, and helps Tyrus recover his bat
ting eye.
''Left-handed pitchers gave me a lot
of trouble at one time, but that was be
fore I entered the big league. They never
worry me nowadays. Just watch me at
the plate and you'll learn the reason in 81
jiffy. Against right-handed pitcher L
crowd the rubber and step into a, curve
before it breaks Against a left-handed
twirler i drop back as far as possible and
wait for the curve to break. Getting down
to figures. ] should say that l stand four
feet closer to a right-handed pitcher than
do to a sOuthpaw. There are a number
Of left-handed batsmen in the big leagues
who sOfe picking for southpaw pitch
ers. Perhaps this advice may help Them
At His Best Under Fire.
Cobb is particularly proud Of his abil-
ity - hit the ball safely with men on
bases and points with great pride to the
fact that he has driven in more runs than
any member of the Detroit team since he
joined the club.
Don't think it egotistcal of me, but
that's where l shine. l just love to pickle
the pill with runners on the sacks In
sacks occupied. The pitcher is worried,
the infielders are guessing. and when you
do hit the ball the flying base runners
rattle and disconcert the men who are
trying to handle it.
with men on bases ] generally lay
for the first ball the pitcher hands over.
It's dollars to dimes that if he can lay
that first one straight over the pan he'll
do it, and / soak quite a few of them.
The majority of batsmen will pass up
the first ball, no matter II it cuts the
plate in half. But you'll never get this
boy overlooking one of them kind. Nine
times out of ten go to the Plate prepared
to tickle the first ball if the pitcher lays
it over.
II never take good, healthy swing at
the ball any more. / like to do it, but
you can't get anything in the big leagues
swinging the willow. The spit-ball pitch
crs would make Ounce of you in short
order, to say nothing Of the boX1nen who
have mastered a good change of pace
They'll shoot one over that looks like
pea. then feed you slow one that comes
tioating up as big balloon. But you
are set for the fast one and break your
back reaching for the slow ball.
In the old days the great hitters were
Dave Orr, Pete Browning, Dan Brouthers
and Pop Anson-big fellows, who swung
onto a ball with the force of trip ham
mer. Bring 'em in one of the big rings
today, and the artists of medern base ball
would make 'em look like jokes.
Best Way to Bat.
You can't grab a wagon tongue down
at the handle, reach back and swing half
way around for a curve pitcher. They'd
make you look foolish and you wouldn't
have enough batting average at the end
of month to get your name in the per-
centageS.
The great hitters of our time grab
their batting sticks d foot Or more from
the hande. and, instead OF swinging aim
to meet the ball flush. It's just like the
short arm punch in the prize ring. The
long SWingerS with their terrible hay
makers seldom get the money nowadays.
It's the Jeffrieses and JOhnsons with their
short-arm punches to the body
that invariably bring home the candy.
Nothing suits me better than to take a
good crack at the leather, but ] can't
afford to get out of my stride, SO 1 stick
to the sure system OF just meeting the
ball with half way grip on my war
club
What pitchers bother YOU most?'' was
the next question put to the great bats
man.
There was a time when Addie Joss of
Cleveland had ME going sideways. Two
years ago 1 got two hits off Joss in twen-
ty-eight trips to the plate. could con-
meet with the ball, but couldn't get it
safe. In 1909 it was different and I hit
u.
Burns of Washington and Chicago both
cred me a lot in 1909. When Burns was
with Washington I'd a heap sooner face
Walter Johnson than Bill. Johnson, in
the estimation of many keen judges. is
about the best pitcher in the American
League. But every member of the De-
troit team will tell you that George Null
lin is the king, and i guess over in Cleve-
land they think Addie Joss has it on
them ALL"
Discussing outfielding and outfieders,
Cobb says:
Nearly all our fielders play too deep.
For every ball hit over our heads there
are dozens that drop safe between the
infieIders and outfielders. But you Just
can't get an Outfield to work in close I'M
less it's for some weak hitter who never
lifts the ball very far over an infielder's
head.
His Best Fielding Feat.
81 guess the best catch I ever made on
ball field was the result of PLAYING
close. We were running Detroit a close
fit The count was 2-1 in our favor. 1t
was the last half Of the ninth. in Wash
ingtOn. The home team was at the bat.
Two Senators were on second and third
and q single would have put the game on
ice. I4elivelt hit the torpedo square on
the seam and pOiled it over Jimmy Dele |
hanty's head. | was laying for short
hit figuring that the game was gone |
anyway, If he cracked one to the fence |
was lucky and guessed right. 1t was a