Arizona republican., 1910-07-09

: jockeying, stepping backward and for
 ward and closer to or further from the plate, is all part of he effort to distract the aim of the pitcher, and ] incidentally to deceive or muddle the umpire.
 When compelled to hit the batter
 watches the pitcher closely. striving to discover by close attention just 1 how the pitcher is holding the ball | and to ascertain from the twist of the first. turn of the hand, the posi- l tion of a finger. what ball is coming i If he can learn. even while the pitch
 CTS arm is flashing past his head, what ball is being pitched. he has
 an immense advantage.
 This art of guessing, from what pitcher already has pitched, what
 he will pitch is a strange one. Last summer. for my own amusement. evolved a test. which was tried by five different clubs with exactly the same results. It consisted of giving
 half a dozen players on each team
 twenty pennies and having them match heads and tails.
 The result was always the same: the best pitcher and the best batter always fought it out for possession of the pennies. In a test made with seven of the Pittsburg and Detroit players the result repeatedly was that Clarke and Wagner cornered the pennies and fought it out.
 strangely, Cobb was poor at the game. and when the object was ex- plained he laughed and said he never tried to guess what pitchers were pitching to him. The others had cultivated the habit of figuring from what had been done what would be done.
 Batting practice now is indulged in by professional players to an ex- tent not even imagined by the fol- lowers of the game Major league a day batting and will remain and to pitch to them.
 Almost every club retains some broken down pitcher or some aspir- ing youngster on salary to pitch to the batters. who pay him by contribu- tions to pitch to them. And strange ly they love their solid hits even in practice. After the final game of the series for the Chicago champion ship last fall after playing about 175 games Frank Shuttle stopped to hit it just once more.
 Style in batting has changed en- tirely. Those who expect or hope for the return of the days of seven- teen home runs in one game. which happened in 1887 in a game between Washington and Boston, when Mad den pitcher against Grasshopper Jim Whitney, are doomed to disappoint- ment. Even the purpose of batting and the objects of the batter have changed.
 Meet it squarely on the trade mark is the order that has super seded Knock the cover loose The modern player has progressed beyond the idea that reaching first base is the principal aim of batter He is working for runs, ready to sacrifice himself and his batting average to win game for his team
 The greatest hitting feat recorded was when Ed. Delehanty made four home runs in a single game. Adonis Terry was pitching-a great pitcher with wonderfully fast oakland three of the home runs were made off the curve. The first time at bat Delehanty hit the ball high over the right field fence. perhaps seventy feet from the foul line. which would be 245 feet from the plate. and the fence was thirty-five feet high The second time he hit over the same fence. but further toward center field.
 "The third time he drove a single over short stop, line hit. and per haps the hardest hit of all. Dahlen. leaping. touched the ball with both hands They were torn apart and the ball caromed almost to the left fielders before it struck the ground.
 The next home run was straight to center field between the club l houses nearly 400 feet away The l last time he came to bat the crowd | was cheering him on. Lange retired ] between the club houses. which were i set at angles.
 "Delehanty hit curved ball It alighted on the roof of one club 1 house. bounded to the roof of the | other and rolled half way back to | Inc second baseman. And yet hi- | cago won the game to S.
 "Lange, who was of the middle 1 ages of the game. made a hit in Cincinnati which is regarded by many as the longest hit ever made. The ball cleared the center field 'ence. which was on top of a high sailed across Western avenue, went through the window of | saloon and was found behind the par. The hit made a fortune for he saloon man. as big crowds went o see the ball on exhibition" MAKING THE PRICE OF WHEAT. David 1 IIhin and thn Inta all I- 1