El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-27
Country Most Talked About
Batsman; An Erratic Manager

New York. Aug. 27.-Fred sSnodgrass
OF the Giants, is probably the most
talked about baseball player in the
country today. All this notoriety has
come to the young Californian rather
suddenly. and is due to his being the
leading batter of the two big leagues.
the high favor that carries with it the
additional prestige Of being the pre-
mier swatter Of the land.
Not a young player having his first
season as a regular on a big league
team should have the ability as a bat
ter, let alone the temerity to cope with
such famous sluggers and champion
hitters as Hans Wagner. Ty Cobb and
Larry Lajoia was surprising that
fandom the world over, was dazed at
first when the new batting phenOm
flashed over the baseball armament
When it was seen though. that the
new applicant for the batting suprem-
acy was not a mere flash OF temporary
brilliancy, but gave promise of becom-
ing a fixed star, it dawned on the
baseball public that the youthful as
pirant was worth being considered a.
a real contender with the famous stars
who had preceded him, and who were
thought TO have a mortgage on the
taIlest batting averages that were
possible.
Baseball has been full of surprises
this season and Snodgrass's rapid rise
to fame is only filling out the quota
of startling sensations Of the year Nr
1910.
And there will be more.
VIII still sMake Good"
snodgrass does not give the least
evidence of becoming busted phe-
nom" that bane Of so many brilliant
youngsters. who have promised so
nuch and done so little when the cru
cial test arrived. Snodgrass has nerve
and confidence two most essential
Qualities to enable him to hold his
own if not to do even better than his
oresant high record. Combined with
nerve and confidence he has youth and
strength on his side, good eye, the
ability to judge distance and a snap
wrist movement to his swing at the
hall that has always brought forth
the best results in batting.
Fielders cannot LAY for" Snodgrass
with any degree of certainty he mas
the happy faculty OF hitting en- Where
they amt" so happily expressed by
Willie Keeler in answer to the ques-
ton propounded 10 him, What makes
a good hitterT'
Snodgrass is just as liable to place
2 sizzling liner to right as he is to
sting the ball to left or TO center. He
hits either a high or low ball with /
apparently equal ease, but his surest !
hits and the most deadly are made I
from in-balls around his shins that he /
shoots past third base or in the left !
field direction with unstopable speed 4
These are called by him shin skins /
ners," and they are surely well named, !
and forciBly and well express the al
they are propelled off his bat
Can't Be Headed OF.
No pitchers as yet this season have
been able to head the young batsman
off. Some of the twirlers have struck
him out but he has always come
back with a safe drive that proves no
pitcher has anything on him. Snod-
grass just dotes on southpaws, and
right hand pitchers do not seem to
bother him much mora
Just now the young batting phenom
leads Ty Cobb, his nearest rival for
the premier honors and the ownership
Of the auto to be given to the best
batter OF the two big leagues. by more
than % points in percentage Snod-
grass's present average is about .4O5,
while Cobb's is around $50 The youth
tuI Giant. too, for the last three weeks
has averaged nearly a hit to every
two times at bat, and that shows the
remarkable pace he is setting. When
the Giants go on their next trip, he
nay fall off a bit. but heretofore this
season he has batted fully as well on
the road as at home
To Win an Auto.
The rules under which the auto is
to be presented requires that a player
to be entitled TO a chance 10 have his
batting average considered must have
been at bat at least $50 times Snod-
grass has at the present time only had
! few more than 200 times up but as
he Giants have still over so games
% play. there is little doubt of his
being able to qualify
Snodgrass was engafied by manager
dcGraw as a catcher while the Giants
we're on a spring training trip to Los
Angeles. Cal, where the youngster
vas playing with a local college team.