The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-08

his team: "Big Betsy" Ed Delehan-
tvs famous war club; "eNeIlic,'J used
by Schultz, and a dozen other bats have
become we'll known through being the
tavorites of good hitters and used by
them during batting streaks.
There is a PLAYER on the Brooklyn
club who has an odd habit of using in
practice the bat he intends to use in
game to "fill il up with base hits -
he tries bat after bat during prac-
tlce, and IT he happens to hit well with
one, get ''two or three hits into it, -
he uses that one during the game TO
get tho hits out again.
The eagerness with which the bat
ting practice js indulged in often is
laughable. One evening two members
of the Cleveland club broke training
and returned to the hotel at a. M.
feeling jolly, They reached their own
floor Ia the hotel without being caught
by the manager and went to the room
of player who is a wonderful bitter.
Banging on his door they urged him to
get WRI.+ UP; a. u,,, n.,, s
awakened slugger.
Get up, We re going to have batting
practice" replied one of the iokers
who knew the weakness Of the inmate
of the room.
'There in minute, responded the
player, and as they heard him scramble
from bed the ioliers fed. Ten minutes
later the night clerk was startled TO
see the great player enter the lobby
IN hls uniform, carrying his two favor
lite bats. nor did he see the Joke until
the clerk pointed into the darkness out
side
In the early days Of the game batting
practice was neglected. The heavy hit !
ters practiced. but there was no svs- |
30. El,n,r 4
or thought was given to the scientific |
hitting, except by few men who
realized the possibilities of play, |
Dicker Pearce invented the bunt !
and the ''falr foul'' hit in 1866, bat |
generations passed before the bunt was
used intclllgently by all classes of play /
ers. Indeed it was the theory of play
ers. as il now is with many followers
of the game. that ''place hitting was
more or less OF myth. In fact. it
has been within the last decade that
even the major league PLAYERS have
made intelligent efforts towards per
tccting place hitting. and their sue
cesses in that line have been wonder
tul. Managers began 10 realize that
vital spots of defending teams, and
the attack has steadily become more
ycsourceful, better calculated TO bring
results and more adapted to cope with
The improved pitching Especially has
it been made necessary IN order to
break up defensive team work
Whether the mod dern, game of push,
Inc old "swine and kill it, style may
be Judged by comparison. The Pbila-
delphia club from 1894 TO 1898 always
had from five 10 seven 500 bitters IN
the game. In one game in 1897 there
were nine 800 batters. Yet tho team
never won q pennapt. The games were
spectacular, but even when hitting
The Chicago White Sox, "the hitlesS
won the world s champion
ship in 1906 when ranking almost last
N batting in The American league. The
team excelled any team ever organ
zed in concentrating every move 20
ward making runs. one at q time, and
while nearly weakest III batting. scored
The greatest average number of runs
per hit of any club in the history Of
Jhe game,
There is a wide difference of opinion
among PLAYERS themselves as to the
placing of balls hit hard. but the fact
that some players can do il
and the increase in skill in the last
i've vears has been great, None denies I
hat balls can be pOked, or pushed {
sasilv in a gwen direction Many Of {
he old-tincrf were skilful in ''pull-
ng'' the ball foul in order TO wear
lowu pitchers and by hitting late in {
'ouIing off The skill OF batters in /
hat direction increased through STEADY
practice until McGraw, kecler Roy '
Thomas, Slagle and others could pro |
ong the games indefinitely and tire /
,ut any pitcher. The rule makers
promptly legslatcd against foul balls,
md opened the new era OF batting ,
science. Their object was TO hurry the ]
ramc and avoid unnecessary delays, and {
'hev thought that batters penalzed one {
strike for n foul would hit harder and [
,ftener. The PLAYERS discovered, now
ever, that hard driving did not pay +
gainst improved infield work, and that {