The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-03-20
BASEBALL SOON
 COMES INTO OWN
BY MONTY.


 One month more and the race for the 1911 pennant will be on. News from the training camps of the big teams in the south is pouring in every day, and is second only in interest to the United States army maneuvers on the Mexican border When the 12th of April arrives, however, even the war" will pale into insignificance; the base ball will replace the cannon ball. and the diamond war rior will become the public hero instead of the "boy in blue"
 Speaking of heroes, it is generally the pitcher who gathers in the largest num- Der of laurels of any individual member of a team. He has more of an opportuni- to yto distinguish himself, individually, than any other member of the team, and is censured or praised in accordance with his work. His place on the team Is held only by his pitching ability, his stick work is not considered he is a great twirler. With other infield positions, however. 1t is slightly different A player must not only have the ability to cover his position, but must have a batting eye as well. Both qualities come in for an equal share
 
 on the particular quality in which he ex- cells. For instance, Hans Wagner is a great shortstop but a greater batter. It is his phenomenal stick work that has made him baseball idol. Larry Lajoie, of the Cleveland team, is another ex- ample. He has an enviable reputation as second baseman, but his work at the bat has overshadowed 1t. On the other hand, we find a man like Hal Chase of the Yankees whose work at the initial sack has been responsible for his suc- cess on the diamond. Chase Is a fair hit ter, but had 1t not been for his phenome- nal work in the field he would probably not have been heard of.
 There are scores of such cases in the infield, where mans reputation as ball player is based on either his fielding or batting ability. With the outfield. how ever, it is different. Outf1eiders, of course, must be able to field a ball, but their main qualification must be their ability to hit. All outfielders who have achieved great regulations have invaria- bly, been gerat sluggers A glance over the roster of the big league teams today will bear out this statement. All the prominent outfielders are men who hit above the 300 mark.
 In the National league we find Magee of the Philadelphia team who ended the season with a fielding average of .974, having only seven errors in no games, and in the individual batting column he wound up the season with percentage of 1925. Snodgrass and Devore of New York, Schulte of Chicago, Campbell of Pittsburg and Bates Of Philadelphia are all outfielders hitting above the 300 mark. Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers is un- doubtedlys the best known outfielder in the Amet1can league. His fielding aver age was by no means the best, having IA errors in 137 games and a percentage of .957; but he stood at the head of both leagues in his stick work with an average of 1885. Speaker of Boston fell slightly below Cobb both in fielding and batting, his latter average being $40, which would make him a desirable addition to any team. Oldring of the Athletics is another star. He led the league in fielding with an average of .97S. having only six errors in 1s4 games, and batting average of | .308 < | 1t is such men as these that retain their positions on team, not for their ability to cover ground and catch fly ball, blit for their work at the bat. They arc the main factors in the offensive work of the team, and occupy obscure positions or the defensive. and for tKis reaSon the per sonneh of the outfeld Is always a strong pennant factor. Eit a