The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-06
Eddie Collins Is
 Greatest Of All Experts Figure Athletics In- fielder Of More Value To Team Than Any Out
 fielder Would Be

If there is anything in the theory
 that wonderful inf1eIder is of more
 value to a team than a wonderful out
 fielder, then Eddie Collins is the great
 est player in America.
 It Is only the fact that Ty Cobb 1 is the best player of the epoch, a | player who does so many audaciously l clever things in batting, base running
 and fielding, that possibly gives him a better right to the title of the king
 of baseball. He Is simply such an ex- ceptional outfie der that the rule | doesn't apply to him.
 Still there are many fans who in
 sist that the assertion made in the opening paragraph is correct and that Collinses, Wagners and Jajeies do
 more to keep their team in the pen nant race than the Cobbs, Jacksons and Schultes.
 It is not uncommon to find clever fielding hychaSers who add to thelr defensive skill by batting at a 300
 clip, but the infielder who hits the top notch in batting and fielding is as
 scarce as diamo ond mine in Indiana.
 IL IS rather odd that fair proportion
 of the few infielders who bat 300 or
 better are weak or only ordinary on
 the defensive. Rarely are the two
 gifts fused.
 Up to the time Connie Mack coax ed Collins from Columbia. Waener and LaJoie had for years reigned as the undisputed kings or the Inneld. They could both bat and field in an extra ordinary fashion. and while some rival innerworks were conspicuous for a brief time, they never had a real en to-day although both Wagner and Lajoie are past 80, they are the only infield rivals that Collins has.
 The youthful Collins and the veter- ans, Wagner and Lajoie, form the greatest infeId trinity of the day. Col lins is the best of the three, not be- cause of his youth, but for his super iority in run-getting and timely bat ting He IS also more active in the field, and covers more ground than the veterans, great as the latter are.
 It must not be inferred that there are not other valuable in1elders who mbine both hitting and field ing ability. Baker and McInnis, of the Athletics; HobIitzell, of the Reds; Lord of the White Sox; Chase of the Highlanders; Konetchy, of the Cardin- as; Doyle, of the Giants and several only infelders who bat as high as .330, .34O and .365, year in and year out, and at the same time rank as in fielding, are Collins. Wag-
 The same is not true of outfelders. Every year, or every other year, a | wonder is discovered. Even the peer | jess Cobb has a rival in Joe Jackson, l who in 1911 played his first full sea son in the major league. As Cobb, in i his first full season, did not do so well belief that the Southern stripling may take Cobb's niche in baseball.
 There are a mum Der of other star | who have worn exceedingly | well, combining both exceptional field l ing ability with exceptional batting | ability. The list includes Clarke, of | Magee of the Phillies; 1 Snodgrass, of New York; Bescher and i of Cincinnati; Donlin, Of | Boston; Schulte, of Chicago; Speaker | of Boston; Cree, of New York; Milan, | of Washington; Murphy, of the Ath- | 'etics; Crawford, of Detroit, and sev- > -al others.
 This pretty well distributes the ! playing ability of big league outfie d. | CTS. This point Is meant to explain | why star infielders are worth more to | aP club than star outfielders and why | Collins is the best baseball player in ] America
 A veteran like Comiskey, who has seen the Old-school players as we'll | as the modern ball toSser, unhesitat- ingly says that Collins is the greatest | player that ever guarded second base.
 Collins has a big hunch on Cobb | In that he doesn't forget everything he knows about baseball in a world | series. Cobb was a failure in every worlds championship in which he
 Eddie's fancy fielding and batting were greatly responsible for the Ath- etics whipping the Cubs in 1910. Last fall Collins was a trifle cratic in his fielding. He made some errors, every one being on an easy chance.
 It was noticeable, however, that Ed lie didn't fall down on the hard ones. He made a stop off Doyle in the second game in New York that saved Connie Mack from going 1ooney.