Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-07-22
BATTING COMPARED
Combinations of Speed and
Strength Shown in Hitting.
QUEER KINKS OF FIGURES
More Use of Speed Made Nowadays.
Genuine Sprinters Of
the Game.

queer combinations of figures in the lists
Of long hits made by leading batters of
the big leagues. For instance, here is
Wilson Of the P1ttsburghs with twenty-five
three-base hits to his credit. and only half
as many two-baggers. As two-baggers
are easier to make than triples this rec
ord has a paradoxical twist, and the
most ready explanation hinges on the
matter of speed. quality which perme-
ates base ball very largely.
Wilson evidently hits the ball with suf-
ficient velocity to tear of many long hits.
he being one of the leading sluggers. but
apparently is more dependent on eye and
muscle than running ability to make his
long hits. What he gets in the way of
long hits probably is due more to the
distance which he drives the ball than to
sprinting ability. and 1T appears that his
favorite distance for hitting Is for three
bases. His hits must be pretty far and
clean. and it is not at all likely that the
surplus of ree-baggers over two baggers
is due to speed, because if he had the
speed he could stretch shorter hits as
well. transform more shorter hits into
doubles. and so have more doubles.
Take the case of Larry Doyle. He is
long. powerful hitter. but he has four
times as many doubles as triples this
for the reason that his swift running en-
ables him to take an extra base on what
for slower men. of the Wilson type. would
be only singles. Doyle incidentally has
more home runs than three-base hits.
Part Of that excess is due to fast running,
which stretches triples into homers, but
more Of II is due to hitting the ball into
stands. The short right field at the Polo
Grounds has helped the Giants materially
in the accumulation OF home runs There
is little doubt that if stands were
cessible on the Pittsburgh field. Wilson.
slugger that he is. would have more four
baggers than scant three.
Sluggers whose home field has short
fences or stands have considerable ad-
vantage over those who play half of their
games on fields SO capacious that the ball
seldom is hit beyond the playing space.
1t isn't such a tremendous feat to hit
ball to the right field screen for a home
run in Chicago fact which no doubt has
helped Zimmerman to amaSs eleven home
runs. Zimmerman, nevertheless, is great
batsman. No credit is to be taken away
from any Of the home run experts for
their ability to make circuit smashes. and
there Is an interesting contradiction in
this matter of convenient barriers help
ing in the accumulation of four baggers.
Boston. with its short left field fence, has
comparative scarcity of home runs
among the long hitters of the Boston
team. Bill Sweeney had only one. ac-
cording to the latest figures.
Speaker OF the Red Sox. very fast
man. has nearly three times as many two
baggers as triples and home runs COM
bined. With him, as with Doyle. 1t is
case of stretching the short hits. With
thirty doubles he leads all the hitters of
both leagues in output of swats OF that
dimension.
II it were feasible to draw a sharp line
between speed and lack of il pos
sessed by the long hitters of the two
leagues ii would be found that fully
three-fourths of those hitters are in the
former class. Therefore. as rule a long
distance hitter must be a fast runner.
The exceptions are such men as Meyers.
Wilson and Lajoie. whereas fast movers
among the leading wallpapers for extra
bases are Jackson, Baker, Cobb, Foster.
d.. Gardner. linn, Lord. Moeller, McIn-
mis-. III. Wagner. Zimmerman, Doyle.
Byrne, Titus, Murray. Schultz, Evans,
Bescher, Wheat, Sweeney and Merkle.
With these latter it is a case of coupling
speed with proves with the stick, and
again arises the thought. What hitter
Meyers would be if he were faster run
ner Not that he would make any more
base hits, for nearly all Of his drives go
clean, but he would have many more total
bases.
The long-hit list has curious relation
ships of figures some OF which are hard
to explain. If Wilson, who is an ordi |
nary runner has twice as many triples |
as doubles. why Is it that Lajoie. also an
ordinary runner has ten times as many |
hard as Wilson. Perhaps he doesn't lift |
it in the manner of Wilson. doesn't drive |
1t overhead as much and plant II beyond !
outhelders in spots which create a sort |
of mathematical sameness in producing |
hits of three-base dimension. The Cleve- /
lander shoots his hits nearer TO the |
ground and they don't get much |
chance to travel. Wilson seemingly has |
to send the ball a certain distance to |
make three bases, and with something 1
of a ply sical knack or habit he hits them /
that distance oftener than he does for /
two bases.
Prominent among the long hitterss are |
Byrne, Foster and McInnis, this because |
they are the little men among the bat
ting leviathans. McInnis rips off doubles
and triples with almost equal freedom, |
whereas Foster and Byrne run more to
two-baggers. Byrne recently had sixteen
doubles. nine triples and three homers !
to his credit, which goes to show that he
biffs the ball harder than any man of
his inches in the country. He. together
with Foster, McInnis and Cree, is the
Titan with the stick among the little
men.
Taking the work to recent date of the
nineteen Long hits by Individual" stars
In the National League and the sixteen
in the American League. and they have
gers and 20 home runs In the National.
and 265 two-baggers. III triples and 80
homers in the American In the Ameri-
can there have been 6.13 two-baggers TO
every home run and 226 two-baggers to
every triple; in the National there have !
been more home runs and three-baggers
and only 3S7 doubles to every home run
and only IS doubles to every triple-bag-
ger.
The observation Of one who has seen
big league base bali for the last twenty