Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-02-20
By Heine Zimmerman.
champion batsman of the Nation
al league.)

scott at this assertion but never
theless it was this same game of
golf that has placed me on the PIN
nacle that | now enjoy as the
champion batsman of the National
league.
What has golf to do with the
making of a successful ball player?
Simply this: In my case playing
golf gave me a keen eye and free,
natural swing. F'lourishing driver
since my early teens developed
tendency to WELD baseball bat in
much the same fashion-and any
National league pitcher will attest
to the effectiveness of that easy
going swing
It requires a pretty keen eye To
be able to wallop a golf ball on the
right spot. BY the same token it
requires a keen eye to dent base
ball with "a bat so as to drive it
out of the reach of felders.
l served my apprenticeship at
golf and at baseball. When l was
lad I devoted a goodly portion of
my tine to the links. | was con-
tent to caddie, until one day ! was
seized with a desire to play bit of
golf. My desire was actuated by
remark of man l had been trail
ing over the links for several hours.
Starts to Play Golf.
This man was fairly good play
err. but his forte was IN driving the
ball l cast covetous eyes at every
one of his powerful drives Finally
he drove the ball so far that al
most lost sight OF it.
Evidently this man also thought
that it was a noteworthy effort and
he did not hesitate to say to me:
Some drive, eh, kid? Don't you
wish you could drive so faro
OF course l wished l could drive
that far And l meant TO try TO
drive that far that very afternoon.
Acting on the impulse, | grabbed "a
stick and hit the ball a terrific wal
Top. 1t started to sail into the air.
Up, up, it went, and by the time it
stopped sailing and landed | felt
pretty secure that I had at least
approached that record wallop of
the other fellow
Before this | never had any in
cination to play the game. After
this fine effort. | decided to stick to
the game. Now, / believe, l can
drive a golf ball as far as any man
living. 1t is a broad assertion and
does not SAVIOR of modesty, but l
make it to bring out my point.
Baseball never entered my mind
at this time. | played occasion
ally on the sand lots of the Bronx
in New York. This was up to 1904.
| might insert here that my en-
trance into baseball was due to one
of the quirks of fortune. | was do
ing a bit of caddying when I was
approached by couple of lads.
who asked me if cared to fill va
z cancy on their side. That was my
first game of baseball wherein
there were nine players on each
side.
| made commemorate showing
that afternoon, and | asked permits
sion to play with the team in its
next game. | practiced with the
outfit after work each day and on
Saturday and Sunday of each week
played in game with the team.
Begins to Like Baseball.
! soon began TO like baseball.
The liking began to grow until now
1t is imbedded in me so deeply that
they will have to peel the uniform
off my back to make me quit.
love the game now, and advise
any one who can spare the time TO
indulge in the pastime, if not for
the pure sport of it, then for the ex-
ercise to be derived
Any one who is thinking seriously
of making baseball his profession
should keep in mind that golf is
the best means to develop keen
eye and a free swing, the two main
requisites of a good batter.
| really can not explain how ]
manage to bang any sort OF ball
offered me by any pitcher in the
National league I act intuitively
while a bat. / do not set for the
ball ] do not even watch the
pitcher winding up. 1t seems to
me that watching the pitchers dis
tracts your attention; il starts you
guessing What the pitcher is going
to serve up
That is the one thing batsman
need do to compile a fat batting
average-outguess the pitcher It
is all a game Of guess, and if YOU
are better guesser than the pitch
er. so much in your favor.
A little batting advice. Ny meth
DDS at the plate have proved quite
successful so | do not think what
] am about to say will be misin-
formation. Perhaps my methods
may not succeed when applied by
others. but try it and see.
As is known, a right handed bat
ter is always at disadvantage. He
Is handicapped by standing at the
neither side Of the plate. and he
has to cross the dish after making
hit. a left-handed hitter can
break away from the plate stimuli
taneously with meeting the ball,
and the fraction OF second he
gains thereby often enables him TO
beat out a hit