The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-30
HYATT EXPLAINS
 HOW TO PINCH HIT
 IN MAJOR LEAGUES

5s
 ''It's just case of hit or miss. To- day you do. Tomorrow you don't"
 Ham Hyatt of Pittsburgh thus sizes up the art of pinch-hitting. Nearly always he makes good. Sometimes he fails. Occasionally he strikes. out-but not often. Tn fact, he has as many home-run wa1lops over the fences to his credit this season as he has strike outs. Quite record, and one may be pardoned if he halls Ham as the great est pincll-h hitter in the world.
 'fIt is all in meeting a ball square ly,'' said Ham when asked to discuss the art, of batting. You may hit a ball ever so hard, but if you have talk en your eyes off it and not hit it fair 1y it matters not how hard you swing. It will not travel
 Ham was asked why he invariably lets the first ball go by in pinch without offering at it.
 well, now, do you think that is a fair question?'' laughed Ham If I answer that don't you think I will be tipping my mitt to the pitchens?"
 We urged him under no circun- stances to do such thing, but Ham replied:
 T was only kidding. pass up the first one, and so do most hitters, to see what the pitcher has By that I mean that try to judge his speed if it is a fast ball and to see his curve if it is 8. curve. As only get to bat in pinches I can't tell just what the pitcher has. I can't judge a pitchers s speed from the bench, nor can folks in the grandstand. You must be at the plate to look 'em over to get a line on him.
 when was with Kansas City I was hitting well above 300, and they told me that if I would quit hitting at the first ball would be even better. The manager remarked once that 1 was better with a strike or two against me than by cracking at the first one, which often resulted in my popping out or grounding out fol- lowed his advice and learned from him that 1t was lot better to look one or two over so that could judge the speed and the break of the pitch er's curve and time my swing better It improved my hitting.
 Ham stood among the rest of the Pirates and talked entertaining1y, oc- casionally gripping his bat and illus trating something he had said Asked about his first appearance as pinch hitter, Ham replied:
 "Oh, it was over. in Cincinnati one day in 1909, if I remember correctly. II had never been in a big league game, nor had I acted as pinch-hitter in the minors, where they played me reg ularIy I forgot whom I batted for that day, but think 1t was one of the pitchers. I got a three-base hit and we won the game From that time on Cap Clarke gave me lots of chances
 Don't you feel an awful responsi- biIity come over you when they send you up there in pinch where every thing depends on you?" he was asked
 "WeI, if allowed myself to feel that way about it my chances of being any good to the club would be lessen ed,'' replied Ham, Really, it does not bother me. am up there trying to do the best I can and no man can do bet ter than his best. I know that If l fail I will not be condemned by Man ager Clarke or the fans, for I guess It is pretty well understood nowadays that baseball is either a case of do or don't If make good, so much the better Any batter facing pitcher knows that the pitcher has just as many worries as he, and the advan- tage is with the chap that worries the least