Evening journal., 1915-05-28
STAR BALL PLAYERS
ARE COUNTRY-BORN
Have II All Over City-Bred
Youth, Data
Shows
SHORTER MEN
CAN HIT THE BALL

We're you born in the country, dur
ing the warmer months of the year?
You may then become star" base
ball player. If, however, you have
been unfortunate enough to be city
born in any of the months from No
vember to April, your chances are not
so good, according to statistics COM
piled by Arthur Macdonald OF Wash
ington. Mr.. Macdonald is interested
in the scientific study of the ball
player and those things which go to
make for his success, outside of ma
tural ability to play the game.
Being born between May and Oc-
tober and in the country-which
means a place with less than 10000
inhabitants-helps, according to the
data about the lives of 146 of the
crack players of the major league
clubs. II makes one think of Daniels
song, Never be born on Friday, 'tis
most unlucky day" Yet Macdonald
takes the matter seriously, and shows
that OF the admittedly best players in
the game 81 per cent. were born in
the country and SO per cent. in the
warmer months, against 80 and 81
per cent, respectively, for the city
born, who first saw the light of day
IN the colder months.
Furthermore. he points out in an ar
ticle in the American Physical Educa-
ton Review that similar conditions ex-
ist in the highy successful in other
trades and professions, and, therefore.
is natural law that must prove true
for all ball players, no matter how
expert or positively "bone-headed"
they may be.
Similarly analyzing records. he
finds that players under 5 feet II in
ches in height are better batters and
helders than those who are taller.
and that the superiority is greater in
batting than fielding. Thus. the tall
: er man, who batted for an average of
250 or better, were but 43 per cent.
Of the whole. while the shorter men
had percentage of SO. Sixty-six per
cent of the shorter men had a field
ing average of $50 or better. and but
5S per cent of the taller men got
into that charmed circle of players
With general average of 5 feet 1-2
inches for all of a group of $50 play
ers, statistics of whom are available.
the pitchers averaged within a fifth of
an inch of six feet in height, with
their is catchers an inch and a half
shorter. the shortstops being the pig
mics among players, with an aver
age height of but scant feet 9 1-2
inches.
Curious facts Macdonald has dug
up out of the statistics personally col
lected at games. These show that but
20 per cent of fair balls batted re-
suit in safe hits OF the 1904 batted
balls Of which he has records 20 per
cent we're fly balls, 81 per cent
grounders per cent bunts and per
cent line drives. The latter are the
best balls to hit, for a per cent re-
suited in safe hits, while the percent
age Of grounders was but 8, and of
bunts, 45. OF the long fly balls but
20 per cent were turned into safe
hits and but four-tenths of l per
cent were muffed by the felders,
showing these TO be poor productive
hits, and incidentally that,it is a rare
thing for fielder to muff a batted
ball.
VIII scientific study of the elements
that enter into the game of baseball
produce a better player Of the game
and improve the game itself? Can
a manager of a baseball team with
statistics not now collected in scor-
ing the game, supplemented with an
thropological data. better his playing
machine?