The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-04-27
nv 4. ?. Lewin.l

In baseball parlance, what is slug
ger? Right justly you will say,
Easy: slugger IS man able to hit
the ball hard enough to get two, three
or four bases and do It frequently"
Quite right. But here is real poser:
Why is a slugger?
The writer was sharing a seat with
Cravath during a long dreary ride
The Phillies' noted slugger had Just
passed through 10 days OF r:otous ex-
tra-base hitting. and the question was
a natural one.
"Gavvy, how do you hit the ball so
hard?"
The big fellows answer, without
any hesitation, was: Il don't know.
Sometimes that ball comes up to the
plate looking as big as house. At
other times It is the size OF pill, and
l haven't any more chance to get my
bat on it than a baby. When 1t looks
big, hit II, and when it looks small,
don't-and that's all there is to it,
Cravath resumed his gazing at the
landscape and his questioner had
about concluded that Gavvy had won
the argument and the thing was at an
end, when the ball player APPARENTLY
lost interest III the panorama OF farm
houses and fertile fields and continu-
ed:
OF course, a man must have con-
siderable strength in his shoulders to
hit the ball consistently for extra
bases, but | cannot understand how
man can land hard unless he uses
his head right and matches his wits
against the pitcher with some degree
Of success. The extra-base hitter is
naturally free swinger-he must be
able to get the force behind the bat
and the man who is a free swinger
has got TO know something about
where the ball Is going to break
THE point is this: The player who
whips his bat around quickly, like
Miller Higgins, for instance, and just
meets the ball, can adjust his blow a
fraction of second sooner than the
free swinger. higgins does not have
to start his stick so soon-sometimes
not before the ball has started to
break. On the other hand. the free
swinger must decide where the ball is
going to break and swing accordingly.
He figures what the pitcher is going
to throw. and if the facts lead to the
belief that it is going to be within
striking distance, he sets himself for
the swing and lets CO.
Cravath laughed and squirmed
around in his seat
We'll, If he guesses right, he gets
long hit; if he guesses wrong, he looks
like a busher and the fans attend to
the rest"
And that is Cravath's batting meth
cd. To the man in the grandstand
there is little evidence OF the lightning
clash of wits between hitter and pitch
er as Cravath lazily makes his way to
the plate, swinging the great bat with
his powerful right arm. He stands at
the plate loosely. holding the club in
his right hand. There is no nervous
tapping of the plate with his bat or
waving it to and fro. The pitcher is
just letting go of the ball when Cravath
swings his bat.
Gavvy has figured where the ball
will break over the plate and through
this place he swings his bat. If he
has figured right, the ball gets a ride
and the multitude goes home satisfied.
If he reckoned wrong. the fan sorrow
fully murmurs, "Cravath struck out"
But to return to the original query:
why is a slugger?" Cravath perhaps
is the foremost exponent of the art
of simon-pure smuggling that the game
boasts today. He is the type of hitter
who has always been the delight of
the bleacherites. He has the brains
to hit the ball hard and the strength
to hit it far. That is why he Is
slugger. The sane thing applies to