Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-09-03
SHORTSTOPS ALL
WEAK WITH STICK
New Generation Of Short Field
ers Fail to Perform Well
With the Stick.
OLD TIMERS CRACKED BALL

Y
| fielder, but he cannot hit. The above
applies TO almost all present-day
shortstops, though why it should be
true has not been answered. II is moi
unusual to see a first baseman, a sec,
! ond baseman or third baseman hi
in the 800 class, but for some un.
known reason shortstops OF today
hardly rank as fair hitters. Most Of
them are so light on the attack thai
they are known as weak batsmen
Hans Wagner. now closing his ca.
reer at short for the Pirates, has
been the one notable exception during
the last few years. Hans went through
seventeen consecutive seasons in the
National class, but in his last two
seasons even Honus has fallen victim
to the light hitting germ which has
affected the shortstops. Hans FIN
ished the 1914 and 1915 seasons under
us. But this mark is high for short
stops.
In the days when most Of the pres
ent-day managers we're getting their
base ball schooling in the majors
heavy hitting shortstops were not un-
common. Hugh Jennings, now with
the Tigers, hit above 800 in seven sea-
sons between 1891 and 1899. and in
later years Hughcy was rated as a
heavy hitter, even though he failed
to gain membership in the select cir
Gle. George Davis, who did his best
work with the Giants and the White
Sox, was another hard hitter. Start
ing in 1893, Davis batted above the
800 mark for nine successive seasons.
In four Of these campaigns Davis bat
ted above $50, a mark which has been
unknown to latter-day shortstops,
Wagner excepted.
Long Cracked Pill.
Herman Long, once star with the
old Boston Nationals, who closed his
major league career with the Detroit
Tigers q few years ago, was another
shortstop of the old school who failed
to show any great weakness with the
stick. In four seasons Long ranked
close to .325 with the stick, and he
was always regarded as dangerous
hitter while he was able to play regu-
larry. Bill Dahlen batted his way into
the 800 class in three campaigns, and
in two OF these he batted above 500.
John M. Ward was 800 hitter in
three campaigns and close to the mark
in many more. Ed Mexican Of the
old Cleveland Spiders was in the Sc
lect circle no less than six times.
Tommy Corcoran, though not as sue
cessful as those above mentioned in
getting into the select circle. man
aged to reach the coveted class once
and come close to it in other sea-
sons. All these players were stars in
the field and far more dangerous with
the stick than the shortstops OF to-
day.
Joe Tinker. while never 800 bats
man in his Cub days, was more dam
gerous than most present-day players.
Fletcher Is Best.
The best hitting shortstop OF the
new school is Art Fletcher Of the
Giants. He has been McGraw's regu-
lar in this position since 1911 and he
has battcd .3l9, .202, .2o7 and 1856.
Last season Fletcher batted only .254
and this year he Is hitting about .270.
Roger Peckinpaugh of the Yankees,
gene ly rated as the best defensive
shortstop in base ball, is one Of the
light hitters. Peck batted .268 in 1918,
but in no other campaign in the ma
jor leagues has he batted above .235.
Buck Weaver Of the White Sox.
who has been the regular for the past
four years, has not gone beyond .272
since he came to the Sox. In two
campaigns he batted Under $50
Rabbit Maranville OF the Braves, an
other OF the great shortstops of the
day, has not closed campaign with
a mark above .250. In 1912, his first
year with the Braves, Maranville bat
ted 200 for a few games in the closing
days OF the race. In the three inter-
vening campaigns he has batted be-
tween .240 and $50.
DOME Bush Of the Tigers is another
who must be classed as a weak bats
man. Bush joined the Tigers in 1908
and batted .294 for twenty games. He
batted ,273 in 1909, but never has
reached that mark since. In three
campaigns he has batted about .230.
and twice he finished with a mark OF
about ESQ.
Barry Is Weak.
lack Barry during his DAYS in the
great Athletic inheld was the weakest
hitter Of that quartet. Once he batted
as, but in all other campaigns he
hit below .265. In the last two CAM
paigns he has batted .242 and .244,
but now he is a second baseman.
George Mcbride OF the Senators is
another OF the same class. He is a
great fielder. but in eight consecutive
campaigns he has failed to bat above
.23s. Four times he batted between
$50 and .235, and three times he has
batted below ,2lS.
Ray Chapman of the Indians, who
was shifted recently to third base,
batted above the ordinary run of
shortstops while he held down the
position. He started with .3l2 for
thirty-one games in 1914 but in the
intervening campaigns he has hit be-
tween $50 and .27S.
The latest crop of shortstop follow
out the rule. Everett Scott OF the
Red Sox hit at .20l clip last season,
and Lavan OF the Browns batted .2lS
for Isl games. Bancroft OF the Phil
lies, in his first season as a major
Lacquer, hit at .2s4 clip. O'Mara
batted .244 for Brooklyn last season.
Now comes Workman Of the Cubs,
They are saying the same about him.
He is great fielder, but he cannot
h;t Tf M;tter Hvoo;,s ,,,a,,id -,