The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-26
AND BASERUNNING ARE
 THEFT OESSENTIALSINB BASEBALL

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 a bat prove .outse when man Is in a slump, and the hue and cry is raised about him not hitting. I have seen my self scratch three or four when I would not be hitting a lick and on the other hand the best intended drives of man will find the outfield barrier where the situation is best expressed in the famous words of the late Addie Joss: "Six inches this way or six inches that" One of the clearest illustrations of this kind of luck befell Ham Hyatt, the former Pirate pinch-hitter, one day two years ago in Philadelphia.
 It had been one of those wild, home run-hitting days-short ones over the right field fence, and one or two into the left bleachers. With the bases full Hyatt, who had been having lot of hard luck with the stick, hit one with the bases full to the deepest corner of center field, where the fences join in a narrow little angle, barely giving room for mans body. It was easily the longest smash of the day. To the right or left by two feet it would have been homer or triple, for the ball would have richochetted off the wall and Pas kert could not possibly have come with in grasp of it. But the correct and direct course by inches taken by the drive en- abled Dode to get it. And the next day the papers said:
 Hyatt failed again in the pinch"
 Many ball players nurse batting super stitutions and will engage in many funny pra actices to recover from slump when, in reality. the only practice for such an ill is batting practice. I have seen ball players rub their pet bats with chewing tobacco to coax out base-hits, but the best brand of weed would not produce a good bunt. I have used dozen of bats in my time with no particular regard for any save one. That was gift to US or the eve of the 1909 worlds series games with Detroit Following one of the clos ing games of the season after we had clnched the flag, stranger accested Tommy Leach under the grandstand:
 Here are three Cuba wood bats for you, Clarke and Wagner" said the man, handing over the package. Take them, and may they bring you luck
 Tommy gave us each one and kept one himself. They were all marked and Tom my did not help himself to the best one through choice. But his big black club was corker and Clarke and I both used it. In the worlds series games I believe that every Pirate used that bat at least once, and in the following year we looked for the old talisman to be our lucky charm, but it wouldn't work Prob ably the old thing figured it had done enough in winning us worlds title. YOUNGSTERS WORRY OVER BATS
 Many young ball players worry a lot over their bats and it is not uncommon for them to carry their pet sticks in fine case, just as millionaire, bird hunt ing, carries his gun. We had a debOnair young. pitcher on our club two years ago who last season pitched fine ball in the Central league. He never bothered about his arm. as some pitchers I have known do, but how he did inquire fret fl11lV all. the time qhnnt hic hat Fact of the matter is, he pitched only two innings for us during his major league career and not once did he bat, though I am not saying he will not be back some day and pitch full games, and hit, too.
 Our bat bag, already stuffed to burst ing, had to carry this recruits precious bats on all trips. Miller, Wilson and I each begged room for one club. One day in Chicago our open bat bag was left unattended and some boys made a raid and carried most of the bats off The young pitcher raised the biggest sQuawk, and the Pittsburgh club bent every effort to recover the bats. The police showed their rare good judgment by first recovering three of the fussy recruits clubs Then they gathered in the poor old bats of the "wreclxing crew."
 Bats are all alike if they have the requi- site amount of wood and shape but was once told by Billy Murray that the old Providence slugger. Joe Knight, would hunt the cellars of sporting goods supply houses over and over until he got the oldest and best seasoned sticks. He wanted them "so old and damp and cob webby,'' he said, that they will bend when I hit one"
 Eaters great and poor, certainly have their notions and superstitions on how best to make the old horsehide travel
 But it isn't the bat so much as the