Evening star., 1917-09-18
ROGERS HORNSBY SENSATION
OF BIG LEAGUES THIS YEAR
Cardinals Slugger Halls From Texas and
Graduated From Milk Wagon to
Professional Ball.

Hornsby. Il done slept pow'ful lot
and 1 shoah drank lot of milk. Be
tween the good old sleep and the good
than 1 did last fail I can hit them
forty miles further too, and throw
them forty times as hard.
You can stand lot of weight" said
Huggins. for you were all skin and
bones last fall Come on, let US see
you hit
Hornsby began hitting them. He has
been hitting ever since. In 1915 1t
seemed that a good major league pitch
er would knock the bat out of his
hands with a fast ball. Now the major
league pitcher. who gets out of game
against Hornsby alive has reason to
congratulate himself
There can be no sort of doubt that
Hornsby is one of the great hitters of
base ball. Not since the days of Edward
Delehanty has such a free swinging
slugger been seen at the plate. Some
times they ask If Hornsby is as good a
hitter was Delehanty.
No, / should say, not so good now as
was Delehanty when in his prime. But
Hornsby has three years to go before
he reaches his prime as a hitter If
do not mistake. Delehanty was some
four years in the National League be-
fore he obtained recognition as a great
hitter. Del did not make a good record
as a hitter in his first two seasons in
the National League. He was at his
and was about thirty years old.
Hornsby has good many years to
travel before he is thirty.
Is Nearest to Delehanty.
Hornsby is not so good hitter now
as Delehanty was when 1 first saw him
in 1895. his sixth season on the major
leagues. l did not see the great Del
when he first came up, so I cannot say
how he compared with Hornsby when
that boy first graduated into the big
show. All ! do know is that Hornsby
is the nearest thing to Del in fair, free
swinging that I have seen since the
big Clevelander fell through the fatal
drawbridge at Niagara Falls some four
teen years ago.
No. thinking it all over. Hornsby,
green. is not yet so good a hitter as
Del was in his prime. Remember that
Hornsby is years off his prime yet Del
was PLAYERS player" a "hitters hit
ter" That is, good judges of what con-
stituted good hitters liked Delehanty's
style and execution better than thew
liked the style and execution Of Laioie
Burkett, Keeler, McGraw, Jennings and
other good hitters of the day.
Del had two great points as a hitter
He stood into the ball, stepped into the
good balls to hit.
Lajoie was famous for hitting bad
balls. Burkett liked to hit the curve
ball. Jennings like a fast one. They
all had their favorite balls to hit, but
Del had no favorite and no weakness.
He had a splendid eye, he always liked
to hit the good one, and he had a per-
feet parry for every thrust of the
pitcher.
Hornsby reminds me more of Del than
any player / have ever seen bat. Horns
by does not take the full swing the old
fellow took, but he comes as close to
taking it as the next best man. Horns
by does not get quite so good a holt"
of the ball as Del did, does not time it
as we'll.
Hornsby hits the ball with a swift,
sweet smack; Del reached up and took
hold of it" after the peculiar fashion
in which professional hitters differ from
Taking a fuller and easier
swing. being larger man. Del hit the
ball heavier. put more weight behind
his blow; in all hit the ball harder than
Hornsby hits it. Hornsby "kisses" it,
Del hit like the good golfer. easily, but
with tremendous power. Del put more
body swing into his wallop than Horns
by. who cracks rather than mauls the
ball.