The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-28
SECOND BASEMEN N OF TO-DAY ARE
 POOR HITTERS

New York. Jan. 28-What has hap pened to the present generation of second basemen? A hitting second baseman seems to be as extinct as the buffalo which used to graze on the blue grass meadows of Kentucky.
 A second baseman usually was sup posed to be one of the strongest hit ters on a club. The hitting strength was supposed to be in. the outfield and second and first base. Clubs with plenty of hitting power could carry a weak hitting shortstoD and also at times third baseman. Throughout baseball history the shortstops have been the weakest hitters outside of the pitchers, the great Honus Wagner being the one great exception.
 The leading hitter among the Ma tional League second basemen last season was the mediocre George Cut shaw, traded last week to Pittsburgh, with the lowly average of .259. It is doubtful if in the 52 years of the Ma tional Leagues history it's second base colony contained such a week bunch of maulers. The American League is | little better. Eddie Collins of the White Sox still leads the second base men with an average of .2S9, but even Collins has taken quite tumble and | fell under the 300 mark for the first time since 1908 last season. Morgan of Washington hit .266. Collins and Morgan were the only big league sec | ond basemen with averages better l than .260.
 | Going back through the averages | there is not another year in which no second baseman has hit better than 300. For years Lajoie remained in i the 300 set, and after he faded Ed die Collins looked after the hitting l laurels for second basemen.. Eddie rose as high as .366 in 1911. but even 1 he has fallen.
 The following shows what big ! league second basemen accomplished last season:
 American League.
 1 E. Collins, Chicago, .2S9; Morgan 1 Washington, .266; Wamsganss, Cleve- land, .255; Pratt, St. Louis, PAY; Ged- con, New York, .2S9; Young. Detroit 231; Grover, Athletics, .234; Bau- mann, New York, .21S; Barry. Bos- ton, .214; Maisel, New York, .198; Janvrin. Boston, .197; Lawry, Ath- letics, .164
 National League.
 Cutshaw, Brooklyn, .259; Raw lings, Boston, .256; Niehoff, Philadel- phia, .255; Doyle, Chicago, .254; Me Kechnie, Cincinnati. .254; Miller, St Louis, PAS; Herzog, New York, .235
 Pitler, Pittsburgh, .233; Smith, New York, .229; Betzel, St. Louis, .217
 Evers Boston Philadelphia, .214
 Shean, Cincinnati, .210; Massey, Bos
 ton, .198; Dugey, Philadelphia, .194
 Compare those batting figures witt the averages of some of the second
 base sluggers of the past-Fred Dun
 lap, Jack Burdock, Hard Richardson
 Nap Lajoie, Danny Murphy and th'
 figures of Eddie Collins. Larry Doyle
 and Johnny Evers in their prime.
 However, it is not necessary to gt
 back to old times to see what a poo
 lot our present second basemen hav' fallen to- Go back only five year
 and you find eight second basemen-
 four in each league, hitting bette
 than 300, of whom five are hittin: 330 or better. The National Ieagu had nine second basemen hitting .27j or better and the American Leagu seven. The only second basemel
 hitting under .25O that year were Sim mons of the Yankees, Louden of De , troit and Egan of Cincinnati. The second basemen hitting .275 O
 better in 1912 were as follows: National League.
 | Sweeney, Boston, .344; Evers, Chi
 cago, .341; Doyle, New York, .330 , Huggins St. Louis, .3O2; Magee, St $ Louis, .290; Knabe, Philadelphia v 2S2; Hummel Brooklyn, .2S2; Cut , shaw, Brooklyn, .2SO; Mccarthy g Pittsburgh, .277. = American League.
 Lajoie, Cleveland .96S; Collins I Athletics, .34S; Laporte, Washington ] .311; Pratt, St. Louis, BOP; Dele hanty, Detroit, 2S6; Gardner, Ne7 t York, .2S1; Rath Chicago, PIT. :, And the worst of it is that no youn n second basemen are coming up wh - can hit. Pratt is a,hoaAk the best c
 tTas -nr@g cTep, thoagn he has bee
 in the American League five season:
 and never hit over 300 since 191:
 He always was close to it until las !. season. when he took quite a slumI : Wamsganss of Cleveland has dis a played signs of developing into a hit |, ter, but he is inconsistent and Ion = slumps follow periods of unusual bat
 ting prowess.