Norwich bulletin., 1918-07-31

standards, he isn't a star. Now if bat ting means anything at all it means smashing offensive work for your own club and an ability to demolish the defense of the opposing club. In pro- portion to his success in these two aims, player is a good batter Every owner, every big league manager, al- most every player will admit as much. But the records don't admit it. They claim that where a man hits a little more frequently than another, regard less of the quality or the importance of his hits, he is superior batter. why don't they say that the pitcher who allows the feweSt hits in game IS the. winning pitcher regardless of which team scores the most runs? It would be just as sensible.
 This is my seventh season with the Phlli1eS. Most of the time 1 have been with them, have done more damage with the bat than any other batter I know Of. 1 will take off my hat to none of them in this respect. Never theless,, I have never led the league in hitting. It follows automatically since do not pretend to shine on the basepaths or as a fielder, that I have never been star, therefore I have ] never been able to command a high salary. Ever since I went to Mime apolis, ten years ago, have been capable of doing as much execution with my bat as any man in the Ma tional League, bar none.
 The failure of the batting averages to give me credit for the work l have done in the past ten years, has cost me several thousand dollars a year l know it. But that is all water past the mill.
 Now what is the result of all thiis What do I propose? Nothing more than suggestion. am not a statisti- clan myself. 1 claim no ability to de- | wise system of batting averages, which would be perfect or anywhere near it. But l do think that the bat ting averages should do something more than record the mere frequency of hits. They should do something to record the qaulity of hits. I do not even suggest that the present system should be discontinued. But do claim ] that some system ought to be put in l operation which would indicate a play CTS actual batting ability as expressed in the length as well as the number of hits made. For the present system 1 is all in favor of the men fast on their | feet, who can beat out bunts and scratch singles. Their work 5Song this | line is all well enough. But with men on bases it is not bunts nor scratch singles that clear those and break up | the game. It is the man with the
 wallop, the man who can drive out a crashing double, who can knock the 1 opposing pitcher out of the box now and then with well-placed home-run
 who, even though he does not connect
 safely with the ball, drives it for a | long fly to the outfield, such a fly as
 will score man from third anyway
 It is the real batter, according to my
 way of thinking, the man who wins
 games with his bat, who is being dis
 criminated against by the present
 system.
 l have tried to show in a brief way
 how my own career has suffered from this discrimination in the batting rec. ords I repeat I am an old veteran, .
 player who is already on the sunset
 side of his career, a player who ha: tlittle to gain from any proposed re.
 form little more to lose from the con
 tinuation of system as absurd as i
 is unjust. But am not alone in my
 class. There are many other player!
 who also have the wallop, notabl! young Hornsby, who looks as thougl
 he would develop into the best clean '. up man in the business. It is for tn,
 sake of such players as these, and be
 cause the whole system is inequitabl
 anyway, that I am running the risl
 of being called a knocker and a sor
 head. Look at old Sam Crawford fo
 nineteen years considered the hardes
 slugger in his circuit, and he never ye led the league in batting. There
 something wrong with a system whic
 doesn't give more credit to a man lik Sam Crawford. For forty years tn : records have been all in favor of tn scratch hitter. Let's be fair about thi thing and give the man with the wal l lop. the man who delivers the goods 2 the man who really bats his innings It's been long overdue.