The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-09
Barons Wind Up Home Stay Today
Race for Batting Honors in
 Both Leagues Hot and Close
Leadership in American Has Changed Hands Several iines-Cravaths Mark in National Still Un-
 reached-Ty Cobb Still Batting High
By JAMES J. CoRnErrr

The annual battle for the batting cham
 pionships of the two major leagues i
 stlll going on full tilt, with the seasor l gradually drawing near the home stretch | During the last few years the field oj
 contestants for the honor of leading tho major leagues has usually been narrow.
 ed down to two rivals by this time O.
 the year, but the struggle this seasor | IS red hot and promises to continue thal way practically up to the close of the | pennant races.
 In the American league the leadershir has changed hands a number of times Slsier, Cobb Peckinpaugh, Veach anc Jackson have been stringing along neck and neck. Jackson did not hit his true stride with the willow till a few short weeks ago, but since he has come to the fore his vicious hitting has caused 1 many pitcher to hand him a free trans portation whenever the game happened to be nip and tuck affair and he has been bouncing the ball off the outfield walls with regularity.
 RACE IN NATIONAL The race for the National League cham pionship is just as hot, though Cravath' s retirement to the bench leaves him stand. ing still at the head of the list with an average better than .350 while Hi Meyers. ach Wheat, Cy Williams, McHenry and
 
 and setting pace that has caused the real leadership in the old league to switch back and forth.
 Cravath's wonderful hitting, practically up to mid-season. indicated that he might have held the pace throughout the sum mer had he continued in the game a. a regular. But his retirement from every day playing will leave him out of the running when the real champion for the tO hn arIy4 ,e time enough yet for any one of the lead ing hitters to start a streak that will land him out in front of the pack for the batting championship.
 Hal Chase did not find his true stride until the National League season was half over, but he has arrived now. At this writing he has hit safely in fifteen consecutive games and without streak of bad luck his batting rampage prom sise to put him into the running for honors-honors that he won in 1916 when he hit .339 for the championship.
 Eddie Roush and Zach Wheat, batting champions in 1917 and 1918 respectively. with .341 and .335 as their final averages, are both very much in the running again this year They are consistent sluggers- these two eataoutfeders, and there IS no getting aroVnd the fact that any batsman who beats out either of them will have to do some phenominal hitting
 300 MARK IS TOO LOW
 Little Benny Kauff, whose ambition to lead the batsmen of his league is just as keen as ever, still finds it difficult to keep very far above the 300 mark mark that has never won a batting championship in either league. Tn order to be a champion batter, if we take the records for it, player must hit better than .320, and this average won the bat ting title but once, when Larry Doyle grabbed the honors by hitting an even .320 in 1915
 A figure better than .325 is a low aver age for the marks set by champion bats men who have won honors with the bud- geon since 1876. when Barnes of the Chi cagos. led the old National league with .403. Duffy of Boston set the high batting mark in the National league since 1876 when he hammered the apple for grand average of .438 in 1894
 In the American League Nap Laioies mark of ,432, made as a member of the Athletics in 1901. still stands supreme. though Ty Cobb, the greatest batsman of all time, closely approached that fig