The sun., 1919-11-02
Only Twelve Men in Game To-
day Have Five averages
Above That Mark.
COBB LEADS WITH IA
Jackson and Speaker Each
Have Travelled in Select
Circle in Ten Seasons.
~ FREDERICK G. LIEB.
copyrioht. 1919. oil rights reserved.


There used to be a time in baseball
when the 800 hitter was fairly common
That was in the days OF the old twelve
club National League circuit, when
a player was q nobody il he landed I'M
der 800. In 1895, the National League
had more men above 1875 than 1t had
over 800 last season.
How many men in baseball would the
average fan say have hit 800 or better
at least FIVE years? There are only a
dozen such men in baseball to-day.
| Bobby Yeach, the Tiger slugger, Is the
| twelfth. He got into this select batting
class by hitting .S52 last season. The
list also includes Hal Chase, whose 800
| average in the Federal League, makes
It possible to include him in this select
| society.
OF the twelve players, seven--Cobb.
Jackson, Collins, Speaker. Baker. Nc
Innis and Veach are American Leaguers.
| four-Sherry Magee, Daubert. Wheat
and Doyle-are National Leaguers; while
Chase divided five 800 averages be-
| tween the American, Federal and Nat
ional leagues.
Ty Cobb. of the Tigers. Of course,
! leads present day players in batting over
800. Cobb has hit over 800 for four
teen successive seasons,--in twelve Of
which he led the American League in
| batting. Ten of these averages are $40
or better. and twice Tyrus has scared
above the 400 mark. the acme every
batsman strives for.
Four American Leaguers.
Only four American Leaguers, Cobb,
| Farrell, Lajoie and jackson, have gone
above 400 and no National League bat
ter has hit 400 since 1897, when Willie
Keller, then with the Baltimore Orioles,
hit .432. Cobb's 400 averages are .42O
In 1911 and .410 in 1912. The only
| American League average better than
Cobb's was made by Larry Lajoie in
1901, when in the first year of the
American Leagues expansion to the
East he hit .422.
Joe jackson OF the White Sox and
Iris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians
are tied for second place with ten ave-
RACES over the 800 mark Speaker had
a chance to make 1t eleven last season.
but he fell under 800 for the first time
since becoming a major league regular
Already one hears foolish tales that
Tris's new managerial duties affected
his batting, but Speaker was only hitting
around .260 last season when he sue
ceeded Lee Foil as the Cleveland chief
Jackson is one of the few players
= baseball ever produced who has beer
able to hit 800 from the time he broke
into the majors. Even Cobb hit only
.237 in thirty-seven games the first yeaI
he broke into the American League.
jackson Made Fine start.
Jackson took part in a few games
with the Athletics In 1908 and 1909, bu
not enough TO get in the batting averages
He Joined the Cleveland Indians in the
fall of 1910 and hit 1897 in twenty
games topping Cobb. Ty, OF course. wa,
the batting champion, inasmuch as ht
played all season. Ever since Jackson
Ty always has been able to keep the
jump on him.
, In 1911, Jackson's first complete veal
. in the majors, he hit .40s and torcet
Cobb to go APO to beat him. This I.
the only case on record where young
, ster just breaking into baseball has hi
over 400 In his first real season. The
next season Joe hit 1876 and forced Cobt
up to 40.
1t is reasonable to say that the re-
markable work OF this youngster. Jack
son. was the direct cause of Cobb's two
400 averages 1t was this Carolina
youngster who furnished Cobb with tn,
competition to enable him TO soar to bat
ting heights which were unknown to tn,
Q present generation OF fans.
t Jackson slipped to .So1 in 1917, tn,
n lowest he has ever hit In any league, bu
Q he was back to 1854 and $50 respectivel!
;. in 1918 and 1919.
= Speaker HIT ..co in 1908.
d Like Cobb, Speaker didn't make mucl
n of batting start when he first joine,
a Boston. He hit .220 In his first fal
u with the Red Sox. 1908. when he sue
ceeded Gabby Cravath. present Phtla
delphia manager. In the outfeld. Cravatl
4 didn't show much in Boston. But begin
4 ming with 1909 Speaker lift over 800 70
, ten successive years until he fell las
. season. He reached his highest point il
g 1915, when he hit 1856 and snatched tn
n batting championship from Cobb It wa
the only time Ty has been beaten GU
q for the American League batting crow
since 1907.
n Next after Jackson comes Eddie Col
a Inns, the clever little captain of the Chi
II cago White SoX. who hit better than 30
o. for nine years. Eddie drew eight 80
Is averages IN a row, starting with 100!
Is but dropped out two years. Last yea
" he again was back with the 300 boy
II His best average was 1865 in 1911.
a Stuffy McInnis of the Red SoX, FAC
II Wheat of the Dodgers and Jake Dat
bert of the Reds are next with seve
800 averages apiece. The unofflcii
averages for 1919 put McInnis at .2e
and Wheat at .297, and 1t is possib
that the official averages will put both
G these players over the 800 line and II
crease their 800 averages to eight.
Like his former teammate OF the All
q letics Mcinnis has slumped in battin
the last few seasons Stuffy hit ov,
800 from 1910 to 1916 inclusive, givir
him a run of six straight. He droppe
m to .2s5 In 1916, but was back with II
AZ 800 boys in 1917. He again was und'
0. 800 in 1918 and during the past seaso
or he finished with .29S.
ne wheat First Hit 400 in 1909.
Wheat compiled his first 800 averal
III in 1908 and then failed to hit 800 aga
= until 1912. when he hit 1906. In 1918
~, was just over the line, ,301, and in l91
~ he hit $40. He fell out again in 1911
or but clustered three more 800 averag,
40 in 1916, 1917 and 1918. In the last yei
he hit 1876 and led the National LeagI
X at bat. Like McInnis Wheat failed
O. hit 800 in 1919 by a few points
Jake Daubert, Wheat's former 81
running mate in Brooklyn. is anoth
who no longer could keep up the 81
pace last season. His record is som
thing like that of McInnis He hit 81
III