The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-24
.HEINIE GROH MOST
PECULIAR BATSMAN
And FIELDER IN GAME
By FRANiS 6. ,IENkr

| Heinie Groh is the most peculiar
batsman in the me-and the most
! peculiar sort of fielder There's no
one with plate stance like his; no
one who handles ground ball as he
does.
One pecuiiarity-that of batting-is
due to experiment; the other-in field
ing-is caused by a multitude of &C
cidents.
The hands of Heinie Groh are the
most mutilated OF any man that plays
the game today. Practically every fin
ger has been broken from one to five
times. The bones never knitted prop
| erly and the fingers, especially those
of the right hand, are so bent that
Groh cannot open them wide enough to
grasp bounding ball.
/ As a result, when a bounder is
smashed at him, Groh, if he cannot
grab it with his gloved hand alone,
makes no effort to field it Clearly
He simply knocks it down and then
picks it up for the throw.
Those unknowing the frightful con-
dition of Groh's hands-especially the
lright-often have accused him of
"grandstanding" by attempting gloyed
hand pickups. But Groh's misfortunes
have forced him to choose between
knocking down the ball or making a
glove pickup.
Hands Were Broken
AT the start of my major league
career" related Groh, 81 figured that
| wouldn't last long in the game. The
bones OF my hands were so brittle that
, whenever a ball came to me on a
would be fractured. And, Of course,
that meant long bench layoff.
After most of the fingers were
, broken two or three times, I came to
feel that every new bounder driven
my way would result in another break.
But oddly enough, those fingers, bent
; and twisted though they are, can
! stand knocks a dozen times harder
, than they did when they were perfect
: in bone structure
! Groh is the only batsman in the
\ game who takes a stand at the plate
! facing the pitcher with both eyes. He
) stands that way until the ball is well
! on its way to the plate. If he doesn't
/ like it he doesn't change his position
but lets it go by
, But if he wants to take a swine at
! It, he whirls quickly into the ordinary
5 sldeway hitting position and bangs
; away.
Changes Stance.
i bat that way because I have
: found it improves my hitting" ex-
! plains Groh. In my early DAYS l
J used to stand the wav ali The Other
! right-handed hitters do-with nv left
eye facing the pitcher. l didn't do so
we'll as hitter and began to figure
out ways and means of getting more
safeties.
After while I decided that if |
} could keep two eyes on the pitcher.
\ and use two eyes in following the
course of the ball, l would be able to
do better. So the day aftelward |
q tried batting that way.
The system was not bowling sue
q cess at first. l didn't find much
4 trouble finding the ball coming up. or
in determining whether it was going
e to be good or bad, but did have
trouble whirling around quickly
0 enough to get into position to hit the
S ball before il crossed the plate.
e In time acquired that trick which,
5 after all, isn't hard one, and ever
e since then have been batting that
/, way and hitting, year after year, a
Il whole lot beyond my old marks"
= Uses "Bottle Bat"
Groh uses the only bottle bat in
n baseball. II is most freakish in con.
struction. From handle end to a point
about II inches beyond, it is regula
ton. But from that point it's as
Z thick all the way as the average BAT
l is at its very end. There is no taper
2 ing to Groh's bat.
U It's the best sort of bat in the
y game" declares Heinie. THE average
l bat is faulty inasmuch as the batter
y sometimes meets ball down near the
y handle end, and because the bat is
. very narrow there, he can't get any
1 crash into it.
But with my bat it is different.
don't need to meet the ball at the
i. very end to get the real kick in the
Z drive. l can meet it anywhere along
y from a point about a foot away from
the base and have as much WOOD
l back of it as if / met it on the very
= end"
81 Despite Groh's espousal of his freat
bat and his enthusiasm concerning it
y he's still alone in the use of that style
y of hludgeon.
" Copyright 1921 ny TlfnS Features
Syndicate. Incl
. Additional Sports on Page 13
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