The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-01-19
HORNSBY SETS
UP new EXTRA
BASE RECORD
ST. Louis Star Deletes Delehanty's
Mark Which Stood for %
Years.
BY JOHN d. POSTER

/ New York, Jan. 19.-Roger
/ Hornsby, the st. Louis start broke
! the National league record for extra
base hits last season, an examina-
ton OF the records today disclosed.
/ His total for the season was 81
against rs, the former record, which
was set up by Ed Delehanty in 1893,
and never equalled in tho older
! league until the season of 1921
/ Both of these renowned sluggers
were overtowered by the mighty
Babe Ruth in the American league
I by his accomplishment of the past
/ season when he made 119 extra base
hits. or Sc more than Hornsby. His
! 50 home runs had a lot to do with
it but. he also made A two-baggers.
the same number as Hornsby.
| Back in the days when they
thought they had good baseball and
made Sc two-base hits, nine triples
and nine home runs in season.
Since then National league batters
/ from year to year have been ham
mering away TO surpass those flg-
ures. Hans Wagner. as big and as
good as he was with the vallent
cudgel which he waved in behalf Of
Barney Dreyfus for years, could not
do it.
Hornsby did it last season and
for the first time in almost quarter
of century, Delehanty's name goes
out of the baseball book of great
deeds, giving way to that of Horns
by of st. Eouis, born in Texas.
The new star did not equal Dele
hanty in two-baggers but he sur
passed him in other ways. Against
Delehanty's Sc two-base hits he
made "A. Delehanty batted nine
three-b aggers when he made his big
run but Hornsby batted 16. In
home runs Delehanty had nine
against 81 for Hornsby. The total
of Delehanty's achievement made
IA against IS for the new National
league leader.
Now for d comparison observe
where both of them are surpassed
by Ruth Babe hit above his record
of 1920 in 1921 and he has estab-
lished a mark which may live a
century against Delehanty's quar-
ter of a century record in the Ma
tioEal league.
III 1921 the American league mar
vel made "A two-baggers, the same
number as Hornsby. Ruth batted
II three-ba ggers against 16 for
Hornsby. That is where the right
handler had it over his left hand
rival. Ruth can't seem to hit three
baggers. If the ball gets out where
it looks like Il three-ba gger it is
more apt to turn into a home run.
OF course when il came to home
runs Ruth had it all over Hornsby
as he made 50 to 81 for the other
fellow and it was only three or four
years ago that y home runs would
have been acclaimed from the Allan
tic to the Pacific.
Ruth's total of 119 extra bases
represents one figure at least in the
achievements in the history of the
National game. 1t is also a triumph
of the left hand batter over right
handler and that is something else
which gives joy to those who argue
for. the superiority of the left hand
hitter.
The combined records of Hornsby
and Ruth for 1921 establishes
total of POP extra bases which an
oldtimer like Cap. 1Anson would
nave lOlu you was an absolute I'M
possibility as it was possible for
anyone TO make an estimate of bat
ting strength in his time.
AS Delehanty was a right hand
batter and Hornsby is also a right
hand batter, the fright handlers
still hold the supremacy in the Ma
tional league. although of course
they do not hold so much in the |
American league with Ty Cobb and |
Babe Ruth both on the left hand |
side. For most of the history of the !
National league, right handlers have |!
triumphed in contradistinction to !
the left hand victories of the Amer
lean league.
When National league batter
has arrived who can erase Dele
hanty's performances from the base
ball map, as is now indicated, when |
the records are being compared and |
put together, it is significant that a
new era has started in the National. !
just as Ruth has begun one in the
American