The Washington times., 1922-07-02

Someone asked me the other
day to name the most i'm
proved ball player in the major
leagues-not the greatest, mind
you, but the most improved-and
l couldn't think of any to rate
ahead of Rogers Hornsby, of the
St. Louis Cardinals, in this re-
spect. In making my selection !
was forced to depend, to greater
or lesser degree, on hearsay evil
dence, but even so l am satisfied
that Hornsby has made greater
progress in his chosen profession
since he came out of the bushes
than any other player now in
the major leagues.
When Hornsby came out of the
sticks to join the Cards. then man
aged by Miller Hugg!ns, in 'the sum-
mer of 1915 he was neither n good
hitter nor a good fielder. He choked
his bat to such an extent that he
poked himself in the ribs every time
he swsng al a ball and as a conse-
quencej batted only .246 in the eight
cen games he played for the Cards
that season. Most of the critics re-
garded him as a bust and expected to
see some other youngster playing
his position with the st. Louis club
the following year.
He had a wonderful pair of hands.
however, and big powerful wrIstS
and largely on this account HugSIns
determined to give him another tIlai.
During the 1916 training trip he al
tered Rogers style at bat, making
l. rw,.s,N al. % hA .nf nsy
handle and take a full swing. and
the lads Improvement was as wifi
as it was sensational. He batted
around 1913 that season, has been
one of the most prolific hitters in
leading his circuit with an average
above 800.
He Hits Everything.
What l like most about Hornsby's
hitting is the facile vigor with Which
he clouts all kinds Of pitching. 1t
doesn't seem to make a particle Of
difference to him whether the bali
is high or low. inside or outside, he
always is set to hit 1t. And seems
To hit 'em all equally hard.
/ remember one game he played
against US down al New Orleans last
spring in which he put the sock on
everything the Yankee pitchers could
throw. and finally swung At q bah
that was higher than his head and
foot outside, andlined it to the cen
terrified fence of one of the largest
playing fields in the country.
AS a fielder, too, he has shown
wonderful improvement until now he
Is rated as one of the greatest sec.
ond basemen, defensively, in either
major league. He came mp from
Donnison club of the Western AS
ISOLATION as a shortstop and made
his American League debut AS such.
He didn't seem to fit in however, /,
and was shifted all over the infield
before he finally settled down at Sec
ond base.
For several years he was only n
fair performer there. He gradually
caught the hang of It, however, and
now that he has mastered the knack
making double plays there are few
more dependable keystone men than
he.
Hard Work Does IL.
Thus the st. Louis star. by sheer
determination, has made himself not
only a great hitter but n corking
good infielder and one OF the bright,
outstanding stars of his profession.
They tell me, too, that he has good
disposition" meaning thereby that
he is easy to handle and makes fit.
tie or no trouble for his manager.
There IL a kid now playing In one
OF the. minor leagues-the Yankees
have a string on him belieVe-who
seems to be made Of the same sort
of stuff as Hornsby. A scout was
telling me about him the other day
and II half Of what I hear Is true
he's going to make a wonderful
player of himself inside another
year or two.
For various reasons cannot
divulge his name, but I expect to
have a lot more to say about him
within the next few months.
copyright, 1924, by Christy walsh
Syndicate)