San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-19

using any old bat, so a loaded bat
would be of no especial advantage to
him.
Whether loading a bat adds TO its
value is a question that has been an
swered both ways by some who have
tried it. But is a known fact that a
ball has been hit farther with an I'M
loaded bat than with loaded bat.
OF course, the rules of baseball for
bid the use of loaded bats and, as
no factory makes them, they must be
made privately. If there is anyone
who does not know what a loaded
bat is, it may be well TO state that
il is one into the bottom of which
metal has been inserted for n few
inches. The theory is that added
weight at the extreme end of the bat
gives added power to the wallop OF
the ball.
Former President Young said the
sectional bat was dangerous TO the
players becatse it was likely to be
shattered during the course of game.
something that does not often happen
to the standard one-piece bludSeon.
Many experiments with loaded bats
were made before theorists would con-
cede that they were worthless for
practical use. At least, they were not
practical for a game in which it was
intended that the implements should
be as uniform as possible.
All bats used in baseball cannot
be alike and it would be folly to have
them all alikC because some players
like them heavy and some ike them
light. 1t is an odd fact that more
heavy bats proportionately are used
by light men than by heavy men.
Babe" Ruth has used much heav-
Ter and more wide-sweeping weapon
than many great batters have used.
Cap" Arson was fond of a heavy bat.
Brouthers liked long bat. yet Childs.
chubby fat second baseman who RI
vailed BroutherS as a slugger. used
light bat that he could swing freely
and hard. Some of the old-time critics
thought Childs was one Of the best
line hitters in the history of the game:
Heine Groh uses bat modelled
after n potato masher. This weapon.
which recently crashed out five clean
hits in the course of one nine-ipnlng
game. has often been described rs re-
sembling bottle. butt is really the
big brother of the well known kitchen
utensil. Heine claims no extraOrdin-
airy powers for his favorite club. He
is partial TO il because of its thick
ness around the waist. the point ut
which he aims to hit the bal! rs he
steps into it. Groh has the proper
idea about facing pitcher squarely
and going into the ball as it comes to
him.
Those batters who stand at the
plate and swing side-arm with q
shoulder toward the nitcher would
not like Groh's bat. They hit with
sweep while Groh simply punches.
Since he has learned to control the
punch. he places the hits better than
batters who simply swipe.
All kinds OF. woods have been used
in making bats. but ash and hickory
have been found to make the hest and
ash seems far better than hickory.
There is not a great supply of either
wood. Bat manufacturers have agents
all over the country on the lookout for
growths of ash. The piles of wood
that lie on seasoning yards are as
founding. Thousands and thousands
of bats are turned ont every year. so
great is the demand. 1t is n wonder.
too. because not so many Of them arc
broken. -...... .-..
The original baseball bat was not
shsned like the hat of today. II was
modelled like 3 broom handle.