The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-05-02

But so far, SO good. I've got
myself couple of homers. I'm
satisfied my eye is as good as it
ever was. I'm swinging the way
1 always have and am taking a
good "cut" at the ball.
But I'm up against a peculiar
situation and that's why / feel
that if I'm to have any trouble this
year it will be more with myself
than with the pitchers.
This is what I mean:
Baseball fans expect me to hit
home runs and nothing else. . If in
trying to get a homer | drive out
sacrifice fly which scores a run,
I'm disappointment so far as the
crowd is concerned.
If / get a single, I'm a failure.
too, up to a certain point. If /
strike out or hit a grOunder to
the infield, not only am a total
bust to the crowd, but sometimes
get that dear old raspberry.
Let's call spade a spade and a
raspberry a raspberry. Like any
other human being I'd rather be
cheered than Kissed. / prefer roses
to loganberries. / prefer home
runs to strike-outs. But because
I'm trying harder this year than l
ever did / suffer a lot more disap-
pointment when / don't get a hold
of the old apple.
Here's where / run up against
what some of us golfers call the
mental hazard. Every time / fail
to bust the ball out of the lot /
go up to bat the next time and
try just so much harder. Some.
times I'm so desperately anxious
that / don't do as well as | would
if l went up there in an ordinary
state of mind. And that's why I've
got to guard against myself
j think / can take fairly good
care of the pitchers. It's the
way l adjust myself to the. dis
appointments that every ball
player must suffer from day to
day that's going to be my big
problem.
Let me tell you it's no easy one
to solve. How would you like TO be
in there every day for more than
$50 games and have great hig
crowds expect you to get nothing
but home runs? | merely put the
question to you to give you an
idea of how | feel about it.
Jack Dempsey, I think, has an
easier time of it in his line than
have in mine. So does Benny
Leonard and the other fight cham
pions. They don't have TO defend
their titles every day: Neither
does Gene Sarazen, or Bill Tilden,
or Charley Paddock, Or Joie Ray.
do.
or course, each ball game can
be compared to one round in n
fight or to one hole in a golf
match. But if Dempsey doesn't
knock out his man every time he
lands "a punch he isn't disappOint.
ed. He has a lot more punches
at his man in fight than l
have swings at a pitcher.
i've been thinking plenty about
this angle to my job and what is
expected of me. The load / have to
carry is bigger than it ever was.
SO is that mental hazard" I
want to do better than | ever did
before, but I'm not going to force
my luck If l strike out I'm not
going up there the next time and
strike out again simply because /
want a homer just so much more.
I'm not going to swing at bad
balls if I can help 1t.
I'm not going to let the little
failures and disappointments that
come into almost every game upset
me. I'm going to try to let the
pitchers do the worrying. If I
worry I'll make a mess of things,
and since I've done pretty well SO
far ! don't believe I'll do much
worrying, anyhow.
Copyright. 1923 by the Christy Walsh
Syndicate)