The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-17
Canada and Great Britain by North American Newspaper Alliance. All rights
W H. G. SALSINGER.

reserved.)
 By H. G. SALSINGER.
 Ty Cobb was a good outfielder and an intelligent one, but never great in the sense that were such men as Fielder Jones of Chicago and Iris Speaker of Boston and Cleveland.
 Jones was a marvel in several ways. He was a star outfielder when Cobb broke into the league. He played cen terfield for the Chicago White Sox and his right fielder and left fielder, both below the average in mechanical skill, had little to do. Ball players used to say that Chicago was the only team in baseball that used two fielders on the foul lines. They played closer to the chalk marks than any right or left fielders since. The Chicago outfield was composed almost literally of Fielder Jones-so wide was his range. He played center, but he also played left and right.
 Iris Speaker also covered a wide range, but not as wide as Jones, be- cause Speaker always had one or two good men alongside him in the outfield and there was no need to stretch his area.
 Shifted For Eaters
 These outfielders, Jones and Speaker, always shifted for the batsmen. They depended upon keen judgment plus mechanical ability to get the ball on outifeld drives.
 Cobb was unlike them in the main. He, too, covered a great deal of terri tory, not quite as much as Speaker or Jones, but still more than the average outfielder. But where Jones d Speaker played the batter and stationed themselves in the spot where the bats man was likely to hit, Cobb did not play position; he depended upon his quick break and speed to get him to the spot where he could make the play. Jones and Speaker played the batsman first and then the ball. Cobb played only the ball.
 When he began playing for Detroit as a regular he was the Tigers right fielder. Sam Crawford played center field, Crawford going to right and Cobb taking Crawford's place in center be- cause of Cobb's superior speed. But most of Cobb's best outfielding was done while he played right field. Before Cobb entered the league out | fielders always "rainbowed" the ball back to the infield on singles. In other words, the outfielders lObbed the ball back. Cobb. by turning first base sharply, forced these rainbow" returns out of existence. Also, he moved them deeper into the discard by his defensive play in right field. He introduced some new methods in outfielding and these were adopted where the player had the mechanical ability to accept and use them.
 Unsuspected Outs
 Cobb proved to baseball that snap throw from an outfielder to the infield could produce many outs. the possi- bility of which never had been sus- pected.
 When Cobb began developing and playing the outfield regularly, base run ners were forced to change their meth ods. Cobb compelled them to stay on their toes, to play heads-up baseball
 One of his big days occurred in q game where Boston opposed Detroit Harry Hooper, an excellent hitter and a smart player, was with Boston Hooper will probably remember the day for Cobb stole two hits from him tha; afternoon, and if there is one thing more than anything else that will i'm press itself upon ball players mind it is the loss of a base hit. Hooper was a rlSnt-Ileld hliter ne rarely III in any other direction. Cobb decided to take a chance on him and for once he changed his position, coming close toward the infield. Hooper, an excel lent lead-off man, headed the Bostor batting order. He waited out the De troit pitcher as usual and when tht count became three and two Hoopel offered at the next ball which was over He drove it into right field, low line smash that struck on the grass anC bounded on direct line toward Cobb The Detroit first sacker, Claude Ross man, had been instructed by Cobb tc run to first and cover the bag in case Hooper hit safely into right. As the ball shot between first and second Ross man ran to the bag. Cobb tore in or the ball, scooped it up and made snal