The Washington times., 1925-03-14
RUTH SEES
Bic YEAR
AHEAD
Little Matter of Weight Fails
to Worry Busting Bam-
bino at All
By BABE RUTH.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla, March
14.-BaIl players should lay off Of
predictions and personally ! am
not a great one on making rash
promises. have received in
quiries from all over the country
about what / expect to do this
season. At it would take all my
time to answer them separately,
I'll start out my series of articles
with this general statement:
"I've never felt better or more
fit in my life. A little over
weight? Yes, but I can see the
ball as well as l ever did, and can
hit it just as hard. / can see no
good reason why I shouldn't have
one of my best years in 1925"
I've been greatly amused by the
articles that have Deen written
about me since I left for Hot
Springs. Some OF them had me
twenty pounds overweight. Some
went as high as sixty. I didn't read
ali the papers. II had / probably
would have come across articles
that had me so tat that I couldn't
walk.
And while all this stuff was be-
ing written and read was round
ing into fine shape, getting into
the condition that the opening or the
season always finds me in.
It's true that was overweight.
But it's also true that / am al.
ways overweight when the spring
training season rolls around. It's
not only true Of me-it's true Of
most every ball player. And q
man Of my size and normal weight
naturally gains more during the
off season than . player Of
smaller size.
When 1 got out on the training
field here at st. Petersburg after
my arrival 1t took me just ten
minutes to show that could sock,
the ball as hard as I ever did in my
life. I hated to get my homers OF
Walter Beall, who is one OF the
best young pitchers we have in
camp. But had to prove to my
self and to everyone else that
could stiIl handle the Dat as well as
/ ever did.
And now that / am in the har-l
ness. I am rarin' to go. The cham
pionship season can't open too soon
for me. This spring training stuff
is great and all that but. somehow,
I never feel quite myself until the
regular season opens and something
depends on my hitting. It's a lot
of fun to hit out long ones even In
practice. But the real thrill comes
when you do it against opposing
pitchers-especially IL games de-
pend on them.
Though 1 am going to devote a
lot of my time to fielding, most OF
INV practice will be in batting. Not
altogether home-run batting either.
Of course, I am going to try to
heave the ball over the fence II
see an opening. But I have reached
the stage now where consider
singles and doubles OF as great I'M
portance at times as home runs.
The older Yankee players are
greatly interested in this young
fellow, Nick Cullop. There are
two reasons why Z am interested
in him. In the first place. like
myself. he came up as pitcher.
Secondly, he is q slugger after
INV own heart. / believe he has
great possibilities. He hits like .
regular hitter. He busts the ball
Ike a player who understands
the business Of busting.
Manager Huggins tells me that
he doesn't exactly know what to
do with Cullop. The boy can hit
so often and so nard that he is
almost too valuable to use only
every four or five days as pitcher.
Chances are that he will wind up
In the outfield somewhere.
l can't praise Lou Gehrig any
too highly, either. said last year
that the boy would be there. am
not trying to pull any 81 told you
so'' stuff, but Lou showed last year
that he was there, and he is proving
it again this year. I think he'll
come through as one of the best.
He busts the ball whenever he gets
a chance, and busts it hard. He
plays first base as il he had been
doing 1t all his life. Just keep an
eye on him. One Of these days
he'll have a lot to show.
Copyright 1925. by the Christy
lS1nN