Evening star., 1925-04-02

Youngsters, batting first in an
inning, should never worry If the
pitcher gets a strike or two on them.
This is particularly applicable if the
twirler is inclined to be a bit wild.
The best Of pitchers will issue passes,
and one without excellent control is
more than likely to do so at any
stage of game.
Give the pitcher a chance to work
himself into a hole. If he doesn't
directly over the plate and give you
fine chance to hit. In any event
try to get on first You can't score
without first reaching there.
The lead-off man in an inning will
often find 1t possible to get on the
bases by being hit by the pitcher
You can't be too deliberate in using
this method. You will have to make
it look as if you are trying to get
away from the ball to satisfy the
umpire. Don't Intentionally let q
pitcher hit you in a spot where the
injury might prove serious. And don't
make the play look Intentional II
you do the umpire won't let you take
your base.
Conditions of the game will gener-
ally govern the batting attack when
men are on the bases. If the win
ming or tying runs are on the paths
and you have the pitcher in a hole
where it is necessary for him to put
the ball over, step into 1t. You can
set yourself for a healthy swing.
If the tying runs are on the bases
always try to get a hit. Say the score
is to 1 against your team and there
are men on second and third. Your
best play is to hit. If the tying run
is on first try to get on without
swinging unless you are a long-dis-
tance hitter. Don't be satisfied to
play only to tie the score Always
strive to take the lead, where there
is chance to do so. Such tactics are
discouraging to the opposition.
Another important phase of the hit
ting attack is the hit-andrun. Don't
use the free-swinging type Of batter
on this play. The slap hitter is much
more effective. The play is most
likely to prove successful if put on
when the pitcher Is in hole.
There are two reasons for this.
First, the catcher can't call for a
pitchout, because his battery mate
can't afford to waste a ball. This
gives the man on first a fine chance
to reach second safely, even if the
batter does fail to go through with
his part of the play and hit the ball.
In the second place, the pitcher will
be forced to put the ball over the
plate where the batter will have a
much better chance of hitting 1t. All
the advantage is with the team at bat
when the play is tried with the pitch
er having, say, two balls and no
strikes, or three balls and one strike
on the batter.
Batter and runner must both do
their parts correctly. Neither can
miss the sign for the play, because
1T takes two to complete 1t success
fully. Youngsters should use some
simple, natural signal for the hit-and-
run.
The batter will do we'll to be fairly
certain that the pitcher has good con-
troll, so that he can get hold of the
ball with his bat. Don't try to kill
the ball on the hit-and-run. Keep it
on the ground. Never knock it in
the air The ball that bounds along
the diamond always has a chance to
get through.
You will have to hit through the
opening made by the second baseman
or shotstop covering the bag. You
can't always guess which will cover.
but If you smash the ball along the
ground you always have chance to