The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-01-30

a good swing and an aDlllgy TO
forget that when you try to place
stead of hitting the ball. So, dol
As you progress you viii learn
that the first important sidelight
on the art Of batting il the work
ing" of the pitcher. In the bis
league it is necessary to work or
have any big advantage. He GER
tainly will try TO work or
worry you Here Is method that
has brought me considerable sue
cess.
- walk UP to the bat and bluff as
IL you didn't care whether you
struck at anything or not; that your
main purpose was to have the
pitcher throw four balls ana let you
walk. Give him the impression
that you have no. respect for his
control
In situation like this the
pitcher viii usually center his Ell
forts on getting the ball over. In
desire 90 sll0W you his control
he may pitch nothing but =
straight ball right over the middle,
especially IL he thinks you are
not going to strike at Il.
40Gh HIS SOOA DIS 3OA ssSCO - 80
one. step forward and take a SOCK
at it.
q reach. On the next trip. If the
pitcher indicates that he is going
to fool YOU with the first one
s;nnIy wait. The idea is to keep
the pitcher guessing instead CT
letting him put you on the anxious
seat. IT is largely matter OF
psychology. You may not out-tnlnk
the pitcher every time, but you VIII
certainly improve your own nina
In trying. a,r,..
Ttry to keep them guessing as 20
} whether you win swing hard or
bunt. II they are uncertain yo1
will often get a hit on an inf1eio
grounder or a bunt. Never let
Them recognize your intentions Oy
the way you stand at the plate. IL
they are playing deep try a bunt.
Then IF YOU see them moving III 40
II for a bunt. why. hit the ball
hard and smash it through. To do
this. / realize that your eye must
he keenly trained. 1t is not as edsy
as falling off a log, but you Will De
surprised at the number OF times
Won succeed. You will also get a
great delight of playing game OF
wits. In short time you VIII ne
respected as smart ball player.
once you get that recoknition your
fob becomes easier.
Now. when you step up to
swing at a ball. get all the length
possible from your shoulders to the
tin of your bat. Let the bat OFT ot
your hand az far as possible. Your
arm should be like a continuation
of the bat. In golf this is cdIied
swinging through, and is all-im
portant. There is an important dit
ference. however. In baseball you
eshouId chop at the ball.
You should take a short, sharp
swing and still keep your arLls
I'm the position l have described
The long swings may knock a
ball out of the lot occasionally,
but you get much more results
by meeting it squarely with a
sharp chop. The only excuse for
taking the big swings is to throw
the infielders off their guard.
Every boy probably has discovered
by this time that there is one
pitcher whom he does not seem
able to hit. That follows a man
fight through the big leagues. For
long time / had an awful time
learning to hit DOC" White. s.~u-
If this trouble. has come to you
you must get busy Immediately and
lind out just what is the hoodoo.
There are various methods. One
Of the best is to shift your position
In the batter's box. Try several
positions until you find what you
Il. IT. r.
not succeed you may next try diff
ierent ways Of holding your bat.
Aou can increase your accuracy and
confidence by choking" it, that is,
moving your hands further up so as
10 make the swing shorter On the
other hand il you have been &C.
eustomed to choking" the bat let
-FOUR hands slip Down toward the
end so that you can take a long,
tree swing
If you will keep trying persis-
tently and with purpose you will
eventually find tbs trouble. Then
you can correct l.. Above all don t
allow yourself to get upset over it.
II you start worrying it is possible
mat your efforts at making changes
will make you worse. Think the
matter out carefully realizing that
the fault is yours and try one
theory at a time.
My cd friend, Hans Wagner, one
OF the greatest batters that ever
lived and very close student oI
the art. says that when a batter
goes In slump against some par
tNehlaf pltcher or against all of
them ne viii usually find the fault
IL his feet.
Hans saws that the position NJ