Evening star., 1927-10-17
MORIARTY
AT BAT
BY GEORGE MORIARTY,

BY GEORGE MORIARTY,
Manager of the Detroit Base Ball Team
Former Big League Third Baseman and loi
10 Years an American League Umpire
A Pair of Socks.
Oh, boy!
What JOY
Fifty thousand fans
Gone mad
Regad!
How they rock the stands!
What for?
Winning score?
No. no begorry.
Wrong guess,
Nothing less
This is the story:
Pitcher tall,
Curve ball
Shoots from the mound,
Batting whale
Heels in the ground;
Mighty swing,
Then, Zing!
Ball becomes a roamer.
Simple truth:
Gehrig, the youth,
Or big Babe Ruth
Socks another homer.
There are players in the major
leagues who pay professional 80
much per lesson to teach them how
to hit golf ball properly. Many Of
these same players will lose their big
league jobs because they have not
learned to hit a base ball properly.
Some players will never improve be-
cause they will not try to improve.
Base ball is work with them. but II
they put the same amount of energy,
time, patience and ambition into their
professional endeavors as they put
into golf they would find their salary
checks mounting instead Of dropping.
All players are not like this. Take
George Burns of Cleveland. Burns
was never compared to Hal Chase as
fielder, nor to Ty Cobb as a base
runner. He was fairly good hitter,
but by no means one of the leading
hitters. He realized that If he could
learn to hit into right field he would
add many points to his batting aver.
age. He changed his stance at bat.
He changed his swing. The result
was that Burns average started
climbing and kept on climbing. He
set a new record last year for total
number Of two-base hits made in one
season and was voted the most valu-
able player in the American League.
Two years before that he looked
nearly through as big Lacquer.
Phil Todt made himself so per
cent better ball player by learning
to pun the ball into right. This Bos-
ton Red Sox first baseman, like Burns.
had carried the course of being a
dead field hitter.
The crack lead-off men in base ball
are all supposed to be little men, be-
cause the smaller the batter the less
target pitcher has to shoot at. Max
Bishop Of the Philadelphia Athletics
Is not little man, but crack lead
CIT man. He made himself valuable
IN the NO. l batting position in spite
or his height by schooling himself to
wait out the pitchers. He also better.
ed his Judgment of pitched balls.
Johnny Neun Of Detroit, was Just
a utility player until this season Just
closed. and he rarely got into the box
scores. He learned a few inside tricks
or base running, practiced hard, and
became a regular first baseman. His
pattlng and fielding improved along
with his base running.
Gene Robertson did not improve him.
selfafter he Joined the st. Louis Browns
and he was finally shunted back to
the minors. Then he started to i'm
prove so much that the New York
Yankees bought him. A failure at
st. Louis. Robertson became a star
with st. Paul and beat his way back
to the big tent.
Earl Sheely Of the Chicago White
Sox, is big and slow. but he developed
the finest shift have ever seen a first
baseman use, and thus discounted
his physical flaws.
Luke Sewell Of Cleveland, was
about to be sent to the minors. Then
he learned to hit into right field. He