The Washington times., 1929-07-08
FIELD
IS CURSE
T0KN]S
BY Babe Ruth

~
It's funny how kid ball clubs
always look with scorn on the
outfield. / can remember as
kid on the sandlots. how We
used to pick out the worst
players, and the smallest kids,
and send them into the out
field to shay flies.
Kids are stiIl doing just that.
T watched a couple of kid teams
the other day and every one clam.
ored for q chance to pitch and play
first base, and no One wanted 10
play the outfieId. As matter OF
fact, playing the onttield is just
as much an art as playing any
where else on the diamond. 4
good outfielder is Just as valuabls
in his way as 2 good second base
man or a. good shoftstcp, and there
are lot of players who never viii
be able to play the outfield.
The outfield takes speed and .,
good throwing arm. 1t takes keen
eyes and fine sense of direction
and timing. Otherwise a. LOT of
lily DdIIS LldL ShO0AN -OC NeNASht RShA
fall safe for base bits. And. Of
course. an outfielder has to be able
to hit. A club can carry one or
two infielders who can't hit much,
but those three fellows who are
out there in the gardens have got
10 be able to lam that apple.
From the standpoint OF pro-
fessiOnaI baseball. there's an
other point about Outfielders.
too. It's = pretty fair job be-
cause there Is less strain on the
legs and arm. Outfielders last
longer than any other type Of
pIayer-and that's n fine thing,
too.
What Pm trying to say TO the
kids is just this: Don't feel bad
about playing the outfield. Go out
! there and do the best you can.
Try hard. Learn something about
your position and watch your
| chances. s
The kid who plays the ontfield,
| IL he's good, has just as good
| chance as the others to make good
| in baseball. And he's just as i'm
portant to his club as well. No
team, whether kid team or a
professional outfit, ever won pen
nant or an important series with.
| out good outfielders.
Every baseball season get hun.
dreds of letters from kids asking
me how they can learn TO hit. |
always have to laugh at the ques.
ton, yet I would like to tell them
| how TO do it, for I know how
earnest they are in asking.
Hitting Is more or less a gift
figure. Some fellows are
natural hitters and other players
can't hit to save their lives. I
don't think it's possible to make
n good hitter out Of y poor one
but ! do think that q poor hitter
can get better IL he will only
work at it.
Most kids make the mistake. in
the first place, of using bat that's
too heavy. The old theory that the
| heavier the bat the further the ball
will go is alright-but you know
you've got to hit that apple before it
will go anywhere. And you don't
| hit it with bat that's too heavy to
| swing.
Then kids make the mistake. too.
| OF trying TO kill the bali every time
they swing. The best hitters in the
big leagues mean the fellows who
| hit most consistently and the fell
/ lows who are toughest up thele at
| that plate--are chaps who don't take
| u full swing at all. Fellows like
Earl Combs are the ideal type.
Pm telling you honestly that
| if wasn't supposed to go up
there and hit home runs I'd
change my batting style today.
I'd try the Ty Cobb system,
choking my bat, standing closer
to the plate and using 3 chop
swing. might not get so many
home runs that way, but, be-
r Iieye me, I'd get lot mora hits
! than do.
Another thing, a good hitter has
| got to do, too, is to get his weight
| into his swing. What mean is, get
| the full power into it at the time OF
hitting the ball. That's what we
call timing-and it's the toughest
| the only way to get it-aHd even
then lot OF fellows never get their
timing right.
After all, the best advice j can
give in hitting is just this: Get
bat that "fits." Stand at the plate
naturally. Don't try to kill the ball.
Swing free and easy and just try to
meet it. After you learn to do that
then there's time enough to put
power and weight into your swing.
Copyright, 1899. by the Christy Walsh