The Washington times., 1932-03-23
WIDER FIELD
WILL HELP
BABE
By BABE RUTH

zS.-1 heard q discussion the otner
day on that big Six-player deal be-
tween the Brooklyn and Cincin'
natl clubs and it interested me
deeply. Some ball players and
newspaper men in our camp were
in the group when the subject
came up and it seemed that every.
body viewed the trade in diff
ferrnS way. The part that in
terested me most concerned Babe
Herman.
Someone advanced the argu-
ment that Babe would not hit as
well in Cincinnati as he did in
Brooklyn, the reason being that
he is q pronounced rightfield hit.
ter and that the rightfield boun'
dairy is closer at Ebbets Field than
at Redland Field.
I disagree in some particulars.
I believe Herman will hit better
in 193a than in 1881, when he was
q menSAer of the Robins. He may
not hit as well as he did in 1929
and 1880, when he was up around
the 400 mark, but he Is too good
q hitter to need any convenient
walls to boost his average. have
seen quite a little Of Herman and
he did not impress me as a player
who is a definite rightfield hitter.
Hits Line Drives
There is another way to figure
1t. Babe is fast and he hits plenty
of line drives. This type of hit
will get him more bases on a big
ger field than where wall checks
the ball. He has always got plenty
Of doubles and triples, which
proves that he needs no nearby
fence to prove his hitting value.
He won't get as many homers in
Cincinnati as he would get at
Ebbets Field, but I look for him
to improve on his crop Of two.
baggerS and three-baggers. The
fielders playing against Babe will
have more ground to cover, so in
q way a larger field has its ad-
vantageS for a good hitter. And
nobody will class Herman other
wise.
wouldn't attempt to say which
team got the greater amount Of
player value in this deal. I don't
know enough about all the play
erS involved to estimate it on
that basis. The night after the
trade was made I talked with
Dan Howley, who had come over
to st. Petersburg to see q game
in which the Yankees took part.
You know the Reds train at
Tampa, which is less than an
hour by auto from our training
city.
Both Managers Pleased
Dan was very enthusiastic about
the deal and seemed to think it
would make his team much
stronger. No doubt Max Carey
has the same ideas. Howley was
particularly pleased over getting
Herman, and he believes Babes
hitting will make a Sizeable differ
ence in the Reds victory col
umr.
There is another angle about
the deal that is worth conSidera-
ton. 1t concerns o shaking up
of a team. The Reds finished in
last place in 1881, and they have
not finished out of the second
division in five seasons. Under
such conditions I believe it is
good policy to shake things up
and try different combinations.
If one group can't win for you
try another. You can't finish
any worse than eighth in any
event, and many a trade has put
new life in a ball club where it
had been lacking. Then, again,
the fans take new interest in new
players, and they are not greatly
interested in a player when the
team is steady loser.
Will Aid Reds
For this reason the trade should
help Cincinnati regardless of how
the player value stacks up. It
should help in fan interest any
way. But according to Howley
it will add strength on the play.
ing field.
have often thought that some
club owners and managers Of
second division clubs were tpo
conservative in regard to chang
ing players. Some of them go
along year after year with the
same men when a shift might
mean a lot to the individual
player and also to the teams in.
volved. 1t isn't always easy, I
know, to make desirable trades,
but I have been convinced for
years that more such deals as
that between the Brooklyn and
Cincinnati clubs would be help
full all around.
Sometimes one Of these deals
makes a manager look bad. The
player he gets for his team fails
to deliver. But oftentimes a player
remains with club and has a
bad year, anyway. The fans like
to discuss these trades and watch
to see how they work out. And
that means more interest in the
game.
HA NSn.lG9~ ESlA~