The Washington times., 1935-07-29

and the atti- ~
tude of the M A
ball players to- Frank suck y Neili
ward scores and methods of win
ming.
Playing for one run, for in.
stance, went into the discard in
1921. Bunting became a lost art,
and is a lost art save in isolated
cases. The stolen base is begin
ming to find it's place in the book
of tactics. The drag bunt, so
popular with the Griffs under
Harris, is being restored, and we
see the hit-and-run more now
than we did formerly.
The greatest contributions in
the past quarter of a century
have been made by individuals
rather than types, and the lead
ers, as this agent sees it, have
been Tyrus Raymond Cobb and
George Herman Ruth. Each of
these great players founded a
school to suit his talents.
In an earlier day, Charles j.
Comiskey, the "Old Roman" of
the Chicago White Sox, made
critics gasp by playing deep first
base and rushing to the bag when
the batsman became base run
ner. This style became univer-
sally adopted by ball players.
Different Types
Tyrus Cobb and Babe Ruth,
generally rated as the greatest
ball players of all time, were as
different in type as the poles.
Cobb, a great hitter. probably
the greatest base runner in the
history of baseball, was a delight
fully synchronized piece of human
machinery.
His reflexes were as swift as
light. Let an outfielder juggle the
ball; let him arch his throws, and
Cobb was off for the next base,
and usually he made it.
When Cobb was at his peak,
stolen base frequently turned
ball game completely around.
Cobb would steal that base. He
stole 1872 bases in his career. If
he had to go from first to third,
or from second to the plate, he
went. There are records Of his
scoring from second base on an
infield out many times.
Cobb was the flash of light, the
darting, striking combat plane Of
the air. He struck and dashed"
away.
Ruth was the juggernaut, the
terrible engine of destruction
against which no defense would
serve when he was at the peak of
his prime. Ruth was not 1.-the,
not the delicately coordinated
machine of the Cobb type.
Yet he did not lack supreme
sense of timing, as witness his
great record as a hitter. Ruth
changed baseball to suit his ends
and created school, just as Cobb
created school. You may choose
which was better.
Ruth created a scorn for dis
lance and scores. The Yankees
never worried about the score as
long as they had one more time
at bat. Right here in Washing
ton the Yankees of 1920 scored
IA runs in one inning. They did
all of this scoring between the
first and second outs. and Ruth
was one of the bombers Of the
inning.
Spans Distance
Ruth spanned tremendous dis
tances with his drives. He could
not steal as Cobb did. His physique
was different. Moreover, it would
have been folly to permit him to
risk a broken leg sliding. But
Babe could steal and sometimes
did steal. Usually everybody was
surprised, most of all the catcher.
The Babe holds one record that
no other player ever held or
created. He cost a manager his
job on one pitched ball. It hap
pened in Cleveland when Lee Fohl
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full, two out and the count two
and three. Foil had the pitcher
try for strike and Ruth hit the
ball out of the park.
Ruth was a greater all-around
player than Cobb. He was great
left-handed pitcher, and was a
good first baSeman. He had a
better arm than Cobb. although
the latter by his thrilling and
seemingly reckless charges on q
rolling ball, cut down distance and
shortened his throws greatly.
Looking back over the period
indicated in my letter, we see
many a great ball player, Shoe
less Joe Jackson, Happy Felsh.
Iris Speaker, probably the great
est outfielder of them all, but a
man who will be forgotten long
before Ruth and Cobb pass out
of the public eye and mind. And
weighing all their power and
checking their strength, we know
that it was the individual who
contributed to the development
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