The Omaha guide., 1947-09-27

h.vnth-old-son, and according TO hi
wife whom he mel at U.C.L.A.), al
-avs has his face buried in a paper
like most ballplayers,he soaks III
every word in every newspaper il
town that concerns him and his team
His reader reaction: Some reporters
write nice things about me and meaz
them, and others write nice things anc
don't mean them. lean always tell
So that Jackie would have com
.pany when the Dodgers we're on the
road. Hickey persuaded a Negro news.
man, Wendell Smith, travel with the
club. In two cities, Jackie said, he
had hotel trouble; he was not vel
come at the Chase, where the Brook
lyn club stays in St. Louis, or at Phil
adelphia's Benjamin Franklin. ("They
fooled me-" said Jackie. Il thought il
would be ST. Louis and Cincinnati. ,
'Oo
No Help at First. Branch Rickey's
dos and don't, strangely enough, did
not inciudeany instructions on hos
to play baseball Although Jackie
had played second base or shortstop
all his life, he was handed a first
baseman's mitt and sent out TO sink or
swim at a new position-first base.
Being right-handed was no help: first
base is a left-hander's position. 1t is
easier for left-hander to throw from
first to any other base, and easier to
pick a man off the bag. Only a few
great first basemen (among them the
Cubs Frank Chance and the Giants
George Kelly were right-handed. But
Robinson, with a tricky scissors"
pivot, manages TO get rid of the ball
as quickly as any southpaw first base
man in the league.
His biggest difficulty is trying 10
forget that he is a shortstop. ielding
ground balls he scoops them up at if
he had a quick throw to make. And
because he does not crouch down dri-
bible between his legs. He also SAINT
seem to break his habit of catching
put-out throws two-handed. The Card
inaIs' Stan Musial, for example, gets
a far longer reach by taking throws
single-handed.
A right-handed bitter , Jackie has a
habit of swinging too soon and his
motion is half chop, half lungs. As
a result, he fouls off a lot of balls
to the left. But his batting average A.
weeks end was a solid .30l. The
wise boys who judge a hitter by bis
Runs Batted In totals are apt to take
too fast a look at Jackie's R.B.l. and
grumble hat Jackie can't hit in a
tight spot. But as the clubs No. 2
hitter in the line-up,Jackie's job is
either to push along the lead-off man
by a sacrifice, or to get on base hm-
self. Jackie's R.B.I total (44) higher
than most No. 2 hitters-including
Philadelphia's Harry Walker, who is
baseball's current batting king with an
average Of 1862.
Actually, Jackie at bat is most dan.
gerous when the odds are against him.
When thecount gets to two strikes.
as he explains it: Then | begin to
crowd the plate a little" Says Branch
Hickey: "He is the best batter in the
game with two strikes on him." Pit
Pitchers capitalize on his hasty
swing by feeding him slow stuff. Il
just can't hit those nuthin' pitches
Jackie complains. Because he is best
bunter in the game, the Dodgers ecu
him loose" at the plate lie, let him
decide for himself whether to take
hit or bunt). He and Pete Reiser are
also the only Dodgers good enough
to be "cut loose" on the BASES, al
lowed to steal without waiting for i;
signal.
Timing and Tricks. By now, Robbi.
has carefully ~catalogred pitchers
covered that when Boston's 81 John
son crooks his neck in a certain way
81 has stopped worrying about the
base-runner and is about to pitch. Thi.
discovery gives Jackie a split-seconc
head start on his way to second.
A similar mixture of timing ant
careful study enabled him to stea.
home last month against the New
York Giants. Git was the second lime
he had pulled off the most spectacular
base-running trick o fthem ALL Stand
ing on third Jackie carefully watched
Pitcher Joe Beggs's windup. Robin
son ran in with the pitch as far as
he dared then slammed on the brakes
and began to CUNT: One-two-three-
four He licked off how long It
took Beggs to get the ball across the
plate. Satisfied that he could have
made it in time, Jackie scurried back
to third base and took a deep breath.
Next pitch, as Beggs involved himself
in another slow-motion wind-up. Rob-
inson was off like an express, rushing
for the plate. The pitcher froze like
a man with a highvoI tage electric
wire in his hand Jackie went home
standing up.
4