Evening star., 1961-09-17


to. he arrived at the ball park
late after a night on the town,
gulped a couple of hotdogs.
washed down the hatch with
soda pop and Jared forth for
what the afternoon offered.
Many times he proceeded
forthwith to open with his
speciality. His big, grinning
moon face reflected his enjoy
ment of his work as he trotted
around the bags with short.
mincing steps, his equatorial
bulge wobbling in perfect time.
Babe in his gruff way was as
friendly and as easy to talk to
as a lonesome bartender.
Though he was always up to
some mischief, there wasn't a
mean fiber in his body. and
he would stop anywhere to say
hello to young admirer.
Babes idea of keeping phys
ically up to par for his job
was never to be caught with
out a burp-inducing bottle of
bicarbonate of soda or a case
of Scotch within reach. The
results speak for themselves to
confound the Puritans.
One hears talk today about
Babe not having been handi-
capped, as are Maris and Man
tie, by being required to play
night games in dampness. un-
der lights which, no matter
how brilliant, can't approx
mate daylight.
/ The answer to this is that
| today's players don't have to
bat in semi-darkness when the
late afternoon sun starts to
throw lengthening shadows on
the field or when there is a
heavy overcast to help pitchers
work their magic. In Babes
day there were no lighting
systems to take care Of such
emergencies by pushing a few
buttons.
Nor can those dreary day.
and-a-half railroad trips to st.
Louis, that Babe and his pals
had to put up with, be used
as an argument that they
weren't subjected to the strain
of air travel as are present-day
players. I venture one trip to
st. Louis by the old system
would be enough to convince
Mickey and Roger that the ad-
vantage is all theirs now.
Evidence of Rabbit
There were cries of rabbit"
ball back in the 1920s, just as
there are today, but there is
strong evidence to support the
belief that tighter winding has
put a jack-rabbit in the mod
ern ball. The principal differ
ence could have been in the
bats, Babe used a 42-ounce
stick in the spring and fall
when the weather was cool and
tapered off to a 36-ouncer in
the hUt weather. Maris swings
y 32-ounce cluI against south
) paws and a 33 against right
handlers. Mantle's favorite
weight in sticks is 33 ounces
+. When he hurt his arm recently
; he switched to a 34-ouncer.
AS an all-round ballplayer
Babe surpassed the Mighty Ms
( in every department but speed
He was a better hitter than
; Mickey, a superb fielder, had
a sure, powerful arm and never
threw to the wrong base. Maris
is a home-run hitting special
+ ist, a fine fielder and has a
: good arm. Mickey comes closer
. than Roger to being in Babes
| class as a hitter. Neither of
; them has Babes down to-
| earth appeal, utterly uninhib-
; tied nature, immunity against
; pressure and natural aptitude
, for getting along with people.
: Mantle has some of Babes
| lust for a gay life, but Maris
) is quiet homebody, happiest
, when with his family. Inter
viewing Mickey is a tough job.
) The Oklahoma boy is about
| as articulate as an oyster. His
deeds, not words, make t h e
. copy Mickey provides.
Maris can put words togeth-
, er we'll enough, but sometimes
: pulling them out of him takes
a bit of doing. On the other
hand, occasionally he says the
wrong thing, such as COM
planning about the unfairness
,of the fans who boo him.
, Mickey never does that. He
, just let's the fans boo. Roger
has less personality than Mick
/ ey and the contrast m a k S
! Mantle seem like a mu c h
; warmer person.
Anyway, neither the Mic k
! nor Roger was cast in Babes
heroic mold. 1t would seem
; that the lively ball, the lighter
bat and the less formidable
pitching don't add up to the
winning home = run formula
without the free and easy
makeup of George Herman a n
Ruth. of whom it has often
! been and is still being said