Show phe HE eyes of a smart catcher J should bo be able to study batting form at closest range this being true bill dickeys slant on ted williams is worth noting dickey was working in hollywood on the lou gehrig picture when the argument was started about great hitters in my opinion bill said ted williams last season was the greatest single year hitter bitter I 1 ever saw and ive been around quite a while ive also seen a lot of good ones or better than good but williams in 1941 was super good I 1 worked on him with our pitchers in something like 22 games and I 1 know what a tough job it was to get him out or keep him off the bases he was always a hundred per cent poison what makes great hitters what were the main factors in the williams swing I 1 asked the yankee catcher there were a flock of main factors dickey answered in the first place you just cant get ted to hit at a bad ball even one only an inch or two wide ile he must have eyes like a hawk youve got to get it over or hell wait and walk time and again ive seen him let balls slip by that have missed the plate by more than an inch in the second place williams has a great pair of hands wrists and forearms weighing only or maybe pounds he has almost as much power as the babe and lou used to have his timing is perfect he seems to wait until the ball s afi t pr TED WILLIAMS is almost in your mitt before he swings ive never seen a hitter who could wait longer before taking his cut few can do this everyone is a little too anxious at the bat and quick hitting or swinging is a general fault but not with ted williams no weak spots another thing about williams dickey continued is that he has no weak spots weve tried everything against him keeping them low keeping them up fast balls and slow balls curves and everything else but his bat seems to be e in the road no matter what he be is is served remember ted is a kid around 23 as I 1 recall it there any telling how many records he might have broken if there had been no war joe dimaggio is another great hitter who knows how to wait on a pitch joe also keeps a pitcher at work he hits at few bad balls and you never see him rushing any swing ive heard that good timing was simply taking your time and that seems to fit both williams and dimaggio another good year it might be noted here that the arkansas sniper is apparently headed for another big 0 year im m feeling physically better than I 1 have felt in a long time bill said id like to catch another hundred drea games again and id like to get back in the class it might be remembered that dickey broke all major league records last season by catching or more games for the time he H came to the yankees around 1928 and the tall arkansas entry has been a mighty factor in the yankee march ever since always a great hitter in the clutches dickeys main success has been in the matter of handling young pitchers or any brand of pitching you never see him excited or upset no matter what the crucial spot in the midst of wild and turbulent innings dickey remains cooler than the heart of an iceberg his knowledge of rival batters is astonishing ile he can tell you the weakness and strength of every hitter bitter in his league his pitchers can take his judgment in full confidence ile be has a soothing influence on the young er try a vital factor in the way of con rol there is much more to pitching han ban a strong arm in much itch more than speed peed and a curve ball he tells jou ou A big part of pitching is put ing the ball where you want it ive een more than a few smart pitch rs with little left in the old arm ie up batters by fine control pitch ig 19 to the right spots bill figures the easiest job he has s handling red ruffing |