Show BATTING IMPORTANT gamec PART OF BALL GAME team will not be successful unless players can hit well and spee speeton eton on bases by bir CARL LUNDGREN baseball Baie Base ball baill cotch coach UnIve ralty of illinois ratting batting la Is one of the most important parts of baseball unless a team his has men in its lineup line up who can hit they will not be successful no matter how good they may field or throw A team that can bat and run ran bases strikes terror into the hearts of its lt opponents unless you are commonly known as a natural hitter and have hare the unusual ability to connect with the ball without any difficulty you must pay a great deal of attention to form in batting the average ball player usually has several faults in his form of bat ting that it if corrected would add points to his batting average and value valna to his team A player la Is said eald to hit in good form when he stands erect at the plate 11 wings swings with a stroke that Is well controlled troll ed and not so BO hard that he cannot follow the ball with his eyes the arms must be kept well away from the body the stride should be short and the batter should step directly toward the pitcher the back knee anoe should be rigid and not bent as the swing Is taken in starting the swing awing the bat should be carried well bak baek over the shoulder lust just before the pitcher Is ready to let loose of the ball in making the swing care should be taken not to drop the right shoulder as this tends to make you hit bit under the ball it if the ball Is between the shoulder and the waistline the stroke la Is merely parallel to the ground from the waistline to the knee it approaches a golfing stroke the stroke strobe should be made with a moderate swing that la Is followed through with the weight of the body behind it many a batter Is ruined because he swings his head bead off the harder you yon swing the less likely you are to connect with the ball bearing these fundamental principles in mind the batter must also take the correct position in the batters box and hold his bat right W with ith an ordinary pitcher in the boxy box the batter should stand from six to twelve inches from the plate and directly orr opposite it against a pitcher r with tremendous speed and a poor curve stand as tar far away from the plate as the rules permit it if you yon are close up you will not have time to make your conr stroke if the pitcher uses many curves and slow balls without much speed stand at the extreme front of the batters battees box this win will enable you to crack that slow bell ball before it curves or at least before the curre reaches its maximum the bat should be held firmly but with the muscles loose and relaxed in order that a tree free and easy swing may be obtained your tour hands hand on 0 n the bat should be together or at the farthest not more than three inch inched apart the batter should watch the ball with an intense con concentration which does not for a second lose right eight of the ball from the second the bu ball leaves the pit pitchers chees hand until it tg Is right 0 over r the plate the batters gaze should be e intent upon it it A good batter never hits at a bad ban all but should wait waft until the one to his liking comes over some gome of tho the really great sluggers slug gera may occasionally bit a bad ban ball safely but it Is safe bate to say that nineteen out of twenty hits are made off balls directly ov ova the plate english star here P 4 william it IL applegarth greatest sprinter has arrived ile tier seeking becking a position as ai track coach and hopes to meet american star stam he H hold bold a many english titles and among hla his records record Is tb yard ah which he made in 21 secondia secondI 6 crmim a new aw marl mark sy |