Show Valuable Pointers S on How to i. Ba-i. BY E. E J. J KONETCHY A S First Base St. St Louis Nationals When a player falls off on his batt batti matter with him Tho The ordinary perse why a a. ball player should be able to hit Ca c ca a slump and act like Uke a novice at the b hI hIthe the game ganie of baseball the reason for thi th Good hitting considering of couri coun upon the physical and mental c cc shape his oyo eye is ill clear cear and his brain woi wo his mind is dull and he ho loses lotes his eye fc be patent that the tho man who is on tl ti swings too soon or too late at tho the ball i J 1 hard to tell Most likely it is the cond cone leagues would give a whole lot to km has taken a slump lump but this has bas to con the despondent player one day feel was vas tossed to him the tho next stands up 1 anything that comes his way The best thing for a man do to when his eye e is gone is to indulge in all possible possible possible pos pos- sible practice that he lIe can get He should have one of his pitchers work with ith him and have nothing served up up except straight swift balls This will help him better hetter than anything else elso to recover his accuracy and gauge tho the ball Jail to a nicety Timing the ball is the great secret of successful batters This knack must be natural to a man for it cannot be he ac nc- ne- ne In Iii this line the good ball player resembles nothing so so much as ns tho the good musician The Tho latter must have bave a natural natural nat nat- ural oral knowledge of time and the tho person who has no music in his soul can never attain this knowledge perfectly thou though h ho spends the whole of his life trying to get et it So it is with the ball player if he ho has not the natural ability to time the tho ball he ho might as well cease trying to play the game The rhe other day daJ as wo we were leaving the field of St. St Louis I heard a fan referring referring referring refer refer- ring to one of our players remark They I hey her ought to bench that fellow fello ho he cant can't hit anything As a matter of I fact the man to whom ho referred was one of the best stickers of our team and had merely been heen UI up against a little hard luck uck For three or 01 four days I have havo watched this pla player er and almost I I every time ho he came to bat hat he had met the ball squarely but hut could not seem to place it in safe t territory This is isa a fact I that is not taken into consideration by bya a great many baseball lovers They Thoy judge a man mans man's rs s ability to hit lilt by reading I the tho scores in the next day days day's s 's papers not at all stopping to think that a man who has no hits luts credited to him may nay have done far more toward winning the game ame than the player payer who annexed two or three safeties lag ing people begin to wonder what is is tha e in n cannot for the life of him reason ou ou U l l nc me part of the tho season and suddenly take it Lt To one familiar with the playing of Is ls is a a. well known fact J MA MAo lO o 0 the natural ball player generally d deJ de of the man When he is in good V ks quickly when he be is out of condition Ir r the ball To the close cose observer it will willIe Ie le toboggan as regards hitting bitting either rust fust ru what may be bo the tho cause causo of this is utica of the tho player Any man in the big w how to get out of the rut when ho be hoto 10 to about in III its own peculiar way and ig that ho he couldn't hit a balloon if it t tit it the plate and feels fecla like m murdering dc J f When the chap is off color the d of the tIle fans is the 1 freA tre tc thing in the world for him But in iii 6 si sul i ease case as liS this just when he be needs it most it is not not extended to him Tho Pi n a w who o is going oin alon along at a I clip needs no help from front the tho Crowd J he is who receives i t tile the very on one ho alls applause and credIt while the oth other lo foj low who may be a better play PaY t 1 a subject for jeers and jibes fi The great reat fallin falling off in hitting in lA past palt few years may be ascribed J t r number of cases First and forem foremost O these is the great amount of if which managers and pitchers pu put f endeavoring orin to find out the I th the batsman whose every ery ini watched watcher l' l Every pitcher on ev mi i fl knows just what kind of a ball ea caS 1 can hit and just what k kind nd wi 1 I 1 him bim Tho The other ther players on theall the tho t tall 1 all know where he is most moat li send the tho ball when he ho does dof's hit it i. consequently are lire always ready t to blot blot it 11 f The foul strike rule rue is another ori one of ii the reasons This in my m mind is one 11 f the greatest injustices as all all' far a nv as l 1 batters arc are concerned that has lIas ever bee introduced to our national game gane Critic will claim that it tends to to shorten contest and hold haM popular say what they will there can be he DO no nodi d d nying that n ninety nine out ut of JOP fans love lo to see ste slug slugging and w woul be willing to sit and watch a II gam S o half hour longer if there were pl plent of good hits for fo them to cheer at j But I suppose this rule has come f q stay sta and we wo will have bave to make the b bs t of it 11 it v t I To the large gloves O CS worn by all t tho J players these times may be attributed a II little litHe more blame for the tile poor hitting hitting- It It- Itis is almost an impossibility these times to hit anything anything- that a a. fielder can touch and to bo ho safe safo on it I believe that that- I players should use gloves for seine somo pt J is IS nece necessary sary but I do t think that the powers that be should see t to if that the size of them were limited limited- t. most any fellow with any ability a can ean develop himself int into a 3 go good d r rby rhy by hy goi gem out and Pur I ri 9 these pillows and gOO ol 01 olin in it Then all he lie has to to olli l how to judge the tho ball all all- The he spit-ball spit was a II drawback for a awhile while wIllIe but now that the players are accustomed ac no fo to it it not bother them much more than any any other of the shoots and slants of the hc good pitchers pitcher's a assort ort ment meat S. S 5 Like Lil every onry other part of tho the national Jn 1 game batting requires the use use o a av v whole lot of gray matter If ou manage manago to guess what tho the pitcher ii iiI I able to toss to you you vou can cau be bo reasonably reasonably reason reason- ably sure but the then its it's a mighty hard bard stunt for a felon to 10 try matching his brains against one ono of f tb the crafty of today especially when the od odds s favor I the pitcher in the ratio of about 10 to 1 |