Show HEAVY HEA VY BATTER BAITER NOW NOV PLAYS WESTERN VESTERN BALL BALI More Three Hundred Hitters Hitters Hitters Hit Hit- in W. W L L. Than in Majors Combined rr HC secret It la out OLit 1 THE I The hitter who I la is being I mourned In the big leagues league as aa a disappearing factor Is I. taking Horace Greeleys Greeley's advice vice and nd moving West II The official averages of the Western league for 1916 1116 show what has become of ot him There between th the Mississippi nn and l the tho tho the pill nourish WIlhe nathe ua WI the green grren bay tree trel never ncr flourished Ho lie Hohas has b become Omo BO no common as nit to not excite more than the tho most mOlt casual comment In President Z circuit List year two forty ball ban players broke broko Into the class ciaNI and twenty four more batt batted more than SO 0 That means that In the Western league there were more morr swatters than In the American National and American association asso RIUO- elation combined TI The Te American Amerlan Itt league J produced eleven doan 3 pitt Ill killers and twelve e who batted between 80 und Tho The National l lind nine nino batters e hitting above end and seven In In n the a eta class s. s The Tho a association l' l produced pro fO thirteen In tho the magic maglo circle The league wan cons led It'd b by Harry Hatry nut hr I 1 of ot Denver who ho swung on th the horsehide for tor or R Il a ara crape average Butcher wad was wa n a former big lg If leaguer Among Amon former big le leaguers who were In n the tho SI class In the Western were wern lebel l Oakes Kru Kruger tr Metr Joan Joah I l and Kr Fred O. O d Hunter Many fans will declare declare- that the answer will III be bo found round In tho the pitching W Well II It wont won't Western est rn league pitching is la pretty good cod Out In the thee Western e tern league cities the they hey will tell you lOU ou that It Is la as ns Rood good an nit I claw dasa AA pitching I For or In Instance there ther I Is Marty Rrt with a 1 total l of ot fifteen name gamer won and ten seven lost there them Is le Run flue Fond with sixteen fn won and nine boat loit There In I vet Lefty Thomas Thom as AJI who ho broke even with fifteen and nd fifteen teen een and went to Washington late lato last season on to win two ho games all aJl h he pitched one of ot them being a two two hit hit shutout Then there 1 It Harrington Barrington of l Denver Demer who won on eleven and lout lost three games mf and Lambeth L' who showed ho d well In tr tryouts trout outs with Uh Cleveland lat last fall and Malta Halla and Musser u er formerly of ot Washington and several sev- sev w eral ral eral oth others They am not bad bul pitchers But Jut there Is III a secret In the big bla batting n averages Th There re are arc a lot of short hort fences In the Western Vestern league In Sioux CIl City they play ball baU In a store box the right field fence at al Des Dea D Moines Joines Is pretty prett short short and there thera are art other good average fattening lots IotA Then too the they used a IL pretty lively 11 ball baU In n the t western last lut season It wasn't as asIve live Ive as a golf oU ball of or course but hut we would like to see sec Cobb or Speaker Ill lay against It And the hi high h altitude at Denver r and at Colorado Springs Spring which was nl a member of ot the tho league for a short time last lut year ear has ha something to do with It 1 who work ork In the high altitude ta say the light lIcht air all pressure pre makes It hard to throw curve balls Is and easy to serve up lI speed td If It a ball bill can b be thrown faster and further further fur tur- ther In high altitudes Altitude It naturally can be bo batted further But all this doesn't take away anything anything any nn- thing from the fact tact that the Western produced produced produced pro pro- sixty six 20 AO O last year ur |