Show LAJOIE attributes HIS SUCCESS ON DIAMOND TO BASEBALL INSTINCT by LARRY LAJOIE copyright 1910 by joseph B bowles it is hard to tell how any man wins a ball game because his winning de so much upon the other mem here hers of his team I 1 think that the big gest factor in winning in my case at least Is in having what I 1 think Is the baseball instinct whether that in is natural or acquired or mere ly the result of quickness ot of eye or what I 1 do not pretend to know but I 1 believe that a great part of a ball player a success both in batting and in fielding is the result rather of instinct than of anything else many times players do things almost without thinking that are exactly right and many times when they think out a thing carefully they do exactly tha he wrong thing i As tar far as I 1 am concerned I 1 win games by hitting it seems to me 1 I always could hit and in spite ol 01 the fact that some pitchers think other wise I 1 hit almost any kind of ball equally hard I 1 have often wondered why this was perhaps it was natural I 1 never want to know what a pitcher Is going to pitch and would much rather figure out tor for myself what ball Is coming than to have a coacher or any one rise ise tell me I 1 think hitting Is a natural gift rath er than one that can be learned al at though practise helps considerably 1 position at the bat is a big thing in hitting A batter should be firmly on his feet with the balls of his feet holding the ground tightly and he should hot shift position while king any one who is timid and who moves away and then strikes back at the ball or pulls as we say in base ball loses driving power and doea does not hit the ball hard I 1 do not try to hit the ball as hard as possible but rath er to meet it squarely and in this I 1 think a quick and steady eye helps in batting I 1 strive always to get the advantage of a pitcher by waiting b before e hitting or it if I 1 suspect he in tends to put the first ball over to hit that one it ie Is a guessing match between the pitcher and the batter at the best and experience ought to show a batter just what a pitcher Is likely to pitch to him or on any given ball when runners are on bases bat ting becomes more of an art because the batsman must signal which ball he will hit I 1 think nil m position at the bat and long steady sweeping stroke helps me very much in the hit and run game tor for I 1 am able to hit balls that other batters would misa miss entirely even if I 1 am certain of miss ing the ball I 1 ing at it hard so as to cause the catcher to lose a step op 0 4 4 7 0 NAPOLEON LARRY LAJOIE a toot or t no of ground in bakir L u nis his and in that way to I 1 belp elp the base runner individual batting wins some games but team batting Is the important thing especially in recent years where one run Is likely to win a ball game in fielding I 1 thial instinct helps considerable the fielder who in starts in the direction the ball ls is bithas hit a big advantage keen eyesight close observation and atten tion to every detail is necessary to win ball games any one who grows careless or t ceases to be a winner 1 |