Show AV 0 T eyes of a smart catcher A shou should d be able to study batting form at closest range this ibis being true dill bill dickeys slant on ted williams Is worth noting I 1 dickey was working in hollywood od on the lou lot gehrls picture alien the ion argument was started about great hitters bitter in my opinion dill said teo ted williams WI ellams last season was the greatest single year hitter I 1 ever saw raw nud and ive been around quite a while ive also seen a lot of good ones or bet ter than good but williams in 1841 1941 was super good I 1 worked on him with our pitchers in something like 22 games and I 1 know what a tough lob job it was to get him out or keep him oft off the tha bases ile he was always a hundred per cent poison what makes great I litters hitters what were the main factors actors in the williams swing owing I 1 asked the yankee catcher there were a flock aock of main factors dickey answered in the first you just cant get ted to hit bit at a bad ball bal leven cven one only an inch or two wide lie ile must have eyes like ar a hawk youve got to gt get it over or hell watt wait and walk time and again ive a seen been 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 ills timing Is perfect he seems to wait until the ball e A n 7 7 TED WILLIAMS Is almost in your mitt before he swings ive iva never seen a hitter who could coul dwalt 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 weale weak spots another thing about williams dickey continued Is that he ha has no weak spots weve tried everything against him film keeping them low keeping them up fast balls and slow balls curves and evey everything else hut but his bis lat bat seems to be in the road no matter what he be Is served remember ted Is still a kid around 23 as I 1 recall it there any telling how many records he ha might have broken if there ther e had boon boen no war joe DiMagg dimaggio lo Is another great hitter who knows how to wait on a pitch joe also keeps a pitcher at work he hits at few bad bans balls and you never see him rushing any swing ive heard that good timing was simply taking your time and that se seems m to fit both williams and DiMagg lo another good year it might be noted here that the arkansas sniper is apparently headed for or another big year im 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 uke like to get back in the class it ml might h bo be remembered remember eu that gnat dickey broke all major learue league records last season by catching of more games for the time 11 lie e came to the he yankees around 1928 and the tall arkansas entry has haj been a mighty factor actor in the yankee march ever since always a great hitter in the clutches dickeys main success has been in the matter of handling yo young ung pitchers J or any brand of pitching you never see him excited or upset no matter what the crucial spot in the adt midst of 1 wild and turbulent innings dickey remains cooler than the th heart of an iceberg ills knowledge of rival batters Is astonishing ile ho can ca a tell you the weakness and strength of every hitter in his league ills pitchers can tako take his judgment la in full confidence lie ile hay has a soothing influence on the young entry t ry a vital f factor a actor I 1 in a t the h 0 w way a y of control there is much more to pitching than a strong arm much more than speed and a curve ball he tella you A olg dig part of pitch pitching in g is putting the ball where you want it ive iva seen been more than a few smart pitcher ers with left in the tha old arm ua tie up batters vy fine ana control ing to the twit spots bill figures the easiest job he has li Is handling red bulling |