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Show BATTING IMPORTANT PART OF BALL GAME Team Will Not Be Successful Unless Un-less Players Can Hit Well and Speed on Bases. (By CARL LUNDQREN, Baseball Coach, University of Illinois.) Batting is one of the most important impor-tant parts of baseball. Unless a team hns men In its 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 bases strikes terror into the hearts of Its opponents. Unless you are commonly known as a natural hitter and have the unusual ability to connect with the ball without with-out any difficulty, you must pay a great deal of attention to form In batting. bat-ting. The average ball player usually has several faults In his form of batting bat-ting that If corrected would add points to his batting average and value to his team. A player Is said to hit in good form when he stands erect at the plate, swings with a stroke that is well controlled, con-trolled, and not so hard that he cannot can-not 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 should be rigid and not bent as the swing Is taken. In starting the swing, the bat should be carried well bark over the shoulder Just before the pitcher Is ready to let loose of the ball. In making mak-ing the swing care should be taken not to drop the tight shoulder, as this tends to make you hit under the ball. If the ball is between the shoulder nnd the waistline, the stroke is merely mere-ly parallel to the ground; from the waistline to the knee It approaches a golfing stroke. The stroke should be made with a moderate swing that Is followed through with the weight ot the body behind It Many a batter Is ruined because he "swings his head off." The harder you swing the less likely you are to connect with the ball. Bearing these fundamental principles prin-ciples In mind, the batter must also tnke the correct position in the batter's bat-ter's box and hold his hat right With an ordinary pitcher In the box, the bnttcr should stand from six to twelve Inches from the plate and directly opposite op-posite It. Against a pitcher with tremendous tre-mendous speed and a poor curve, stand as far away from the plate as the rules permit If you are close up you will not have time to make your stroke. If the pitcher uses many curves and slow balls without much speed, stand at the extreme front of the batter's box. This will enabls you to crack that slow ball before It curves or at least before the curve reaches Its maximum. The bat should be held firmly, but with the muscles loose and relaxed In order that a free and easy swing may be obtained. Your hands on the bat should be together, or at tht farthest not more than three Inchei apart The batter should watch the ball with an intense concentration which does not for a second lose sight of the ball. From the second the ball leaves tlie pitcher's hand until It Is right over the plate the batter's gaze should be intent upon it A good batter never hits at a bad ball, but should wait until the one to his liking comes over. Some of the really great sluggers may occasionally hit a had ball safely, but It Is safe to say that nineteen out of twenty hits are made off bolls directly ovar the plate. |