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Show I '' BATTING AND THE POTENCY OF THE "BEAN" BALL; P lVE me a natural hitter, and 1 I Pf ' VjwHl make a ball player out of 0 (M . him." is the often repeated pre-(l E ' bcriplion of John McGraw. the mannger t fsi of the Giants, when discussing the requi- 1 i .j. I . S2S . ' T Bites of a big leaguer. I ji ' . ' Few good hitters have been manufac-jr ured. Like poets, painters anil other 1 rlists. they are born, not made, the 1 stent talent lingering there to be deel-ped. deel-ped. To continue along the McGraw i inc of thought, the m.iujger of the 1 Slants has built a baseball club out of ' i lot of batters, aud has won a pennant 1 vith it, and now appears to bc well on ' lis way toward the second. It is a uo-able uo-able feature that in team fielding the ' Jiants aie away down nenr the bottom ' )f the list, but In the standing of the ilubs, which is what really counts, they ire away up near the top. There aie :ertaiu faults a butler can correct that ivill improve his hitting. The cardinal sin of batting ii stepping wck." Many a youngster comes into the big leagues In the spring with his heart full of hope and stimulated ly the snuicl ambition to climb hich actuates men in Dther walks of life and goes out in the field and does scn;itionaI work. Then comes the real test. "Take a turn at bat." snys the manager. man-ager. The recruit walks up to the plate and the acid test is usually applied first. The manager directs tho pitcher to "shoot a fast one at his bean." If the man steps back from the plate he at the same time steps back from the limelight, because his chances of big league associations go with that foot. "He puts one foot in the water pall," is tho verdict of tho manager, and It Is the pluier's death warrant for fast company. Suppose, howcer, that he is clumsy In the field and handles the ball awkwardly, but when be comes to the plato bc steps up lowaid tho "bean ball" and ducks only hi3 head after he sees that it is not goinr to break and curve over the plate. "There's a guy that's got the stuff In him," declares the manager, and bc holds to him and sets about making a fielder out of the recruit. Many a man has come to the Giants in just this way. "Lorry" Doyle ivas far from a polished performer at second base when he joined the Giants, but one look at him In action at the bat was enough for the keen eyed McGraw. The Giants often tell of what the New York manager said after "Dan" Brouthcrs, the scout, had brought his find to the Polo Ground. "There's a guy that's a bitter," re-, re-, marked McGraw. "lie falls a-ray on his back and hits them. It won't mako any difierence to him whether the pitcher is a left or right bonder." And It doesn't. "Lurry" stands up there at the plate and follows the ball with his eye and punches nt it. Uc is what Is known as a natural Litter and a free swinger, the acme of bat ing perfection It Is hard for most left liauded hitters to bat southpaw pitchers. "I-arry" was ery rough in his stick work when he first came to the Giants, bringing with Inm many of the tricks of the " b on cj suckle circuit." For instance. lie ucd to throw his bat after he hit the ball, aud frequently he was not particular whore he aimed it. They call it "slingin the but" around ths lota. Finally so many ratuhcrs complained ;bout this unpleasant habit of the New York second baseman that a. rule was made in the league that whenever a baiter struck a catcher by the careless manner in which he placed the bac after hitting the ball he was out of the game ipso fucto, as Cicero used to say. "Larry," who has no respect for the conventions and niceties of the big leagues, promptly got a stout piece of twine and tied bis bat to himself after he had been removed from three or four games for bouncing the willow off the more or less resilient Khlns of several catchers, to the great detriment of the shins. "I gucBS that rule was aimed at mc," he remarked, "but I fooled them." "Larry" Htill grabs off his cap when he makes a more extensive bit than a single, and rushes around the bases with it in his hand. He is one of the most pictureiique batters In tho big leagues, and one of the most effective. He Is now a polished fielder, but it waa his remarkable hitting which first obtained for him the job ou the Gianta. Many batters who have no desire to step back when they first move into the league get "beaned," and are plate shy ever afterward. That is tho ultimate test of gameness in a ball player. To get "beaned" Is to be hit In the head with a fast ball, and it always men going to sleep, the duration of the nap depending upon the speed wich which the ball is hurled and the subceptibilhy of the "bean." Sometimes It results in two days In the hospital spent in a state of coma. After such a terrifying experience experi-ence a man is naturally timid about standing up to the plate when the ball is again aimed for the head. Being aware of this fact, and keeping a carefully care-fully complied Hat of the "beaned" boys, many pitchers hdo acquired the unsportsmanlike unsports-manlike habit of throwing tho first ball , at the heads of theie men who have been "beaned" once. This is to drive them away from the plate. There i6 little sentiment sen-timent in bascbalL , Man men hae beeD "beaned" and have I come back strong. Roger BrcsuaJian. formerly the Giants' catcher and now the manager of tb- St. Louis clob. was hit in the face with a pitched bill when the Giants wore playing Cincinnati several Ijcars'ngo, and it made e.tensivo altera- Itions in his face, lie spent some time ; in the hospital, but when he came out he was up there batting just as strong us ever, and never considers withdrawing that front foot, no matter how many are shot at his head. Tho pitchers have long since abandoned the practice. Perhups the most remarkable case of "beanlng" occurred in a game bnween the Washington club and the Highlanders last spring. "Jack" Martin was spending his first season in the big lenguc and making every effort to get by. Walter Johnson was pitching for the Washing- |