Show BAT IS 1 BIG TOPIC NOW IN BASE RAW BALL I Sectional Stick Banned in Major Leagues Causes Arguments I Dy nr GEORGE GEORGI CHADWICK Copyright 1923 by The Standard Standard- Standard Examiner Examiner NEW YORK YORI Aug When 18 18 Johnson of ot the AmerIcan league deprived Babe Bilbo Ruth ot or JI his bludgeon made of four our pieces of otwood wood he was following the precedent precedent precedent ent set some years ago by PresIdent Nick Young Toting YO Jn of the National league One Ono of the reasons President Young ruled against the use of a bat abat that was not all nU of one ona piece was that It might be ba loaded but buti there thero is no reason to believe belie President Johnson suspected suspect d the batin Babe might be bo a loaded bat In order to get got gre greater ter distance distano out of his ls drives s to boost his home home- run home run ecord record It Is a matter of com corn common common mon men knowledge kno ledge that Ruth can call knock a ball bail harder and further th thin anybody In the tha game came past or present using any old bat so a loaded bat would bo be ot of no advantage taso tago tage to him er loading a bat bot adds to Its alue Is a II question that has been answered both ways by some Iho aho I ha hao 0 tried It But Dut It Is a known tact fact that a II ball ban has been hit farther aith Ith an unloaded bat than with a loaded bat Of OC course courso the tha rules ot of I forbid the use of ol loaded kats ats and as os no factory makes them they must be made privately pr It If there Is any ony ono one who does docs not know What a a loaded bat is It may be toll to state elate that It is one ono Into the bottom of o which melted metal or a apiece apiece I piece of metal has be been n Inserted for fora fora tora a few Inches The Tha theory Is la that added weight at the extreme end of the thc bat gl gives es added power to the of or the ball SECTIONAL nl LL 33 Former President Young said that tho the sectional bat hilt was WIlS danger danger- dangerous I ous ens to players because It might be I shattered during the course ot or a game something that could not well happen to the standard one one- one piece ploce bat Man Many experiments with loaded bats were made before the theorIsts would concede that they are arc worth worthless less for use IISe At least they were not practical for a game gimo In n which It was Intended that the im mi implements used should be as uniform as possible All bats used in baseball cannot bo be alike and it would ba ho folly l e havo hao thorn thom all 1111 alike because so sone players like them heavy and some Ilko them thorn light It is an odd fact that more heavy bats proportionate proportionate- proportionately ly Iy are used by light men than by- by heavy by-heavy heavy men Babe Dabo labo Ruth has used a much heavier and wide wide- wide sweeping s than thad weapon man many great batters have used Cap Anson was fond of ot a heavy bat liked a long bat yet Childs a chubby fat second baseman who wha rivalled Brouthers as ns a n slugger used a light bat that he could swing freely and hard Some of ot tho the 01 old 1 time critics thought aas one of the tho best line hitters In the history of the game earne Heinie Groh uses a bat modeled after a a potato I masher This Tills weapon which re- re recently re recently crashed hod out fh five fite e clean hits In the course coune otono 01 ot ono nine inning game has often otten Geen been described aa Ita resembling a bottle but It Is really reallY the tho big brother of oC the well-known well kitchen kitchen utensil HeinIe claims claim no extraordinary powers for his lay lay- favorite favorite club Ho Is partial to it be- be because be because cause of Its thickness around the waist alst the point at ot which wl ho he alms aims to hit tr te ball bali as ns he steps Into It it Groh Grob has the proper idea about abou facing a pitcher squarely and go- go goIng go going ing lag into the ball as it comes to him DISLIKE GROWS GROUS BAT Those batter batters batter who stand at the plato plate and swing swine sidearm with II a shoulder toward the Ute pitcher would not like Grohs Groh's bat bot Thoy hit witha with a s sa sweep cop while Groh simply punches since he ho has learned to control the punch ho he places the hits better than batters who simply swipe All Mi kinds of ot woods have hate been used in making bats but ash and Dd hickory have ve been found to make the best bet and ash is far belter better than hIckory There I Is no great supply of either wood Bat manufacturers have agents all over the country on the tho lookout for gro growths of ash The piles plies of ot wood that lie on sea sea- seasoning sea seasoning Boning Boning- yards are Thou Thou- Thousands Thousands Thousands sands and anti thousands of ba bata are turned out every year so great Is the demand demond It Is a wonder too because not so many of them theta are broken The Tho original baseball Dill bat as not shaped like the bat of ot today It was modeled like Ilka a broom handle but of course COune It was as thicker It had no bulge Unfortunately a copy of the first bat has not been hand hand- handed handed handed ed doa do down don n a and Information concern concern- concernIng concerning ing ins it has hns been gathered only by much questioning of ot old players and by the tho thov v writing of many letters It began with ith a small handle which could be grasped easily by primeval 1 paws and swelled uniformly at Its length until it was WS perhaps an AD inch greater at the tar far end than at the handle handl |