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Show LMFTIIANDMIi.R CAN TOUCH SOU T I1BAWS Stars of Olden Days Could Hit All Bitching. This i ceenily I 1 1 rndi-.ocd baseball pracilco of sullchlng lineups to in I III as many right hand bailers as possible nralnsl loll hand pitchers Is sheer bunk, If you will believe I he old I liners. The big leaguers of Ihc day of Kee-ler, Kee-ler, .Ijijole and Wagner were never switched around, no mailer who was pilchliig, and Ihi'.v hll .liM as hard and ns olleii as Ibe pampered athletes of today, they'll point out. Take, for Insiunoe, Mike Imnlin. who Is iioied by Poeman Ibilger in the Kuril! Journal. Mike, who was about as good us I hoy come when he w as a Gianl lllieeii yours ago. thinks the modern ballplayers are sulTerlng from n ".southpaw complex." "You see," says Mike. "We didn't ! know In Ihc old days that we wane i supposed lo be weak against these j cockeyes. Most any ol these (ell.ws today. I tulnk, could hit left banded pitching If they hadn't I n Inllncnccil by fool talk. P.ulger, himself, who has followed the big leacues as a sporls writer tor more ban a generation, declares Hint "tweiii, or thirty years ago such a procedure would hae been hooted at." "Most of the managers," be says, "will agree thai the belief that a left-hand left-hand bailer cannot hll a southpaw Is largely psychological, but It has become be-come so lived In the minds of some bailers thai most all of the clubs are now put to the expense of carrying what are technically known as 'switch hitlers.' Leslie Mann, a veteran of several clubs, has earned his living for years simply by his ability to 'murder' 'mur-der' left banders. He Is used for pinc-tlcally pinc-tlcally no other purpose, although he Is n good outfielder and n great base-runner." base-runner." There may be a point of logic. Bulger Bul-ger admits, In the fact lhat right hand batters are more elective against southpaws because they do most of their hitting against right-hand pitching, pitch-ing, 'lhat being the hardest pitching (or them to bit, they are consequently more cITectlvc against left banders. I'.ut lo offset that argument, his farm Journal article points out (hat great players of the- Speaker, Cobb. Buth or Collins caliber, whose presence pres-ence Is necessary to the (earn on the defensive as well as the offensive, have refused to admit any su. lt weakness j ami. consequently, have gone ahead hilling left-banders with all the effectiveness ef-fectiveness that they apply to the right-handed brethren. |