Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 310, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 December 1910 — LUCK IS BIGGEST ELEMENT [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

LUCK IS BIGGEST ELEMENT

«o Says Mike Mitchell, Outfielder •nd Heavy Hitter of Cincinnati National League Team, BY MIKE MITCHELL. (Copyright, by Joseph B. Bowles.) Luck I think is the biggest element in winning baseball games, and in the success of any individual player. I have known many good ball players who were sent back to the minor leagues and have never arisen again because luck broke against them during their early careers and they never were lucky enough to get another chance. > Scoring runs wins, hitting scores runs and luck is the best part of hitting, which is why I reason that luck wins. There are mysteries in batting that even the batters do not understand. I see each season good hard hitters standing up well, hitting the ball hard and squarely, who, to watch them hit you would think were in the .300 class, and yet they are standing away down in the averages. Hitting runs in streaks, too. Often a man will hit hard and steadily without getting safe hits for weeks and then suddenly the luck will turn and everything he hits will go safe. There is no way for a man to learn to bat. I take that back. I think left handed batters who are extremely fast actually can be taught to bat whether they are natural hitters or not. They can learn to poke and push the ball, and chop at it, mixing it up with their swings and by practice become pretty good hitters whether they were so at the start or not. But with the great majority hitting the ball is natural and is the result of a quick eye and steady drive at the ball. Boys just starting the game, however, can cultivate their natural ability to bat. They ought to study ’ themselves to observe how they stand at the plate, how they hold their bats and how they move when the ball is pitched. They may be natural hitters who have not learned to kandle themselves. Try to keep a steady footing, both feet on the ground, but with the body balanced on the balls of the feet Never hit flatflooted. Swing so as to get the force of the body behind the bat, and try to "meet the ball squarely instead of trying to hit it out

of thp lot. A great many young players make the mistake of swinging too hard. Notice how many batters have two strikes called and then hit the third solidly. Then begin the study of pitchers. No man ought to go into a game without some knowledge of the style of the opposing pitcher, whether he is slow or fast, straight or curve or spit ball, and the more he knows about the other pitchers the better he ought to hit. If a batter knows what the pitcher is likely to do, he is much more likely to hit. The fact is that a majority of hits made in the\ finished game are made when the pitcher is in the hole and the batter is almost certain what is to be pitched. It is a question for each batter to study out for himself, btu perhaps a hint or two may help. Keep cool, watch closely and study all the time and you may hit—if you are lucky.

Mike Mitchell.