The Victor baseball guide

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Qass Book

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I

CHAPTER I. Training, Including Exercise, Practice and Diet

TRAINING.

This is a term which has a distinctive meaning when used in connection with baseball. In the matter of training the regimen is different from that in almost every other branch of athletics because the condition in which a ball player should be, in order to perform the best work on the field, is not that which is considered correct for any other class of athletes. In so far as it is necessary for him to be regular in his habits, avoid excesses and dissipation, keep the stomach, liver and other internal organs in good working order, and have the muscles free and firm, the requirements are the same.

It needs no argument to prove that a boy in good physical condition, well proportioned, with sound muscles, healthy blood, and in full possession of all his faculties is better fitted naturally to succeed at baseball or any other manly sport than one not so conditioned. But in the matter of the reduction of weight, there is a wide difference in practice, the common sense of which may be easily understood. When a man is in training for some particular event, to occur on a given day and occupy but a brief space of time, where one pound of superfluous flesh may prove fatal to his chances, he may and should train '' to the hour." But the work expected of a professional ball player is of a very different description. For six months, and day after day, in all kinds of weather and climate, in the chilly days of April, the broiling heat of midsummer, and the cold and damp days of October, in Boston or Chicago one day and in Washington or St. Louis the next, he is obliged to be at it, and the player who started in to go through it all without a plenty of reserve force to call upon, would be on a sick bed before the season was half finished. That which is called *'fine" condition cannot be maintained for any great length of time without serious danger to the general health. It does not require the testimony of physicians and all professional trainers to prove this, for the records of athletics are too full of practical illustrations. After a certain period of hard work on bone and sinew alone, a man grows weak ; he loses not only his strength but also his ambition and spirit and in training parlance '* goes stale." After that he is farther from being " fit " than before he started in to train. The seasoned professionals, those who have been over the ground in times past and appreciate what a long stretch it is from April to October, are not in so much danger from this source as the younger and more ambitious players. Many of the otherwise unaccountable " off streaks " that attack certain players might be easily explained on these grounds.

Then, too, baseball is such a nerve racking sport. To the player who enters into it heart and soul it is a constant amd severe drain on the nervous forces, and if he has not something to fall back on he will become nervously tired, the worst form of exhaustion. The system will not be able to stand the strain.

And so it happens that the wise ball player does not train down into so-called fine condition. If he begins the season some ten or fifteen pounds over weight he will be fine enough by the time the hot weather comes and better able, averaging the season, to do the work expected from him.

EXERCISE.

As to the exercise best suited for a ball player when preparing himself for the season there is a diversity of opinion. Some prefer the work to be had in a gymnasium, others like a hand ball court ; some professionals do all their preliminary work at home, with clubs, bells, or pulley-weights and long walks and occasional runs ; while of late years, it has become the accepted thing with the bigger clubs to take the men to some point south, where actual baseball practice can be had. This last method under proper conditions is of course the best, but as it is possible only for the members of professional teams it becomes necessary to indicate other forms. Speaking generally, the proper preparatory exercise for a ball player is such as develops suppleness and agility as distinguished from strength, A ball player has no use for big muscles. They are in his way and hinder that perfect freedom of movement which the game especially requires. What he needs are the light, lithe, sinewy muscles, that work freely and easily in their sheaths. He must be quick and agile and if his muscles are of the proper quality and texture he is better off when they are not too large. In a gymnasium, the pulley weights oifer countless movements, which can be made as light as the worker wishes. Sparring, rowing, running, the wrist machine, light clubs and bells are all good since they may improve the tone of the muscles without too much increasing their size. On the other hand, the bars, rings, ladders, lifting machine and the heavy weights, clubs, and bells should all be avoided, because of the liability to sprains. A sound, strong throwing arm being an indispensable part of a ball player's outfit he can ill afford to take any chances of its injury. A small ligament started from its fastening is a tedious hurt and sometimes never gets entirely well, and for a pitcher is generally fatal to his future usefulness. Many players are extremely careless in these details and the result is a new crop of lame arms every year. The only careful ones are those who have been injured. It is an experience men don't care to repeat.

Probably the best indoor preparation for a ballplayer is to be had in a hand ball and racquet court. The game enlists the player's interest and the work becomes play. It requires quick thought and action, affords exercise for all the muscles of the body, of the very kind most needed on the ball field, and can be regulated in amount to suit individual needs. Some men require more work than others, and it would be a mistake to work all alike. The player who has twenty-five or thirty pounds to lose must naturally put in more time than the one who has only five or ten. There are some who take on no extra weight in winter, and for these the lightest exercise that will put the muscles in good condition is all that is required ; while the heavyweight may have to bundle himself up in sweaters and flannels and put in hours of hard work in order to accomplish the desired result.

All exercise should be light in the beginning, increase by easy stages, and never extend to the point of exhaustion. Regularity is of more importance than quantity. A small amount regularly taken is of much greater benefit than a great deal at irregular intervals.

PRACTICE.

When the warm days of spring have come and the welcome sun has sufficiently dried out the ground, the scene is, of course, transferred to the ball field. There is no exercise so good for a ball player as ball playing. It is the very thing itself, and all the muscles and faculties which the game requires are then brought into play. But the first days outdoors are full of danger. After the long winter's confinement and rest there is so much joy attached to it all, that the ardent and ambitious player is more than apt to overdo it. In his exuberance of spirits he wants to do everything at once and cannot be content to begin again easily and gradually to get his muscles into working order. And so, though the air is still full of frost and the ground yet damp, he tries to make long and hard throws and quick starts, all at the imminent risk of lame arms and " charley-horses," which may cripple him for weeks or months. It is the first week of outdoor work that is the most dangerous of the season. No matter how well hardened the muscles may have been made indoors the necessity for care is just the same. A man may seem in perfect fit in the gymnasium or " cage " or hand ball court yet the first hard work outside will' make him feel lame and sore. The greatest danger is to the throwing arm. He should begin by throwing short distances and very easily, and not attempt under any circumstances to make a hard throw for, at least, a week. The slightest twinge of pain should be heeded, and immediate care given the injured member. If the first week or ten days out of doors have been safely passed he begins harder work. If preparing for a championship season or a series of games soon to begin, he will of course have to do more than if he has ample time to make himself fit. As soon as the weather is at all suitable professional players practice forenoon and afternoon, during several hours each, the kind of practice differing under the directions of different captains. Batting, fielding, and base-running are all given their turns and the most important at first is batting. It takes longer to get the " eye " in shape than the muscles.

Base-running practice, too, must not be overlooked. A couple of hours now and again, devoted exclusively to this, will result in many suggestions of value and great improvement in this department. Like the batting and fielding practice, it should be made as realistic as possible, and the men should actually run bases and slide and go through all the plays as in a game.

The half day's practice should always be wound up with a lively run, long enough continued to get up a good sweat. Then a bath and a brisk rub-down and the danger from colds, rheumatism, and stiffness will be reduced to a minimum.

DIET.

The subject of Training would be incomplete without some reference to the question of eating and drinking though it is not possible to speak of the general practice of professional players in this respect except in terms of reprobation. As a rule they eat not only irregularly and improperly, but inordinately, especially when traveling. They get up late, usually just about in time, by hurrying, to escape being locked out of the breakfast room, and thus get a ten-o'clock breakfast ; yet one o'clock finds them anxiously waiting for the dining-room door to open. Then with naturally robust appetites, sharpened by outdoor work, they fall to, " like a camp of lumbermen," and the gastronomic performances of some of them are more marvelous than anything they ever accomplish on the ball field. The result is inevitable. A player who gets up from a hearty meal at half past two cannot possibly feel like taking violent exercise at three-thirty or four. He is bound to feel heavy and spiritless. Then as soon as he gets well warmed up he begins to cultivate the water-keg, and before the game is half over is so " tired " and limp and water-logged that he can scarcely get in and out from the field ; and as for getting up on the coach line or doing anything in the field or on the bases requiring '* ginger," it is simply out of the question.

Ball players should get up in the morning and eat breakfast at a seasonable hour ; then at noon take only a light lunch and leave the principal meal of the day until evening, after all work is over. Plain, wholesome food in moderate quantities and regularly taken as thus indicated, is what is required. In the matter of water drinking during the game, I know the intense thirst which the exercise, heat, and change of water induce, but still protest against the quantity drank. Simply rinsing out the mouth, or gargling the throat, or taking one swallow is just as effective in quenching thirst and avoids the evil effects of imbibing so much liquid. In the heat of midsummer a man would require a copper-lined stomach to safely drink Lake Michigan water one day, Missouri river the next and Ohio river the next, yet this is what professionals sometimes have to do ; so that extreme care and abstinence are necessary. A bottle of ale or beer with the evening meal has a very soothing effect on the nerves. Baseball makes such demands on the nervous energies that most men really need something quieting after a hard-fought struggle. There is always more or less said and written about what is called dissipation among players, but it is principally commented upon in connection with losing teams. As a matter of fact there is very little real dissipation among professionals, and what there is, is by no means confined to the tail-enders.

CHAPTER II Injuries and How to Treat Them

Under this head it may be advisable to make brief reference to some of the injuries common to ball players and the usual, if somewhat crude, prevailing methods of treatment.

The most serious accident to which a player is subject, because it may permanently incapacitate him, is an injury to the throwing arm. As a rule, ball players are physically tough and pride themselves on being able to ignore some pretty hard knocks, but a genuine case of lame arm will make one quit and whine like a sick dog. It generally comes as a result of a sprain from throwing, or a wrench from sliding bases or a collision with some other player and sometimes from a cold which settles in the muscles and cords around the shoulder or elbow joint. When the injury is to the shoulder it is much more serious and difficult to cure. Some men think the way to cure a lame arm is to " throw it out," but there is nothing more hazardous, and anyone who has ever suffered from a really serious injury to his arm will appreciate the inadvisability of such treatment. It may be possible to ^' work out " a slight lameness or soreness of the muscles, and perhaps that is the proper remedy, but if, when attempting to throw, the pain is severe and especially if it is acute, the injury is of such a nature that a complete rest for several days or longer is the only safe course. At the same time, during the first few days after the lameness appears, frequent application of hot water should be made or towels, wrung out in hot water, as hot as the skin will stand without blistering, laid on, then, after a few days, cold water should be used instead of hot, followed always by a brisk rubbing and "kneading" of the muscles or cords affected. A sleeve of medicated red flannel is a great protection from cold and materially aids the recovery. Finally, if after a week or ten days of such treatment, there is no, or only slight, improvement, it may be safely assumed that the injury is to some tendon or ligament and the services of an electrician should be sought. The intelligent application of electricity has worked some marvelous cures, and put renewed life into a number of ''dead" and " glass " arms. The ordinary family battery giving a mild current is the proper machine and it should be applied for about a half-hour every day. During this treatment the arm should be used slightly each day after each application. I never put much faith in liniments, though a mixture used by some of the New York players did seem to be efficacious in some cases. We bought the ingredients and mixed them ourselves as follows :

Ammonia, 2 oz.

Camphorated Oil, 2^ oz.

Arnica, 2J oz.

Goose Grease, 1 oz.

It is a simple mixture and is certainly a good lubricant for rubbing purposes, and has this to recommend it, that if it do no good it at least can do no harm.

For the bruises that result from unintentionally stopping in-shoots, wild pitches, and hard hit grounders with the arms, legs, and other unprepared portions of the body, immediate rubbing to disperse the bruised blood and a few jocular and mock-sympathetic remarks from the other players are generally all that is immediately required. After the game, if necessary, further rubbing and hot water applications are the accepted treatment.

When the hip or knee is skinned from sliding, thin sheets of moistened closet paper, applied one after the other, as many as will adhere, is the usual remedy. Enough layers must be put on to absorb all the moisture that exudes from the wound. This immediately forms an artificial scab and keeps the underclothing from sticking fast and irritating the hurt.

For dislocated finger-joints there seems to be nothing to do but pull the joint back in place and then use hot water or bind it up with a cloth which may be kept moistened with witch-hazel. Don't pull a finger if the bone seems broken, no matter whether the joint does look to be out. It is safer to call a physician if there is one present, and, if not, to seek the nearest one at once.

Another most painful ailment peculiar to ball players is known among them as " charley-horse." It is a serious sprain or rupture of some one of the large muscles of the leg, and may occur in a number of ways. It may result from the foothold giving away, when attempting to start quickly ; or from trying to run at top speed before first warming up. Sometimes the muscle seems actually to part and it becomes altogether impossible to use the leg. Hot water applications for several days and then cold water and electricity — the same treatment as that before given for a lame arm — seem to be the only things to do and the recovery is always slow. It is often weeks before the full use of the limb returns. An elastic bandage or, better still, an elastic roll wound around the affected part gives some support and by preventing too free action of the muscles takes some of the strain off th© particular one injured.

When an ankle is turned, as sometimes occurs, there is nothing to do but go under the care of a physician, and when it is sufficiently strong to be used again an elastic half stocking should be worn for protection and support. These elastic bandages, rolls, and stockings may be bought at almost any rubber store and at most drug and sporting-goods stores.

The foregoing are some of the commoner ills. There are others of a minor character, supposed to be beneath the dignity of a player's notice. For example a wild pitch or in-shoot that carroms off his head into the grand stand or side seats may be somewhat disturbing to the one hit, but by the other players and many of the spectators is generally looked upon as quite humorous, though, as an injury, is not considered of sufficient importance to delay the game.

CHAPTER III, Batting

The most difficult feature of play in which to acquire proficiency and yet the one to which the least attention is usually given, is the batting. Especially among amateur players inability to hit is the great weakness, as compared with the fielding. One may see just as brilliant fielding done in some of the amateur games as can be seen anywhere among professionals, but the batting is usually light. Much of this relative inequality might be overcome, if more time and attention were given to it. It is not batting practice to take a bajl in the hand and hit grounders to the in-field or long flies to the out-field. I do not share the opinion of those gentlemen who think such practice a positive injury to good hitting. It is so entirely dissimilar to that which is required when actually batting against pitched balls that it no more injures the player's hitting than would lawn tennis or exercise with Indian clubs. It does help develop many of the same muscles of the wrists, arms, body, and legs that are used in actual play and to that extent is a good thing, but its uselessness as an aid to good hitting lies in the fact that it does not train the eye.

Neither is it all of batting practice to hit against the easy tosses of some small boy or the slow lobs of a lazy pitcher. The only real practice is where the batter takes his place at the home-plate with a good swift pitcher in his regular position, the one to hit and the other to pitch, each trying his best to outdo the other. In that way only, can the brain, muscles, and eye be taught all to work in unison. There is one thing to be avoided, and that is, hitting against a swift pitcher who does not know himself where the ball is going. A violent blow in some tender spot from a wildly pitched ball will often injure a player's hitting for days or weeks thereafter. It is such a painful experience that it often develops an uncontrollable nervous fear that will make a man thereafter shrink and step away from the plate almost in spite of himself. The fear of being hit is what makes poor batters. It was a splendid change in the rules which placed the pitcher farther away and gave the batter a chance to feel that at least he could get his head out of the way when necessary. A hard blow on the arm, body, or leg is bad enough, but when a player felt, as he often did in facing some of the swiftest pitchers, that he was practically taking his life in his hand, he was often thinking more of getting out of the way than of hitting the ball.

The theory of batting is simplicity itself. All that is necessary is to wait until the ball comes over the plate and then hit it on a line back into the field. From the grand stand, nothing could be easier. To sit back of the catcher and see the balls come sailing over the plate, the average spectator will wonder why they are not hit out of the lot, but to the batter himself the thing looks very different. Facing a pitcher at a distance of sixty feet, who, with apparently the same movement of the arm, sends in one ball with the speed of a bullet and the next so slow that it seems to drag in the air, with an in-curve, out-curve, or drop that only takes effect in the last fifteen or twenty feet, before reaching him, it often becomes a question of hitting the ball at all, to say nothing of making a hit. Still, there are certain points to be observed, especially in the matter of '* form," and while there are apparently many different styles of hitting they all, to be successful, must agree in these respects.

Of course, the element of chance or " luck," as it is called, enters largely into the question. The hardest hit will sometimes go directly into the waiting hands of a fielder, while a little *^punk" hit from the handle or extreme end of the bat may drop lazily into some unguarded spot. But, in the course of a season, these chances should about equalize one another, and, though fate may seem to be against a man for a half dozen or more games, he will be found finally to have benefited as much by *' scratch " hits as he has lost in good, hard drives.

The first consideration in learning to bat is to acquire the proper form. By this is not meant the position to be assumed while waiting for the pitch, because each batter may and generally does have his distinctive style. But when in the act of hitting there is a certain form to be observed, and this, in its salient points, is the same with all good batters.

Standing within easy reach of the plate, the batter should hold himself in readiness to hit a high ball. It is easier to hit a low ball when expecting a high one than to hit a high ball when a low one was expected, for the reason that it is easier to drop the bat quickly and swing underhand than it is to elevate it and chop overhand. When the ball is pitched he should not move until he has seen where the ball is going. Not until in the act of swinging his bat should he step forward, and then his step should be short, and, generally, directly toward the pitcher. When he hits, the body should be held erect and thrown slightly forward, so that when the bat meets the ball the weight is principally on i\iQ forwarclioot.

If he steps too soon, his position is taken and he cannot change it to suit any slight miscalculation he may have made in the speed or direction of the ball.

A short stride is important, because then, if any miscalculation has been made in the height or speed or location of the ball, he is still able to change position, whereas a long stride puts him in such position that no such change can be made. It will be found, also, that a long stride loses him all benefit of height and reach and forces him to hit up at a high ball which he might otherwise have met on a line. Players who make a long step in hitting naturally must sink down as they hit and this places them at a great disadvantage on high balls. A ball that would have been of fair height is then clear over the head. The batter should generally step directly toward the pitcher, unless there are special reasons for doing otherwise as, for example, if he is trying to hit toward a particular field. In that case he must step accordingly. A right hand batter attempting to hit toward right field stands further away from the plate and steps in toward the plate. But when his aim is simply to hit the ball, he should step short, not too soon and, generally, directly toward the pitcher. By standing erect the batter maintains his balance better, and is in position to hit at any good ball. In the act of hitting the body is thrown slightly forward, so that the weight and force of the body, as well as of the arms, may be given to the stroke. It is not necessary to hit so very hard to drive a ball. The secret lies in meeting it sharply and solidly and putting in the weight of the shoulder just at the moment of impact. There are some good batters who seem to hit almost entirely with the arms, while others use principally the shoulders and rather push than swing. But the freest and best hitters use the body, shoulders, arms, and wrists, and when these are all trained to work well together, a ball may be driven with great force with seemingly little effort.

It is a mistake to swing too hard at a ball. The extreme effort is bound to disturb that nice appreciation of time, height, distance, and speed, that is so essential to correct judgment. It is much better to think only of single hits and then often a man will see, at the last instant, that he has the ball under control and be able to put in the extra force that will send it through the fielders or over their heads for a long hit. Some of the longest hitters are men who seem to make the^ least effort.

In hitting at a high ball, the bat should be swung somewhat overhand, and so also, for a low ball, it is better to stand well erect and cut underhand. If the bat is swung in a horizontal plane, the least miscalculation is fatal. ^ If the ball strikes above or below the center line of the bat, it goes either up in the air for the outfield or on the ground to the infield. While if the bat is swung perpendicularly, or approximately so, the same amount of miscalculation will only result in the ball striking a little farther up or down on the center line of the bat, or, if it does not strike fairly on the center line, it will still be thrown oif toward first or third on a line, and not up or down as would otherwise be the case. In holding the bat some players keep the two hands together, while others hold them slightly apart. The latter gives better control of the bat, but does not permit as free movement. Each player should decide as to this himself and choose that style which comes the more natural. At a critical stage where a sacrifice hit only is needed, it is perhaps safer to take the bat short and with the hands apart, and then leaning well in over the plate, one is much less likely to hit up one of those exasperating infield flies, which are especially to be avoided at such a time.

Every ball player who pretends to play the game with his brain as well as with his body should be able to hit in whatever direction he wishes. It may not be possible to " place " the ball in any particular spot, but he can and should be able to hit either to left field or right, as the occasion demands. The advantage of this to the player himself and to his team cannot be overestimated and will appear further in considering the subject of team work.