WHAT MAKES A BIG LEAGUER?
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY HEATED DISCUSSIONS AS TO WHICH position is the most important in the game of baseball. The general consensus of opinion is that a good pitcher is the main factor for a winning team. But every position is important, as are all phases of the game—hitting, fielding, throwing, and run¬ning. A weakness in a team or player often permits the opposi¬tion to win the game. Unearned runs count as much as earned runs, and a hump-backed liner that falls safe looks the same as a smoking line-drive base hit in the box score, even though such a hit may be caused by a fielder getting a poor jump on the ball as it comes off the bat, or by lack of speed on the part of a de¬fensive player.
There are two phases of the game that cannot be improved to any degree once a player has reached maturity: throwing and running. By throwing we do not mean pitching, and by running we mean sheer speed—not baserunning. A pitcher’s speed may be increased some slight degree by correct grip on the ball or proper follow-through, and a player’s baserunning improved by getting the jump on the pitcher and making proper turns on the bases, but more of this later.
A player is either blessed with a strong arm and a fast pair of legs or he isn’t. If he doesn’t have these assets, he may be able to compensate for them by playing a position where such weak¬nesses are not so glaring. For example, a slow runner may be¬come a catcher, a player with a poor arm, a first baseman; or one may be so outstanding in other departments of the game that his weaknesses will be overlooked. Many sluggers are slow afoot or have poor arms, but their hitting makes them successful players. They knock in more runs than they give away.
Fielding and hitting can be improved by practice and proper instruction. The finer points of a player’s game will improve with experience and practice, practice, and more practice. It is important to practice correctly; many players go out on the field and perform a play incorrectly over and over again, because they do not know how to do it the right way or are too lazy to do it in the correct manner. Baseball is not a lazy man’s game, and anyone who thinks it is should not venture on the playing field—better for him to stay home and listen to the radio or watch television while lounging on the sofa, daydreaming of his big league skills.
A player should hustle every second he is on the field. Granted that hustle is not worth much without ability, still, ability plus hustle is far superior to ability without hustle. HUSTLE! This does not mean that one needs to be a chatter¬box, particularly if he is an outfielder, but he should put out physically one hundred per cent all of the time. There are numerous small things a player can do on the diamond which will help his team. Many times, the hitter on deck does nothing to help the baserunner coming home after the batter hits the ball. It is a simple matter to run over and take the bat out of the base path so the runner will not injure himself if he has to slide. The next hitter also should act as a coach at home plate.
The runner has his back to the play and does not know if it is necessary to slide or whether he can come in standing up. Maybe the throw has been cut off and there is no play at the plate. The only way the runner knows what to do is through some signal given by the next hitter. Many players have been hurt by un¬necessary slides, so the man on deck should help the runner all he can; it’s very possible that he may find himself in a similar situation later in the ball game.
It is impossible to evaluate hustle, individually or collectively, but any team that ever achieved fame hustled, and many clubs that just missed the boat, although loaded with talent, failed be¬cause of lack of hustle. If a team hustles, it will have good morale, which is an important factor for a winning combination. Players on the same club may have conflicting personalities and not be close friends, but if a man puts out to the best of his ability, he gains the respect of his teammates and also is held in high esteem by his opponents. There is nothing that prevents a player from hustling except the player himself! Spirit and fight come from within, and if an individual lacks these qualities, there is little that anyone else can do about it. A manager cannot give a pep talk every game, and if it takes such an artifice to stimu¬late a so-called competitor, it is better to dispose of that ball¬player. No one likes to ride herd on a player and continually prod him to get results. Such procedure is distasteful to both parties and often causes friction on a ball club, involving other members of the team.
If it were possible to take two players with equal ability—one a star performer, the other a mediocre player—and find out what accounted for the difference in the degree of their success, it probably would be one or more of the factors we are about to discuss.
It is difficult to analyze the various qualities (other than physical ones) of a ballplayer, because they are all integrated to form a single personality. But, there are certain characteristics that are found in the superior performer. They include the four A’s—aggressiveness, alertness, ambition, and attitude.
The good player is not afraid of getting hurt; he is aware of the risk involved in certain plays, but is not in a defensive frame of mind.
He takes advantage of every opening that presents itself, and is always anticipating what may happen—what to do if the ball is hit to him, the speed of the baserunner, the score and situa¬tion of the game, the possibility of a bunt, and so forth.
The improving player is not satisfied with his present ability and seeks to become more skillful in the various skills of the game: hitting, fielding, bunting, sliding, stealing, making the double play, getting the jump on fly balls, control, covering first, shifting, blocking the plate, knowing the strike zone, hit¬ting behind the runner, and so on. Success is achieved by one’s desire to surpass mere mediocrity.
The desire to play, not being content merely to put on a uniform and sit on the bench, denotes a good competitor. If the game is worth playing at all, it is worth playing to the best of one’s ability. Play the game to the fullest, but be able to take victory and defeat in stride.
It takes courage to play any sport, and baseball is no excep¬tion. The flashing spike, the speeding ball, the dazzling slide, and other phases of the game require daring and prowess, which are qualities possessed by the better player.
Baseball is a team game, and it takes cooperation to win ball games. This does not mean team play only, but cooperation between player and management also. The player must have a desire to learn and be able to take instruction from his coach. Whenever a player feels that he knows all there is to know about this game of baseball, he is in trouble. No matter what his age or experience, he never should think he knows it all, for this will result in a rude awakening one fine day.
An illustration of this is the story about the “pheenom” who knows all there is to know about the game and can perform any skill better than everyone else. He can play any position on the team, and is so ambidextrous he can pitch with either hand and bat from either side of the plate. In the final game of the World Series, with each team having won three games and needing this game to become champions of the world, he is locked in a pitching duel with the ace of the opposing team—but let him tell it. …
“I really got my stuff today—my fast ball is a blue dart and my curve ball snaps like a whip. The old knuckler is doin’ the dipsy-do, but I’m afraid to throw it ’cause the punk catcher can’t handle it. The only reason my club is in the Series is that I win 45 games single-handed and save another 26 in relief. The manager don’t know nothin’ and the rest of the players on the team are a bunch of bums. They can’t field, hit, or run, and are a bunch of has-beens or young whippersnappers. If I don’t have two rubbers arms, hit .654 right-handed and .457 left-handed (a bad year), we wind up in the cellar. Think the management appreciates me? No! What a cheap organization—I’m only get¬ting f 150,000 per. Those dopey sportswriters don’t even know what the score is before the game starts and form a clique ‘gainst me. They don’t even vote me the most valuable player on the team, give me a pannin’, and say I’m hard to handle. Me? Why I’m the biggest drawin’ card in the history of the game, and always willin’ to co-op with anybody, anybody! Man, those guys don’t know what they’re writin’ about. Wotta bunch of jerks.
“Well, anyway, to get back to my story, nobody on my mis¬erable club gets anything that resembles a hit, ‘cept me. The first time up (I’m battin’ left-handed ’cause the lucky stiff pitchin’ ‘gainst me is a righty) I belt one over the right field wall. Don’t get too much wood on the ball, only smack it about 485 feet on the fly—it don’t go into Bedford Avenue, it winds up on Nostrand, plumb over the gas station and houses. It finally lands on a sanitation truck and is goin’ yet. Some character that lives down near the dump’11 get it for a souvenir; he’ll probably want me to autograph it. Well, such is fame!
“My infield is really putrid. They kick the ball around and throw it away, and give the other team back the run I went and got. The opposin’ hitters ain’t got a chance ‘gainst me. I pitch left-handed to the left-handed hitters and righty to the right-handed guys. I got a two-way glove—got two thumbs on it. I just switch it back and forth—saves time.
“The doggone chucker pitchin’ against me is a smarty pants and walks me the next couple of times up. He’s really ascared of me and don’t give me nothin’ good to hit. Well, we finally get into the ninth inning tied, 1-1, and I got the only hit in the ball game. I retire the three hitters that face me, strike ‘em out, two swingin’ and one with the bat on his shoulder. The poor chump never even saw the pitch! Neither did the catcher—the ball hits him in the chest and bounces out toward the mound. I’m on it like a tiger and throw the joker out at first base. Lucky thing the ump is usin’ his good eye, otherwise nobody woulda seen the pitch.
“It looks like the ball game is goin’ into extry innings ’cause the first two guys on our team get out and I come up to the plate. I’m battin’ clean-up, the only smart move the manager ever made. The natural thing for the opposition to do is to walk me. Our fifth hitter is the cream puff type and ain’t got the ball outa the infield the whole series.
“Well sonny, this opposin’ hurler ain’t nobody’s dummy—the first pitch he throws to me goes behind my back. I don’t have a chance in the world of hittin’ the ball. But me, I’m a pretty smart cookie and I figger this is where the rest of the pitches will be, ’cause the last time I reached out and hit one out of the lot in left field. It curved foul at the last second—you shoulda heard the crowd roar. A bunch of stupes, don’t even know a foul ball when they see one.
“The next pitch this so-called pitcher throws I’m ready for. Since I’m in the left-hander’s battin’ box and figger the pitch will go behind me, I turn around to bat right-handed. No dan¬ger of crossing the plate and bein’ called out. I know all the rules—can quote ‘em backwards and forwards—all I do is to shift my position in my own battin’ box. I’m loose as a goose, and everythin’ is perfectly legal. I’m a smart cookie, S-M-A-R-T. I times this ball just right and gets all my power behind it. Off it goes into the wild blue yonder, completely over the left field stands! First time any thin’ like that has been done since the park was built. That crazy crowd really goes crazy this time.
“I trots around the bases expectin’ to get a great big welcome at home—this club ain’t won a World Series before—but guess what happens. In all the confusion I forget I’m swingin’ right-handed, and I circle the bases the wrong way and UNTIE the score. We lose, 1-0, and those fans are so sore I’m lucky to get outa town. Nobody will handle me next year and I wind up in the minors. Toughest game I ever lost!”
So much for our fallen hero, who was blessed with ability but never assumed his responsibility to the game. He lacked most of the finer traits of the athlete, and cooperation was one of them. Cooperation includes loyalty; loyalty to the team and the organ¬ization it represents. A baseball player will probably play on many teams, whether he is an amateur or professional. As his age and skill increase, he will move up the ladder—Little League, Little Bigger League, American Legion, high school, sandlot, college, semi-pro, and maybe professional baseball. If he comes this far or stops along the way, he will have played on many teams. In professional ball he will most likely start in Class D, and may run the gamut through Class C, B, A, AA, AAA and reach the major leagues. This necessitates a change of alle¬giance from one team to another and often requires a player to perform against former teammates and friends. He is obligated to do his darndest to win for the team which he now represents.
This brings us to another factor which separates the men from the boys—desire to win. The only time a player can console himself with defeat is after he has played his best and lost.
Everyone knows that a person cannot win all the time, but he can sure try!
In order to be in the best possible physical condition to play winning ball, a player must maintain good habits. These habits may change slightly as he matures and requires less sleep, as changes are made in diet, and as he is able, gradually, to assume responsibility for his own health. Here again we run into the same situation as we did in hustle; no one can prevent a player from forming good habits, and from keeping them, but himself. The management doesn’t like to establish a curfew and act as a policeman, but some players are their own worst enemies and must be saved from themselves. A boy grows up quickly now¬adays, and he should know right from wrong while still in school. It is not a question of age, but of ability to assume re¬sponsibility, and this varies with the individual.
Sometimes it is ignorance that causes a player to break train¬ing or harm himself as far as baseball is concerned. Excessive swimming while playing baseball is forbidden by most coaches. Although swimming is recognized by many as the most healthful sport, it develops a different set of muscles than those used in baseball, and there is also the danger of becoming sunburned and being laid up for a few days. Often a player hurts his chances of making a career of organized ball by being too indus¬trious while training. A good baseball player cannot be “muscle bound,” and too much weight lifting and football will do just that. It is necessary to develop strong, supple muscles, and calis¬thenics, running, skipping rope, medicine ball, and activities of this sort will help. It is not necessary to eliminate other sports from one’s life, and it is heartily recommended that a boy de¬velop some degree of skill in many athletic activities.
Another trait that is important in baseball, as it is in every¬thing else, is honesty. No one loves an alibi artist or clubhouse lawyer. The former has an excuse for every mistake he makes, and the latter causes dissension on the team by criticizing his teammates, the coaches, manager, the umpire, and everyone but
himself. He is never satisfied with the equipment, dressing facili¬ties, condition of the field, or the fans, and even picks on the bat boy. The successful player must be honest with himself and stand or fall on his own merit.
An industrious player is a good player. There’s a lot of truth in that old saying, “Practice makes perfect.” One will never become a perfect player, never making an error, either of omis¬sion or commission; that is too much to expect of any human being, but one’s degree of proficiency will increase the more he practices.
In order to guard against “errors of omission,” it is very impor¬tant for the player to have a thorough knowledge of the game that he is playing. Many good players are not as familiar with the rules as they should be—what makes a balk, what the ruling is if the ball hits an umpire, what happens when a player bats out of turn. These and similar situations often baffle the player and fan, and sometimes even the umpire. Know the game!
Perseverance and poise are other attributes of the good ball¬player. A player who recognizes his weakness, does not worry about it, but practices until he has corrected it, is one that must succeed. Poise is a quiet confidence in one’s ability, and it comes with experience.
Put all these ingredients together, aggressiveness, alertness, ambition, attitude, courage, cooperation, loyalty, desire to win, good habits, hustle, industry, knowledge of the game, perse¬verance and poise, stir gently, add some ability, sprinkle with good coaching, a dash of luck, and there’s a major league base¬ball player!
