ake will only cause it to strike a
little farther up or down on the bat, but still on the centre line, and
if it misses the centre line it will be thrown off toward first or
third, instead of up or down.

There are two classes of good batters whose styles of hitting are so
different that they may be said to be distinct. The one, comprising such
hitters as Connor, Brouthers, Tiernan, Wise, Fogarty, Whitney, Ryan,
Denny, and Fred Carroll, use the full length of the bat, and in addition
to the push of the shoulders make a decided swing at the ball. In the
other, in which are Anson, Kelly, Dunlap, and a few others, the motion
is more of a push than a swing. Anson, who, if not the best batter in
the country, is certainly the surest, seldom does anything but push the
bat against the ball, only occasionally making what might be called a
swing. Many of the latter class grasp the bat up short, and some of them
keep the hands a few inches apart. If I were advising a novice which
style to learn I should say the latter, because it is the surer, though
such batters seldom hit as hard as the others.

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 always possible to hit in the exact direction desired,
and, of course, he cannot "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. For example, there is a runner on first
who signals to the batter that he will try to steal second on the second
ball pitched. When he starts to run the second baseman goes for his base
and the entire field between first and second is left open. Now, if the
batter gets a ball anywhere within reach and taps it down toward right
field, the chances are that it will be safe, and the runner from first
will keep right on to third. Oftentimes, too, the batter himself will
reach second on the throw from right field to third to catch the runner
ahead of him. Here, now, by a little head-work, are runners on third and
second, whereas, an attempt to smash the ball, trusting to luck as to
where it should go, might have resulted in a double play or at least one
man out and no advantage gained. Many a game is won by such scientific
work, and the club that can do the most of it, day after day, will come