in the winners in the finish.

When a batter is known as one who will attempt a play of this kind, it
is usual for the second baseman to play well over into right field,
allowing the second to be covered by the short-stop. When the batter
discovers such a scheme to catch him he should continue to face toward
right field, in order not to betray his intention, but when the ball is
pitched, he should turn and hit toward left field. If the short-stop has
gone to take the base, the space between second and third is left open
just as the other side was.

A great fault with many batters is that they try to hit the ball too
hard. This is especially true of the younger players, the "colts," as
they are called. A young player with a reputation as a hitter in some
minor league, goes into a big club and at once thinks he must hit the
ball over the fence. The result is that he doesn't hit it at all, and
unless he corrects his fault, he goes on "fanning the atmosphere" until
he is handed his release. And yet the same player, if he would steady
himself down and once get started hitting might do just as well as he
did in his former club.

And this brings up the reflection that there is a great virtue in
confidence. The player who goes timidly to the bat with his mind made up
that he can't hit, anyhow, might just as well keep his seat. But the one
who walks up, saying to himself, "Other men hit this ball, and I can,
too," will be inspired by his own confidence, and for that very reason
he will be more likely to hit. So it is that batting goes so much by
streaks. A nine that has not made a hit for several innings will
suddenly start in and bat out a victory. One player leads off with a
good hit and is followed by another and another, each benefited by the
confidence and enthusiasm the preceding batters have aroused.

It goes without saying that the player's eyesight must be perfect or he
can never hope to be a good batter. It requires the keenest kind of an
eye to keep track of the ball and tell when it is over the plate and at
the proper height.

So, too, the nerves must be kept in good condition or the player will be
unable to resist the temptation to hit at wide balls. A nervous batter
is easily "worked," because he is so anxious to hit that he can't wait
for a good ball.

But the most important attribute of all in the composition of a good
batter is courage. In this term I include the self-control and the
resolution by which