left-handed, because the muscles are not
yet so strong, I make more single hits, reach first base oftener, and
score more runs.

CHAPTER XIII. THE BASE-RUNNER.

Of the four departments of play, batting, base-running, fielding, and
battery work, the most interesting is base-running. It is the most
skillful, it calls into play the keenest perception and the soundest
judgment, it demands agility and speed, and it requires more daring,
courage, and enthusiasm than all the others combined.

Its importance as a factor in winning games cannot be estimated. We only
know that a team of base-runners wins game after game in which it is
out-batted and out-fielded by its opponents. No system of scoring has
been or can be devised by which a full record of this kind of work can
be kept. The system now in vogue, crediting the number of bases stolen,
is all right so far as it goes, but it covers only a small part of the
ground. Stealing bases is a part of base-running, but it is a very small
part, and to say that the player who steals the most bases is therefore
the best base-runner, is an altogether unwarranted statement. A quick
starter, speedy runner, and clever slider might easily steal the most
bases, and yet in general usefulness fall far behind some other player.

Beginning with the more mechanical features, the first qualification for
a base-runner is the ability to start quickly. The distances on a ball
field have been laid out with such marvelous nicety that every fraction
of a second is valuable. Almost every play is close, and the loss of an
instant of time is often the loss of the opportunity.

But to start quickly means more than a quick action of the muscles; it
means also that the brain and body must act together. The base-runner
who must wait to be told what to do will always be too late. By the time
the coacher has seen the point and called to the runner and the latter
has gotten himself into action, the chance has long passed. The player
must be able to see the play himself and act upon it instantly, without
waiting to be told.

Different runners adopt different methods for getting a long start from
a base. Some take as much ground as possible before the pitch and then
start the moment they see the first motion to deliver. Others stand near
the base, and when they think it about time for the pitcher to pitch
make a start. If they happen to guess aright they get a running start,
which is, of course, a great advan