Outdoor Sports and Games

by Claude Harris Miller

Every boy who plays baseball must know the rules thoroughly to be a success. It is in this way that advantage of every fair opportunity can be taken. Nothing is so disheartening to a team as to lose a closely contested game on a technicality of rules.

Batting and base running are two departments of the game where one member of the team is as important as another. A good batsman must have a quick eye and a quick brain. When he decides to strike at a ball he must not change his mind and simply swing at it feebly after it is in the catcher’s hands. The best batters are not those who hit the ball the hardest. Judgment in placing hits is far more important than trying to knock out a home run every time you are at the bat. You must remember that the pitcher is studying your batting methods and you must try just as hard to deceive him as he is trying to deceive you. Many a game has been won by a man who knew how to wait at the bat instead of swinging wildly at everything just for fear of having strikes called.

When you hit the ball there is only one rule—run. You will very soon find out whether the ball is fair or foul or whether there is any chance of making first base. A base runner should never stop trying to make a base until the ball is in the hands of the baseman. One never can tell when a ball may be fumbled or muffed.

A baseball diamond should be a part of a town just as is the public square or a town hall. The distance between the bases should be ninety feet and the four base-lines should form a square and all the angles should be right angles. The three bases should be canvas bags filled with sawdust and fastened to their positions by pegs that are driven into the ground. The home plate should if possible be a piece of whitened rubber. A board securely fastened will do.

How to lay out a baseball field

The pitcher’s box should be denoted by a strip of wood or rubber 24 inches long and 6 inches wide. This and home plate should be buried so that they are flush with the surface of the field. The pitcher’s box on a full-sized field is exactly 60½ feet from home plate.

The standard baseball is the kind used by professional players. It is covered with horsehide, and is warranted to last an entire game without ripping or getting out of shape. Baseball bats are made of a variety of woods, the common materials being ash, willow, and hickory. A bat must not exceed 2¾ inches in thickness at its thickest part. There are a great many shapes and models named after the professional players who use them. The shape of a bat does not make as much difference as some poor batters are inclined to think. The manufacturers of sporting goods make all the accessories for playing baseball both in men’s and boys’ sizes. Every ball player should own his own mitt or glove and become accustomed to it. The same is true of his bat.

The art of becoming a good ball player depends largely on the boy himself. No one plays ball naturally. It all comes with practice, and it follows that the more practice we can get the better ball players we shall become. It is a game where a loss of nerve is absolutely fatal to good work. A player must keep his head no matter how trying the circumstances may be. Cool-headedness is especially important and the surest way to develop it is to be just as indifferent to the criticism of the crowd or your fellow-players, so long as you know that you have done your best, as you should be to their applause. Just play the game for all there is in it, and you will be sure to become a moderately good player even though you may not be a star. In field practice, when some one is batting out balls to you, try just as hard to stop and field each ball that comes within reach as you would if the result of the game depended on it. It is only by this means that you can hope to become a finished ball player. You can never learn by lying around in the shade and telling your friends how good you are going to be in the coming match game.

A regularly organized ball team should always adopt some club colours and be provided with uniforms. Very good ones complete with shirt, pants, stockings, belt, and cap can be purchased of sporting goods outfitters for two or three dollars a suit (when ordered in lots of nine or more). They can also sometimes be made more cheaply at home if mothers and sisters are willing. The shirt should always be lettered with the name or initials of the team. Baseball shoes are usually provided with steel plates or leather knobs. Spikes are very dangerous and should not be permitted. The regulation baseball shoe reaches just under the instep.