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The safety factor is an important one at all levels of baseball, but it is particularly necessary with beginners. It should not be overlooked at any stage of Little League activity, whether in spring training, tryouts, practice sessions, or games. Coaches and managers might like to post the following list of precautions in a dugout, clubhouse, or dressing room:

1. Have an adult at the field at least a half hour in advance of the scheduled activity to control the group until the start of organized activity.

2. Check the field for obstacles – holes in outfield, stones, a hole in front of pitching rubber, etc.

3. Have the adult space the youngsters who are warming up so that other groups are not endangered by wild throws and muffed catches. The throwing should be parallel.

4. Unless the area is unusually large, have the adult keep the boys from participating in batting practice until the regular workouts begin. Pepper games can be organized if the players are spaced properly, with groups bat ting the ball parallel to each other. There should be no more than four players in each pepper game.

5. Have boys bring a jacket or sweater to wear during warm-up and after workout.

6. Require batters to wear batting helmets during batting practice. Helmets must be worn by batters and base-runners during games.

7. To keep bats from slipping out of batters’ hands, use non-slip grips of tape on the handles, or have players use rosin on their hands.

8. Have rules about retrieving foul balls batted into busy streets.

9. The head-first slide should be prohibited except when returning to a base.

10. During sliding practice, bases should be left untied when boys are being taught the fundamentals of sliding.

11. Build a warning track at least six feet out from the fences and back stop, using cinders, gravel, or some similar material.

12. Inspect equipment regularly – particularly batting helmets and catching equipment.

13. Teach players to take good care of all equipment and facilities.

14. Players should not wear watches or rings.

Additional Safeguards

1. Medical examinations should be given to all players prior to the opening of the season.

2. If possible, a physician or nurse should be in attendance at each game.

3. All participants should be covered by accident insurance.

4. The team should possess a first-aid kit, which should be complete and available at every game. It should be in the charge of someone trained to use it.

5. Preseason first-aid instruction should be given all managers and coaches each year.

6. All protective equipment should be of good quality and should fit properly.

7. All dugouts should be screened.

8. All players not participating in the game must remain in the dugouts.

9. Players should be taught the proper techniques of sliding, hitting, fielding, etc.

10. Equipment should not be left on the ground where it can be stepped on and injury result.

First-Aid Kit
Contents of the first-aid kit should include:

2 Bandages 1″ x 10 yd.
33 Band-Aid plastic strips
2 Bandages 2″ x 10 yd.
1 Burn ointment
1 Bandage 3″ x 10 yd.
3 Ammonia inhalants
1 Cotton 1/2 oz.
1 Scissors
1 Adhesive tape 1″ x 2-1/2 yds.
1 Antiseptic
1 Gauze 1 yd.
1 First-Aid guide booklet
12 Sterile gauze pads 2″ x 2″
6 Sterile eye pads
1 Triangular bandage

If all these precautions are taken, each game should be safe for all players.

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Take a boy to the ball field and guess what he will pick up for the first time… a glove or a bat? Right. Just about everybody who plays baseball, or who ever thought of playing baseball, loves to bat. Some players have the gift of being “born” hitters; that is, they are blessed with excellent eyesight, quick reflexes, strong wrists and husky shoulders. These players usually become the better batters, but that does not mean the average player with normal build and strength cannot become a moderately successful batter.

Selecting a Bat – Take a bat and swing it. If it feels “good” and is not too heavy or not too light, try it out. Do not use a bat that is too long, stay away from a bat that is too short. To help you select the right type of bat, remember that the average school player uses one that is about thirty-four inches long. Also, the weight of the bat is equal to one ounce for each inch. Thus a 34-34 bat, in length and weight, is just about average.

Stance – Many batters approach the plate and do not know how close, or how far, to stand from the plate. Some batters wonder whether they should stand in front of the batter’s box, others cannot decide whether it is best to place their feet to the rear of the batter’s box. None of this is important in the learning stage of batting, but what is important is that the batter makes himself comfortable at the plate.

When a batter takes his stance, he is taking one of three stances: the parallel stance, the closed stance, the open stance. Each stance has its advantages, but the batter who feels most comfortable in any of the three should use that particular stance.

Again, just which stance to assume is strictly a matter of choice and comfort. However, the more advanced player may, on occasion, switch stances according to the type of pitcher he is facing, or the situation in the game.

In the closed stance only the front foot (the left if a right-handed batter, the right if a left-handed batter) is closer to the plate.

In the parallel stance both feet are the same distance from the inside batter’s box line closest to the plate.

Spread – The spread of the feet is also a matter of individual taste. Some batters prefer to keep their feet close together thus making for a longer stride when swinging at the pitch. Others will take a medium spread, thus shortening the stride; and there are some batters who will take a wide spread and therefore cut down their stride to a minimum.

The average hitter normally spreads his feet about seventeen to nineteen inches and many coaches recommend this spread distance. The power hitter, however, will use a shorter spread since he gets most of his strength from a longer stride. Joe DiMaggio had just about the widest of all spreads and his stride was one of the shortest. But the average batter should not attempt to imitate great batters in spread and stride unless he feels comfortable doing it.

It is not good for the beginning player to take too close a spread because it may cause a lunge in the stride. The stride should be smooth and quick, therefore the proper spread is most important.

Grip – Just as in choosing a bat, taking a stance and assuming a spread, comfort dictates, for the most part, just how to grip the bat. Some batters keep their hands together; others may leave a bit of space between the hands when gripping the bat. No matter what type of grip, hands together or apart, the bat is not to be gripped too tightly.

By keeping the fingers securely, but not tightly, around the bat and the fingers aligned on the bat, the batter can get a better snap of the wrists when meeting the ball. Grip a bat too tightly and the arm muscles automatically tighten up thus permitting no wrist action.

Grasp these basics of baseball batting, and you will be off to a great start.

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In building a team, the pioneers of modern baseball discovered patterns which are essential to success on the field. John McGraw always wanted strength down the middle when he managed championship teams for the New York Giants. He wanted topnotch defensive players in center field, at shortstop and second base, and behind the bat. In checking the strength of the Chicago White Sox, 1959 American League champions, you will find it in those positions – Landis in center field, Fox at second base, Aparicio at shortstop, and Lollar doing the catching.

In the top teams of recent years you will find the same pattern. As examples, take the Dodgers with Snider in center field, Reese at shortstop, Robinson at second base, and Campanella behind the bat; and the Yankees with Dickey catching, Rizzuto and Gordon as the second-base combination, and DiMaggio in center field.

Connie Mack concluded that pitching provided 70 per cent of the strength of a club and proved it by winning pennants for the Athletics with such stellar mounds men as Bob Grove, George Earnshaw, Ed Rommel, Chief Bender, Eddie Plank, and Jack Coombs.

Add to this Branch Rickey’s conclusion that it takes five championship players plus pitching to win a pennant under normal circumstances and you have a formula for building a team. By championship players, Mr. Rickey means players who can run, throw, field, hit with power, and have a desire to play the game to the best of their ability.

INFIELDERS AND OUTFIELDERS. Starting from scratch as manager, coach, or captain of a squad of players, who do you want to be your shortstop? You want the player with the strongest arm if he has the other attributes required of an infielder. He should have good running speed and agility and quick hands. Since the shortstop gets more fielding chances than any other player, he should have “glue in his glove”; he should be such a sure fielder that he will rarely fumble the ball.

It is desirable to have a second baseman with strong forearms and wrists which permit him to make quick snap throws. He must be able to get rid of the ball in a hurry without throwing with a big sweeping motion of the arm. The second baseman also has a wide territory to cover and should have good running speed, agility, and good hands.

Particularly in Little League and other junior baseball it is helpful to have a tall first baseman because beginners often make throws which aren’t true to the mark. Of course, it is essential that he have flexible hands which do not fumble balls thrown to him. Agility also is desirable since a good first baseman should be able to leap for high throws, dig low throws out of the dirt, and leave the base to spear wide throws.

A strong arm is important to a third baseman. Balls are hit so hard in his direction that he can frequently knock them down with his glove and still throw out the runner. In fact, some players have gained a reputation for blocking the ball with their bodies, retrieving it and retiring the runner. Observers would comment about Pepper Martin, the St. Louis Cardinals’ star: “He’ll be a great third baseman as long as his chest holds out.”

The catcher should be rugged but still have good enough mobility to field bunts and foul flies and to back up the bases. He should be able to throw quickly and with power and have leadership qualifications since he directs the play on the field.

In the outfield, the player with the best range should be assigned to center field. He directs traffic in the outfield and in most instances has the right-of-way to catch every ball he can reach. He should have a strong and accurate arm.

If you have the privilege of working with players of above average ability in these areas, you won’t have many problems.

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Although baseball is a team game – and complete cooperation from every player is necessary for victory – coaches, players and spectators agree that the most important factor in the success of a team is the pitcher.

Many major-league managers have attempted to evaluate just how much pitching means to a team. Their estimates generally run from 70 to 85 per cent. It is not important to accurately gauge the precise percentage of pitching to the success of a team; it is more important for a team to have good pitching.

Pitchers come in all sizes and shapes. The perfect physical qualifications for a pitcher are height and weight in equal proportion. Coaches like their pitchers to be about six feet tall and weigh approximately one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred pounds. These physical attributes are desirous, not necessary, and there are school pitchers with excellent records who fail to measure up to either of these physical qualifications.

Coaches also like pitchers who can “hum that ball”; that is, the pitcher who throws the ball fast and hard. Yet there are many pitchers of school age who can fool the batters without an overpowering fast ball. Good control, and the ability to get the ball over any part of the plate, will sometimes make up for the lack of a good fast ball.

The pitcher who possesses determination and has the temperament and disposition to overlook fielding lapses by his teammates, has won half the battle toward success. Too many young pitchers with excellent promise for the future never develop because they lack an “attitude,” the ability to absorb the intangible factors so common in every game.

The pitcher who never learns to accept fielding and mental errors as part of the game will not advance too far. He may be the perfect physical specimen as regards height and weight but his own mental attitude may be tougher to conquer than a lineup of the most powerful hitters on any team.

A pitcher must remember that his teammates want to win as badly as he does. He must try to ignore a fumbled grounder, a muffed fly, a wild throw. Errors are part of the game and he must bear in mind that all players make mistakes, just as businessmen, or even members of his own family at home.

The Grip. – There is a definite art involved in gripping and throwing the ball. The ball must be held in the proper position if the pitcher expects to throw it with any accuracy and skill. The index and middle fingers must be on top of the ball, placed across the seams, and the thumb should be on the bottom of the ball. This is the throwing grip for just about every type of pitch.

Many pitchers have made the major leagues without that “good fast ball” and without measuring up to the desired physical standards. Control, intelligence and courage are also most important attributes.

Proper Position. – Before delivering the ball to the batter the pitcher must assume the proper position on the mound, the position he takes without any runner, or runners, on base.

This right-handed pitcher is in proper position to deliver the ball to the plate. The heel of his right foot, the pivot foot, is in contact with the pitching rubber or plate, and his left, or free, foot is to the rear of the pitcher’s rubber. Reverse the position of the feet for a left-handed pitcher.

The pitcher should be is relaxed, his eyes straight ahead. He is should look over the batter and wait for the catcher to give him his signal. The pitching arm can be held at the side or behind the back. As long as the pitcher feels comfortable, it makes little difference just where he places his free arm.

Once the pitcher receives the signal from the catcher and nods in agreement, he is ready to start the first phase of his delivery.

Master the grip and proper position, and you will be on your way to becoming a great pitcher.

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Batting or putting the wood to the ball, is the key to the success or failure of the ball club and the individual.

There is no great mystery about what makes a boy a good hitter. He has to have:

1. A certain amount of natural ability
2. A mastery of the fundamentals
3. Confidence in his ability to hit

The phrase natural ability covers a great deal. It means strong arms, wrists and hands; quick reflexes, good coordination, perfect eyesight and speed afoot.

Regardless of how much natural ability a boy has, however, he will not hit as well as he should if he does not master the fundamentals and believe in his ability to hit the ball as it comes through the strike zone. Self confidence, of course, stems from success. Moreover, success in batting comes from practice. The following text describes the mechanics of hitting as they apply to ball players in general. By following the principles involved, the well coordinated boy could easily become the batting star of his team; the average boy could certainly become a better than average hitter.

In learning about batting there are some key points you will need to know. These include areas of

The Stance
The Stride
Arm and Hand Positions
The Swing

The stance required depends on the side they favor. If a boy is right handed, he should turn his left side to the pitcher; the right side if left handed.

The body should be fairly erect and relaxed with the weight distributed evenly on both feet. The hips and shoulders should be level. The feet should be shoulder width apart with the toe of the front foot even with the instep of the rear foot. When the ball is being delivered, the batters heels should be up slightly, his knees flexed slightly.
The stride covers how the call should be hit. As the ball is being delivered to the plate, the batter should raise his front foot just above the ground and slide it forward (toward pitcher) about six inches. This step, a critical part of hitting, begins what is generally termed timing. All other movements that are a part of batting flow from it.

Practice with this formula:

Ready?

Step and twist.
Back to starting position.
Again, step and twist. Back.
Step and twist. Back

Arm and hand positions coordinate with both the stance and the stride. Right handed batters: place your left palm against the front of your right shoulder, little finger down, thumb up. Move the left hand forward about six inches and make a fist.

Left handed batters: place your right palm against the front of your left shoulder, little finger down, thumb up. Move the right hand forward about six inches and make a fist.

The elbow of the arm that is now extended across the body should have almost no bend in it and there should be no strain on the arm. This is the arm and hand that guide the bat through the swing. The opposite arm and hand provide the power.

Make a fist with the Power Hand and place it on top of the Guiding Hand.

Raise the elbow of the Power Arm so it is level with the top of the shoulder. There will be some strain there. Drop this elbow slowly until there is no strain. The elbow of the Power Arm should come to a stop about two inches below the top of the shoulder.

Keep elbows and hands away from the body!

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