Clipping:Runs and outs a poor measure of a batsman's skill
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| Date | Thursday, March 19, 1868 |
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| Text | In regard to the score of outs and runs, that is no criterion of a batsman’s skill at all. We have known of dozens of instances in which batsmen have secured their first or second bases on their hits, and either by being left on their bases or put out in being forced off through the inferior batting of their immediate successors, have had a large score of outs and no runs, while batsmen who have escaped being put out on poor hits, either by throws to second or third bases, when players are put out from being forced off, or who have made their bases by errors in the field, have scored five or six runs and perhaps been put out but once. In such cases the batting score has shown 6 outs and 1 run for the good batting, and 1 out and 6 runs for the poorest display perhaps of the nine. This occurs more or less in every game that is played. For instance, the ifrst striker takes the bat, hits a fine daisy-cutter between first and second, and easily takes his first base by the hit. The second striker hits a poor ball to short, which the short stop picks up and send to second to put out Striker No. 1, forced off his first, while the ppor hit is rewarded with a base given. It will be readily see, therefore, that the score of outs and runs is no criterion of a batsman’s skill. In reference to being left on bases, too, that is not always a criterion either of good batting or base running. Take, for instance, the case of Striker No. 2, just refereed to; had Strikers 3 and 4 sent him round to third base, and had he there been left, he would stand credited with “left on his third,” when he had not earned a base. If it were possible to record “left on bases” so as to discriminate between bases earned by good hits or good base running and bases given by errors of fielding or the good batting of others, this would do well enough as an assistance in judging of a man’s play; but, taking into consideration the fact that men are frequently left on bases from poor base running, and still more frequently through being batted off the first or second base, it will be seen that it is but little better as a criterion of play than is the score of outs and runs. In fact, there is but one true criterion of skill at the bat, and that is the number of times bases are made on clean hits. Next to this comes the number of bases made, then left on bases, and finally the score of outs and runs. |
| Source | American Chronicle of Sports and Pastimes |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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