human
INSIDE
gpt
Well, Tom, I see that you lead off in the batting order,
human
Yes, said Tom,
gpt
Ainslee seems to think that I am a good waiter, as well as a pretty fair sprinter, and I suppose that is the reason he selected me.
human
Well, laughed Bert,
gpt
I don't suppose the poet ever dreamed of that application, but, all the same, it is one of the most important things in the game to lead off with a man who has nerve and sense enough to wait. In the first place, the pitcher is apt to be a little wild at the start and finds it hard to locate the plate. I know it's an awful temptation to swing at a good one, if it is sandwiched in between a couple of wild ones, and, of course, you always stand the chance of being called out on strikes. But at that stage of the game he is more likely to put over four balls than three strikes, and if you do trot down to first, you've got three chances of reaching home. A sacrifice will take you down to second, and then with only one man out and two good batters coming up, a single to the outfield brings you home.
human
Then, too, you went around the bases in fifteen seconds flat, the other day, said Dick,
gpt
Flynn comes second, I see, said Bert, consulting his list,
human
Yes, said Tom,
gpt
Last year the team had a general batting average of .267, chimed in Dick.
human
If we can match that this year, I guess there'll be no complaint. As a matter of fact, however, I'm a little dubious of doing that, especially with old Pendleton off the team. But if we come short a little there, I am counting on Bert holding down the batters on the other nines enough to make up for it.
gpt
If I get a chance, I'll do my very best, said Bert,
human
Neither one of them has anything on you, maintained Tom stoutly.
gpt
Of course they are, in a certain sense, veterans, and then, too, they have the advantage of having faced before many of the players on the other teams. That counts for a lot, but you must remember that Hinsdale has caught for the last two years, and he knows these things as well as the pitchers. He knows their weak and their strong points, the ones that simply kill a low outcurve, but are as helpless as babies before a high fast one. He could quickly put you on to the batters' weakness. But outside of that you've got them faded. You have more speed than Winters and more endurance than Benson. Neither one of them has a license to beat you at any stage of the pitching game.
human
Perhaps it's your friendship rather than your judgment that's talking now, Tom,
gpt
No, said Dick,
human
On the dead quiet, he went on,
gpt
I'm rather worried about Winters this year, anyway. I think he's gone back. He's in with a fast bunch, and I fear has been going the pace. His fine work in the box last year made him a star and turned his head. It brought him a lot of popularity, and I'm afraid he isn't the kind that can stand prosperity. He doesn't go at his work in the right spirit this year. You all saw how he shirked the other day when we were training for wind.