Camouflaged Bat Bewilders the Pitcher, But Gets Banned (Jul, 1932)
Camouflaged Bat Bewilders the Pitcher, But Gets Banned
THERE’S an old saying about necessity, being the mother of invention. “Goose” Goslin, outfielder for the St. Louis Browns, was having a hard time hitting that old “apple” during the spring training so he adopted a black and white striped bat, shown at the right, and proceeded to pound his way out of the slump.
This was the first time in baseball history that a camouflaged bat was used. It was designed by Willis Johnson, club secretary, who planned to equip other players with bats decorated with cross-rings, blocks and triangles until the “higher ups” declared the use of the bat illegal.
This makes NO sense!
The pitcher throws at an area between the batter’s thighs and chest as wide as home plate, not at a bat!
I think it was just too stylin’.
Comment by Stannous — July 12, 2006 @ 12:05 pm
It could possibly “bewilder” pitchers if the batter moves a stripped bat in such a way as to create a mesmerizing effect and throw off the pitchers timing.
Comment by Bayard — April 7, 2010 @ 6:11 pm
The St. Louis Browns, they never had money to hire good players but they were always willing to try a gimmic to attract attention.
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.c.....rowns.html
Comment by JMyint — April 8, 2010 @ 9:35 am
Are fielders in baseball able to anticipate the flight of the ball by looking at the swing of the bat? If that was the case, and the camouflage broke up the silhouette of the bat, then the fielders might lose a crucial fraction of a second in going where they need to go.
Comment by DL — April 13, 2010 @ 3:14 pm