Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 254

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 254
Description:
Heinie Groh, a third baseman for the New York Giants, stands with his left foot to the side of third base and his right foot located directly in front of the base in towards the catcher. Groh's glove is located around waist level as he gazes forward towards the catcher.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Date:
1922
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Baseball fields
Groh, Henry Knight
New York Giants
Fielding--Third Base
Polo Grounds, New York City, New York
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/165
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike License (CC BY-NC-SA).
CC BY-NC-SA icon
Publisher:
Springfield College
Language:
English
Notes:
Groh demonstrates the proper way for the third baseman to stand when awaiting a throw from the catcher, which would most likely occur when a baserunner attempts to steal third base. Groh has positioned his body in a way that he doesn't interfere with the baserunner who is attempting to slide into 3rd base. He has positioned his body so that it is in front of third base towards the catcher, and only his left foot would block the baserunner when the runner attempts to slide into 3rd base. This is important because if Groh had decided to place his entire body in front of the base, he would be more likely to get injured since the baserunner would be forced to slide into his body. However, the baserunner sliding into the base will attempt to avoid the tag, and should therefore slide outward away from Groh's left foot. Because of his body position, Groh would be able to easily move his foot from its current position if he was in danger. Groh's body position is perfect because not only is he facing the catcher, who will throw him the ball, but he can easily swing his body towards third base and tag the stealing baserunner because of the position of his left foot. Likewise, he can also easily move his left foot away from third base because his body is positioned forward if needed.
Heinie Groh was born on September 18, 1889 in Rochester, New York. He played for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates over the course of his career. Groh is considered to be one of the greatest fielders and defensive players of all-time. He played in the era known as the Deadball Era, the period characterized by low scoring and good defense, and he thrived in this era. His career fielding average of .967 is the highest for any third baseman playing before 1920. Groh was very short, only measuring 5"6", and he used this size to his advantage, since pitchers had a really small strike zone to work with because of his height. One interesting story about Groh is the first time he batted, he pinch hit for the Giants, and the people in the crowd didn't know who he was. Many people actually thought he was the bat boy, and that him batting was supposed to be a joke. Groh responded by hitting a line drive single. Groh is also associated with the Bottle Bat, which is a bat with a thick barrel and an unusually thin handle. This bat was created specifically for Groh. Groh won two World Series's in his career, including 1919 with the Reds, though this was a controversial series since many people believe the White Sox threw it. Because Groh had many MVP caliber seasons, it is very surprising that he isn't in the Hall of Fame today.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in slide 254 as Heinie Groh on page 48 of his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball.
Fair condition;
There are two slight cracks that run along the center of the image.
This digital image is made from two separate scans; one scan of the lantern slide (reflective); one scan of the image (transparency); the two images were then combined in Photoshop to create the final image.
Lantern slide from the Leslie Mann baseball instruction course, "The Fundamentals of Baseball"
Lahman, Sean. "Heinie Groh." Society for American Baseball Research, [ https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b90e80de ]. Accessed 21 Nov. 2017. ___Internet Archive___. [http://web.archive.org/web/20171121163444/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b90e80de].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-254-03
254