Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 29

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 29
Description:
Zack Wheat, an outfielder for the Brooklyn Robins, is in the process of swinging a baseball bat in an attempt to hit the baseball being thrown by the pitcher. Wheat stands at home plate, keeping his front right foot planted on the ground as he begins to lift his back left foot off the ground. Wheat is bringing his bat forward as it is located directly in front of the plate.
Creator:
Mann, Leslie
Date:
1920–1925
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
Baseball
Baseball caps
Baseball fields
Wheat, Zachariah Davis
Brooklyn Robins
Batting
Batting Swing
Batting Swing--Follow Through
Link to Item:
https://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/185
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:
Wheat is demonstrating an incorrect follow through for left handed hitters. Wheat hasn't completed his full follow through motion and has instead stopped short of 360 degrees, which would be a full follow through. A full follow through maximizes the strength behind the batter's swing, which will allow the batter to be as successful as possible when attempting to hit the baseball. Wheat can still make contact with the baseball even if he doesn't follow through completely, and it looks like he did make contact with the baseball as the baseball is soaring up in the air. However, Wheat isn't maximizing his body strength because he isn't completing his follow through. Here, Wheat is satisfied with just making contact with the ball. During the Dead Ball Era, a lot more players were satisfied with this because the league was dominated by pitchers. Because of this, people not following through correctly when swinging the baseball actually may have been a big issue in the game in the 1920's.
Zachariah Davis Wheat was born May 23, 1888 in Hamilton, Missouri. He was one of three brothers who all played baseball in the Major Leagues. When he was 16, Wheat and his family moved to Kansas City where Wheat joined a semipro team and made his way through the minors. Wheat was a defensive standout in the minors but struggled in terms of hitting. In 1910, he was signed to the Brooklyn Robins. Upon joining the Majors, Wheat became one of the most dominant hitters in the league. Wheat was known for his unique hitting style as he refused to choke up on the bat. From 1912-1916, Wheat was a league leader in many hitting categories each year. Wheat hit 5 home runs out of the park in 1914, which was considered an exceptional amount during this time period. He was childhood friends with Casey Stengel, and the two would play together for seven seasons on the Robins after Wheat convinced the team to sign Stengel. Both Stengel and Wheat would make the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1919, Wheat became the captain of the team. He made it to two World Series championships over the course of his career, but failed to win either of them. Wheat was also incredibly fast, but had poor base running ability. Along with this, his only other real flaw was his constant ankle injuries that occurred due to his short stature. Even though Wheat was a standout hitter, he was also known for being one of the top fielders in the league when he played. When he retired, Wheat was 10th all-time in hits with 2884. This is really impressive considering the era Wheat lived in as getting 3000 hits over the course of a career is considered an exceptional feat today. Wheat remains the Dodgers all-time franchise leader in hits, doubles, triples, RBI's, and bases. Overall, Wheat was one of the most dominant hitters in an era that was dominated by pitching.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in slide 29 as Zack Wheat in his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball on Page 8.
Good condition;
This digital image is made from two separate digital scans; one scan of the lantern slide (reflective); one scan of the image (transparecy); 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"
Enders, Eric. "Zack Wheat." Society for American Baseball Research, sabr.org/bioproj/person/c914f820. Accessed 19 Sept. 2018. ___Internet Archive___ [http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/c914f820].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-029-03
029