"A comparison of Cobb's and Babe Ruth's batting forms is interesting since these two players, both left-handed hitters, are probably the outstanding exponents of the two batting vogues. Cobb used a choke grip with hands apart so that he could better control the bat. If he kept his hands apart on the handle, he could hit to left or center. By sliding his hands together as he swung, he could hit to right field. Of course he sacrificed power, but hits were what he wanted. Ruth was different. Ruth took a swipe at the ball, using a golfing swing, loose and easy with a slight upward motion. Ruth stood with his feet fairly close together in the back of the batting box, and took a long stride forward as he swung. He hit with his entire body coming around on the swing which gave him tremendous follow-through. Most of his home runs were towering flies that simply carried out of the park, but they were the longest flies any man has hit before or since. And yet Ruth declared that Cobb's batting stance was soundest. "I'm paid to hit home runs," the big walloper of the Yankees declared in his book on baseball. "In a way, that's a handicap. I've got to hit from my heels with all the power in my body, which isn't good batting style. And the greatest tribute I can pay to Ty Cobb is this: If I wasn't expected to drive the ball out of the lot every time I came up to the plate, I'd change my batting form tomorrow. I'd copy Cobb's style in every single thing he does.""