p off the field and
are not included in the game proper.

But first of all, let me say, that no one will ever become an expert
ball player who is not passionately fond of the sport. Base-ball cannot
be learned as a trade. It begins with the sport of the schoolboy, and
though it may end in the professional, I am sure there is not a single
one of these who learned the game with the expectation of making it a
business. There have been years in the life of each during which he must
have ate and drank and dreamed baseball. It is not a calculation but an
inspiration.

There are many excellent books devoted exclusively to the general
subject of training, and a careful reading of one such may be of much
service in teaching the beginner the ordinary principles of self-care.
It will show him how to keep the system in good working order, what are
proper articles of diet, how to reduce weight, or what exercises are
best calculated to develop certain muscles; but for the specific
purposes of a ball player such a book is entirely wanting, for the
reason that the "condition" in which he should keep himself, and
therefore the training needful, differ from those for any other athlete.
To perform some particular feat which is to occupy but a comparatively
brief space of time, as to run, row, wrestle, or the like, a man will do
better to be thoroughly "fit." But if the period of exertion is to
extend over some length of time, as is the case with the ball player,
working for six months at a stretch, his system will not stand the
strain of too much training. Working solely on bone and muscle day after
day, his nervous system will give way. He will grow weak, or as it is
technically known, "go stale." This over-training is a mistake oftenest
made by the young and highly ambitious player, though doubtless many of
the instances of "loss of speed" by pitchers and "off streaks" by older
players are really attributable to this cause.

The "condition" in which a ball player should keep himself is such that
his stomach and liver are in good order, his daily habits regular, his
muscles free and firm, and his "wind" strong enough to allow him to run
the circuit of the bases without inconvenience. He must not attempt to
keep in what is known as "fine" condition. He should observe good hours,
and take at least eight hours sleep nightly; and he may eat generously
of wholesome food, except at noon, when he should take only a light
lunch. There are man