Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 47

Item Information

Title:
Leslie Mann Baseball Lantern Slide, No. 47
Description:
Jack Fournier, a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, stands in the left side of the batter's box at home plate holding a baseball bat while a catcher stands directly behind home plate. The catcher is squatting slightly while holding his glove up in the air as he is preparing to catch the baseball thrown by the pitcher. Fournier is in the process of swinging his bat at the baseball as his back left foot remains planted on the ground and his front right foot is completely up in the air and not planted on the ground at all.
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
Fournier, Frank Jack
St. Louis Cardinals
Batting
Batting Swing
Catching
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16122coll10/id/207
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:
Fournier is demonstrating an incorrect batting stance that batters shouldn't use when standing at home plate. This habit was referred to as plunging in back when Leslie Mann played baseball. Plunging in is when the batter lifts their front foot, or pivot foot, up in the air. The correct way for a batter to swing at the baseball would be to lift their back foot up in the air while leaving their pivot foot on the ground. This is not only the most natural way to hit the baseball, but it would also allow Fournier to step forward with his back foot as he swung the baseball, which would allow him to begin running towards first base immediately after hitting the baseball. This is important because it allows Fournier to get to first base as quickly as possible. A couple seconds can be the difference in reaching first base safely or being thrown out. Fournier's decision to swing and lift his pivot foot off the ground is always incorrect because it will lower the power Fournier has on his swing, which will make him less successful. Also, Fournier's body control will decrease because of the way he chooses to hit the baseball as this way of hitting is unnatural since Fournier is lifting his pivot foot.
Jack Frank Fournier was born on September 28, 1889. He was a first baseman who played for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, and Boston Braves. Fournier was one of the best hitters to ever play baseball, but he was also one of the most inconsistent hitters ever. There were years when Fournier was feared by every pitcher he faced, and there were other years where Fournier batted terribly. This inconsistency is something that may have caused Fournier to be on so many different teams throughout his career. Along with this inconsistent hitting, Fournier was also one of the worst fielders ever. Despite playing first base, a position that relatively has fewer errors than other positions like shortstop and second base, Fournier was an error machine, even racking up 25 errors in 97 games one year. Because of his poor fielding ability, Fournier relied solely on his hitting to be successful, and was able to become a successful player because of his self-confidence and his belief that he was a good hitter. He finished his career with a very respectable batting average of .313, which is especially impressive considering his inconsistencies and seasons where he hit poorly. Off the field, Fournier was often a violent man, being charged for assault numerous times. Overall, Fournier was a very good hitter in many seasons in the major leagues, but was also one of the worst fielders in MLB history.
Leslie Mann identifies the player in Slide 47 as Jack Fournier on page 11 in his manual titled the Fundamentals of Baseball.
Poor condition;
The image is a bit blurry, and there are some noticable cracks located near the bottom left corner of the image.
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"
Greene, Nelson. "Jack Fournier." Society for American Baseball Research, [https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/81af331c]. Accessed 10 Oct. 2017. _Internet Archive_. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171010183045/https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/81af331c].
Identifier:
LANT-BSBL-047-03
047