The Long Ones Aren't Worth More

During Saturday's Fox Game of the Week between Philadelphia and Milwaukee, color commentator Mark Grace recalled a meeting he had with Japanese slugger Sadaharu Oh.

Oh hit a professional record 868 home runs while starring with the Yomiuri Giants from 1959-81.

Grace recalled that he was struck by Oh's slight build, and through a translator asked the slugger how he was able to hit so many home runs in spite of his size.

"I just tried to hit the ball over the fence," Oh told Grace. "You Americans are always trying to hit it over the light towers."

Oh's words struck a chord with Grace, who had more hits than any other major leaguer in the 1990s. Grace realized that he hit more home runs when he wasn't trying to hit them. The home runs came naturally, simply by looking for his pitch and putting good wood on it.

Grace finished his 16-year big league career with 2,445 hits and 173 home runs.

His story caused me to reflect on the Cubs' inability to score runs this season and how many times I could recall Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano swinging for the street, even when the wind conditions at Wrigley Field were not conducive to such an approach.

It also reminded me of the stories my dad and grandfather told me about Ernie Banks, who weighed just 186 pounds during his prime.

Mr. Cub, who hit 512 home runs, was not known for hitting long, towering homers. The four-baggers he was known for were whistling line drives that would land in the first few rows of the bleachers. If you've ever seen the clip of his 500th career blast, it is the perfect illustration of a typical Banks homer.

And of a better approach than some current Cubs seem to have right now.