“Then, two, the club is a light hitting on.e” “The Baseball World,” Minneapolis Tribune, June 28, 1891, p20 (Earliest application of the term to describe a team)
“The Milwaukee Sentinel printed this: ‘Jim Bannon is slated to receive his release, his ragged work in the outfield and light hitting entitled to no further consideration.” “Base Ball Gossip,” Kansas City Star, July 6, 1897, p3 (Earliest use of the term to refer to a player’s overall hitting)
“The light-hitting young outfielder, Harry Black, of Gloucester, has been released by Cincinnati.” “The National Game“, Valley Times-Star (Newville, PA), May 22, 1902, p2 (Earliest use of the term as an adjective describing a player)
NOTE: The term was was widely used as early as the 1870s to characterize individual games.
