The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-11-20
THE MONEY ~ BASEBALL.
How the Exhit ticn business is Managed
Nowadays Salaries of the Early
Professional PLAYERS

Professional Players.
For some wears baseball has been
conducted on regular business pTinci-
pies. but not until recently have such
high salaries been paid. The present
sUyle Of pitching IS responsible for the
enormous salaries which the kings of
the profession" demand. The best
pitchers get as much money for worl.-
iur a few hours each day during seven
months as many college professors re-
cu.ve for their entire years service.
This has not always been the case. The
first / al professional nine was the fam
ous Cincinnati Rcd-stockinrs, which
were established in 1859. There had
been many clubs throughout the coun-
try. which. previous to this time. had
paid two or three players for their SER
vices, Just as many of our alleged
strictly amateUr' > mines do at present.
The Red Stockings were the first Clnb.
however, 10 take men on contracts and
to pay every one on the team Harry
and George Wright received the high
est salaries paid in the club, and neither
was the regular pitcher. Said George
Wright: The money p-id the entire
team would prt poor nine in the field
to-day. Ny brother Harry was the
most expensive man in the team, and
hc got 8, 900 for being captain and
playing center-lield. | was in my reg
ular position at short, and drew 81 800.
THE catcher came next in order, and
the other men ranged from that sum
down. Several came under $1,000.
at would seem that tielders were
considered 10 he worth as much as
pitchers and catchers in those days.
That it, exactly. 4 club without
a strong outfield was as weak then as
one would be now with poor battery.
Every man had to be player, and the
pitcher was of no more importance
than any other man in the team. Why,
almost anyone who pretended TO be 4
good player could 90 into the box with
a little practice and do well. And
then, of course, the catching was quite
different from what it is now. \ man
who held a thrown ball would 90 be-
hind the bat in an emergency and &C
quit himself very creditably. Now, if
your pitcher gives out YOU mi~ht as
well stop playing; and it is just the
same with the catcher. 1t makes no
difference how good your other seven
men are, you are nowhere if the battery
is weak.
Were the Cincinnati Red Stockings
ever troubled this way?"
"Well, we went through our first
season with ten men, and you can Judge
for yourself how many. extra batteries
we could have had. The pitcher did
not try to see how MANY he could strike
out, but used his head and showed his
skill by changing his speed 50 that the
batSman would be deceived and not hit
tie BAH hard. Even if he was batted
hard it was nothing against him and no
one said he had lost the game. Why,
if one nine made six or seven runs in
an inning the other nine was not by
any means defeated and thought moth
ING OF this lead.
With the changes in the style of
pitching have come higher wages Tor
the players, uuiil now a baseball team
is an expensive institution. New York
has the two men who are paid more for
playing bail than any Others III the
world. They are Ward ana Ewing,
and each receives little over S3, 900
are called the ''hi@h-priced team but
several # the men are hired at low fig
ures, which brings down the total of
the salary list, and the Chica@os will
have to be acknowledged the most ex-
pcnsive club III the league. There is
not a cheap player in the nine, and
while the highest salary is not over
g, 600, every man i well remunerated
for his services. Corcoran is valuable
player. He IS well aware of il him
self, and his skin III curving the ball
brings him in - 3UO this year. Rad
bourne and Calvin are other gilt
edged" players. both in the work they
10 and the reward they receive.
The Sa,ary list OF IT," Boston Ies que
club amounts to 925, 900 in round num-
berS. The most valuable man, and de-
servedly the best one. is Capt. Morrill,.
He also holds the position of manager,
ard he has earned every cent of his
$500 Whitney comes next, and is
certainly royalty paid for the amount
of work hr has done this seas IN. for
which he receives $4,000. Bdrdock
and Ioruung iust tmn -, coo, ahd all
Others come Below this figure. The
value of several is set a. about Sl,6oo,
but the season has made gi,sat changes
in the playing of some. and the prices
viii be different another year.
1t is impossible to estimate how nmHh
has been paid in salaries to ball-play-
erS throughout the country. The eight
league clubs viii certainly average as
much as BOston's total, as they have
tried more men if they have not had
quite such expensive players. In the
Union association are eight more clubs.
ST. Louis and Cincinnati pay more than
the Boston league, and every one Of
the other mines has some hieh-priced
players. There is not much doubt that
the eight clubs pay at least 1928, coo IL.
salaries. The American Association
has twelve clubs, and must certainly
pay for this number as much as. If not
more, than the league does for eight.
In fact, few OF the dearest ball-toss-
ers in the world are claimed by the
American Association. Thus the salary
list of these three largest baseball as
sociations in the country aggregate be-
tween $500, 900 and S6Qs 900. This does
not begin TO cover the amount that has
been earned this season by ball-tossers.
Boston Globe.