The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-10-21

" y s s!sr,a " a: 's ss:
and Boston clubs would not play off n
series of finals to settle the question of
which shall be champions indeed. This
declaration was as well based as it is nos.
sible to forctell the future President
Soden, of the Boston club, told me that
under no circumstances would he consent
to play the proposed finals and gave good
reasons for his refusal to wit:
You cannot make n large number of
our patrons believe" said he, that the
Boston club has not purposely lost the last
championship for the sake of making
money out of series of finals. That be-
lief has hurt us to the extent of thousands
OF dollars during the last half of the sea.
son, and unless it be removed will hurt us
equally ms much next season. The only
way we can remove the wrong impression
is by refusing to play Off the two cham.
pionships. and thus showing Boston cranks
that there was no design in the result of
the second race"
UP to the day of the meeting of the
League Mt the Fifth Avenue hotel on
Oct. the Boston officials were unfalteriny
In this determination. But at that meet
ing the rest of the League took up the case
and literally forced the Boston club to
play. 1t was urged that unless one OF the
other or the two clubs asserted it's teams
superiority in such series the League
would have no champions next season. 1t
was also represented that Bostons refusal
to play would do more harm to the inter
ests OF the League ut large than the Bos-
tons could possibly suffer by the playing
OF the games. 1t was not, however until
the League threatened to take the bull by
the horns-if you will permit me to call
the Boston club bull-and compel the
playing OF the finals that Mr. Soden emu
lated the example of the late Davy Crock
ett's wise coon and came down without n
shot.
AS usual, one of the most important nc
tons taken by the League magnates at
this late meeting was not made public I'M
til 1T was put into execution. Practically
it Is merely carrying out the nefarious
agreement of the June conference-not to
cut down salaries this time, but to abbrevi-
ate them. Not satisfied with shaving sal
aries on all sides in June, the magnates
now hit upon plan to lop off the tail
close up to the body. The players are re
| leased two weeks before their contracts eS-
| pire, but the twelve clubs agree to con-
slider such releases, SO far rs signing the
| players for another year Is concerned, mere
matters of form. These releases (?) come.
too, after the players have been reserved
nothing but IL reputation of the contracts
after the club has secured all the service
| from the players it can get.
such unjust and uncommercial tranSac.
| tions MS this by baseball magnates have
done much TO drag down the once high in
terest in baseball. 1t has given basis for
the remark made by one of the fuirest
minded OF the magnates last summer
that If any other business on earth was
tod,
to baseball it would be driven into bank
ruptcy i'll less than one year.
The result of that recent conference
makes it sure that there will be but one
championship next year; that the number
OF games will be reduced from l54 to 1872
and that there will be but two instead of
three trips from east to west and from west
to east, Of three games EACH True, the
magnates passed resolutions that it was
their sense" Every bud sense, should say
to retain the present circuit Of twelve clubs
next year. unless meanwhile one or more of
the twelve shall resign, withdraw or dis
band That means nothing but n lot of
words- The chance that one or more of the
four ex-Association clubs will resign (for Il
consideration before next spring is un-
usually large.
There Is no longer any doubt that the
twelve clubs at this meeting secretly hit
upon some plan to reduce their salaries
next season The fact brought forth that
only one club-the Clevelands-will make
any money, and that most of the rest lost
heavily on the season, stimulated the mag
mates to desperate methods to reach the
remedy. They know their task is no easy
one, Tor ball players, as rule, are the hard
est lot or men OH earth to deal with on n
basis of business demands. The magnates
themselves, however, are largely to blame
for this unreasonable disposition of the
players. The latter have little assurance
when they sign contract that they will
get all of the salary called for Their con-
tracts, on their own part, amount to so
much blank paper and are good only to
permit the club officials to act arbitrarily
in the treatment of the players
Men who this year received from $1,000
to $1,000 will have to play for 5000 or
$500 next year. There will be more
players in 1893 receiving under s., GOO than
above that amount Probably no club of
the twelve will exceed n salary of $50, 900
next year, and Il few will attempt TO get it
rs low rs $4,000. That means a big cut
all around from the average club payroll
of S45. COO. 1t is fair estimate to say that
the twelve League clubs if there be twelve.
will next year pay $4,000 less in salaries
to players than the latter received this
year. On that basis the magnates believe
the game can be made to pay a dividend
once more.
Even with all this reduction salaries will
be very little lower than they were in lSSS
and 1889. when the baseball business was
at its height and prosperity.
The League championship season next
year will begin ut least two weeks later
than it began last spring. This will be
most beneficial to the clubs of minor nsso.