Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-04
NOT GOOD FINANCIERS.
Some Baseball Players Appear
to Lack Horse Sense
CONSPICUOUS SAMPLES OF FOLLY.

the Variety stage-what Shall 1t Profit
Player to Buck Against Stone Wall?
Pride Goeth Before Fall.
The average baseball player of the pro-
fessional class is not noted for superior
business sense. The history of the national
game is full of proof to that end. But
following the recent cut in salaries by all
the League clubs came several instances
Of downright foolishness, which put the
players perpetrating iton line with ire
sponsible people for whom the law usually
provides guardians.
The case Of sMullane stands out most
prominently, however. There is a man
whose salary under his original contract
was little more than nineteen dollars
day, including Sundays. Under the reduc-
tion he was asked to accept smaller sal
ary, which would pay him fraction over
fifteen dollars day. He absolutely re-
fused to be "cut," and was told he must
submit or accept a release. He chose the
release and got it, knowing full well that
he could not, under the present League
agreement. get dollar more salary from
any other club than was proffered by the
Gincinnatis under the new scale.
But he took the breath away from the
world, as It were, by announcing that he
wo1ld desert the ball field for the variety
stage; that he had signed o contract as a
song and dance artist at 500 week.
Whether he realized that old artists in
the song and dance line are idle and anx-
iously looking for '.jobs" at fifty dollars
week Is doubtful, and he doesn't seem to
have realized that the manager who en-
gagged him had no other design probably
than to get all he could out Of the novelty
Of noted pitchers debut on the variety
stage and then throw him back upon a
cold world.
Another stubborn victim of the 'tnew
scale" is Tim Keefe. He, too, was 80 fool
ish as to accept release rather than a re-
duction, but unlike Mullane he has no
versatility of talents to fall back upon.
With Keefe 1t will be another case of Low
ett, where the man sacrifices about fifteen
dollars a day rather than be cut down
from twenty dollars per diem salary.
The madness of these men becomes more
prominent when it Is borne In mind that
they fully understand the ironclad agree
ment which shuts them out from obtain
ing more money in another League club,
and that the Western league was m pro-
cess of disintegration at the same time,
flooding the country with many young and
promising stars ready and anxious to take
the places of these rebellious players at
much less salary.
In 1888 / signed Patrick Gillespie, the
noted outfielder of the Troy club, to play
with the Cincinnatis of 1884 Shortly after
ward he notified me indirectly that he
would play with the New Yorks instead,
because he could not afford to play for the
salary specified in his Cincinnati contract,
viz, 81, 500. s.g ASS
Several weeks ago read in Pennsyl-
vania newspaper that this same Gillespie
is working In a coal mine near bis native
place and averages ninety cents day for
ten hours work. -~-.
In 1884 Tommy Esterbrook and Tim
Keefe were star members of the Metropoli-
tan club, Of the American association.
The New York League club wanted their
services, but under the laws of the ma
tional agreement ten days must elapse
after notice Of their release before any club
could resign them, so by connivance be-
tween the two clubs Manager Mutrie, of
the New Yorks, took them on a free trip to
Bermuda, and while they were gone their
releases were published. Before they got
back the ten days had elapsed and Mutrie
had them signed.
Last week Esterbrook broke an arm
while playing with Staten Island club as
a volunteer, being unable to secure an en-
gagement at any salary
Jack Lynch, the once famous pitcher,
was in his day the most unreasonable of
men on the salary question Now he is
doing policeman's duty at about three
dollars day.
Mike Kelly, while in Binghamton re-
Gently, told reporter that his salary in
Boston was about $700 month and they
proposed to cut it down $214 He com
planned bitterly about it, but confessed
that he was helpless to resist and do bet
ter. YH ne
Ihad an interesting 'talk' with Presi-
dent Williams, of the Western league, and
thereby got good understanding of the
causes which led to the disaster that over
took that once promising organization.
In the first place the rains Of April and
May over the Western league circuit were
very disastrous Columbus had twenty
eight rainy days in May alone. M
In the second place the millennium plan
soon became distasteful He was over
wheimed with kilograms from the clubs
demanding new players and calling on
him to strengthen their teams. Most of
these demands could not under the plan
Of organization be granted, and the club
hackers grew Indifferent, so that when the
first financial pressure came they refused
to respond with more funds 90 ~
In the third place the S12, 900 salary limit
of the clubs so widely advertised had a
tendency to belittle the teams In the larger
cities. Kansas City, for instance, had been
represented in the National league and
American association. Milwaukee and
Columbus had been members of the latter
body and indianapolis was once League
city. Omaha and Minneapolis have met
ropolitan aspirations and had no stomach
for cheap baseball team, while the bad
location of the grounds at st. Paul was a
decided handicap.
Under these disadvantages the wonder
is that the Western organization lasted
until July. sa
The Southern league, composed of much
smaller cities on its circuit, has done inf
nitely better in business sense, and the
Eastern league, while not in the most pros
porous condition, has done better than its
lamented western neighbor.
There Is crusade organizing against the
fiat bat and sacrifice hitting. Anson leads
the onslaught and Ward commands the
forces In defense. The latter charges that
Anson is opposed to bunting" because he
can't do any Of 1t himself, and Anson re-
torts that the fat bat is fit for use only
by those fellows who have been brought
up In tennis court and don't know how