The Washington times., 1901-09-11
BASEBALL GOSSIP.

John NJ. Ward put aside a stack of
legal documents one day last week TO
discuss a proposed move that has created
no end OF comment in baseball circles,
the same being the announced suspension
of the national agreement by the Ma
tionaI League after September 80. 1T is
a mystifyiag move to me. and l cannot
understand it." said Alr. Ward 1t is
inst the opposite of what l would expect
with the National League having fght
on its hands. On the face of II 1t LOOKS
to be a bad move, but the magnates OF
the league ought to be shrewd enough 10
know what they are about They may
have some plan in reserve that has not
been guessed at, and /, personally am as
much in the dark as any other outslder.
1t may be, as has been suggested that
it is a protective measure against the
American League, permitting the Nd
tional to go after minor league players
and get them ahead Of the rival league,
but il seems to me that the loss of the
premier position and the prestige i'll base
ban. which comes from being the party
OF the first part OF the agreement would
more than offset any advantage that
could accrue from securing a few players
free from minor leagues. Comparatively
few players are had from the minor
leagues each year who come up TO the
National League requirements. ana these
could be had by draft or purchase as
heretofore.
.,rhe National League fathered the Ma
tional agreement. fostered it, has held
that il is the bulwark OF the game, and it
therefore seems strange that after all
this time they should discover that it can
be done away with. 1t was the National
agreement that made the reserve rule ef-
fective. Why, the Players League would
have beaten the National League in 1891
but for the fact that the National League
had the moral support OF the minor
leagues. due to the National agreement
Without the National agreement the
players in the minor leagues may not re-
gard the National League as the major
league, and that element of satisfaction
that came from belonging TO the Dig
league would no longer exist. Players
have been known to get more money IN
minor leagues than in the big league,
and, that being the case. without the
National agreement TO give the Natlcnai
league its status as the leading baseball
organization of the country. the minor
league player might prefer to stay where
he is
Without the National League agree
ment and the position at the head OF pro
fessional baseball that goes with il, the
National League is on the same plane as
the American League. 1t is no better than
Inc American League Il MiltAA
is to prevent the American League form
ing an agreement with the minor leagues,
thus taking the Nationals place and put
ting the latter outside the breastworkS?
There is not so much difference in the
strength of the two circuits that the Ma
tional League could afford to lose any
prestige to the American League. even
though that prestige be artiticially ac-
quired. Suspending the National agree
ment certainly will not help the National
League any in getting American League
players. And the proposed suspension
strikes me as being hardly fair to the Ma
tional Leagues minor league friends,
when ten or fifteen minor league circuits
are about all they generally get, and
$4,000 about all they would have to pay
out. indeed. the object of the move is TO
anticipate the American League in get
ting minor league players As l said. it
is peculiar move, which may mean more
than appears on the surface. The ten
year agreement being nearly up. possibly
there is some plan of reorganization of
the circuit in view, though ! do not see
what bearing that could have on the Ma
tional agreement matter. Anyway. the
National League men are clever poll
ticians. and being on the inside. may
have some object in view that justifies the
move. New York Sun.