The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-11-08
MONEY COMES EASY
Baseball Stars Receive Fabulous
Sums in These Days of Inter-
League Warfare.
Minor League Players Want to
Share in the General Pros
perity of the Times.

In these days baseball player is worth
almost as much as a jockey. Recently 1t
was stated that the New York National
league club had offered Napoleon Lajoie
$4,000 for two years work, with a bonus
Of SIC, 900 for signing the contract, that is,
$35, 900 in all. Lajoie says no such offer
was made to him, but if Ned Hanlon Of
Brooklyn is correctly quoted, many own
ers would be willing to pay even more for
the king of second basemen.
Hanlon recently said in conversation
with Frank Patterson Of Baltimore that
the loss of Lajoie by Philadelphia made
a difference of $4,000 to that club, and
loss to the others in proportion. Patter-
son says Lajoie Is worth at least $4,000
a year, and to prove this he cites the fact
that Cleveland outdrew all the other
American league clubs on the road last
season.
One American league club is said to
have on it's pay roll four men whose sal
aries aggregate $4,000 or an average Of
$1,000 per man for the four. McGraw, it
is asserted, offered Delehanty $4,000 cash
as advance money, and gave him a con-
tract to fill out for himself. On the whole
a ball player has something over a bank
president nowadays.
Bigger Salaries All Around.
And the eastern baseball war has not
only resulted in better salaries for the
stars; 1t has caused a general advance in
| the stipends Of men in minor leagues.
The effect has been seen locally, members
| of last years Minneapolis club having
demanded $3.50 month for next season.
One Of the players who asked this figure
| is good fielder but poor hitter, very
| poor hitter, in fact. Says Treasurer
Johnston of the local club:
| I'VE are willing to pay for good players,
but when we pay $3.50 month for an in
| M - crnf
we ought to secure batter as we'll as a
| fielder for that price"
| By next year probably both leagues will
be able to figure out how much better off
they would be if they had peace, and the
close Of the year 1903 should see the end
Of the present war.
Welsh Sees No Advance.
! Mickey Welsh, at one time one Of the
greatest pitchers in the business, recently
gave most interesting talk on the ball
players of twenty years ago as compared
with those Of to-day. He said:
1.-The pitchers nowadays have not gor
anything on the pitchers in the eighties
and the players nowadays have not go
anything on the players of the days wher
I was with New York, the time when We
were real giants of the game. The same
tactics were used when was playing bal
that are used now, and the only way IL
which the game has improved that I cal
see is that there are more good players
There are more good pitchers, too,
larger number of scientific batters anG
more fast ielders. That is natural in thu
development Of the game, it would b,
in any other business, but the first-clas
players Of the present are no better thai
the first-class players fifteen or twent,
years ago. I know the pitcher has t.
stand back further from the plate now
it,
der for him except that it gives the bat
ter more chance to time the ball. Blu
look at the new foul strike rule that bat
tiers have to go against now. Why, tn