The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-11-08
TIM SHARP WRITES LETTER
Baseball Magnates in the American and National Leagues Are of the Opinion Young Players
 Come Too High.

leagues were put in A class mas | caused the trouble, but the main kick I comes over the price required of big l leagues for the drafting of players.
 An interview by Timothy Sharp, which | Is given below, appears in the Sporting | News and gives a pretty clear ideas as to where some tall kicking is going to | start.
 So far as the Southern leagle Is cor cerned, everybody around these parts IS satisfied The major leagues are re- quired to pay a much higher price for drafted players and there are not so many clubs who can draft on us in the future.
 Will Not Be Approved.
 MT. Sharp says:
 "The action of the National Association of Professional Baseball leagues at their recent annual meeting in raising the draft price will not be approved by the two major leagues. and l do not think it ought to be. They have put the figures too high, and it will be the means, if adopted, of keeping many a promising young player from advancement. In fact, many player is now given a chance to make good in the majors at $750, who would not be risked at $500, and even double that, but how few of this kind there are, and if the drafting price is advanced as decided upon by the Ma tional Association, there will be but few drafts in future Personally I do not think there ought to be any drafting at all, but only through direct purchases of players release, from September 15 to October 15 of each year, should the major leagues be recruited I would make these purchases absolute. without any strings tied to them, and that would avoid all this tumoil about covering up of players.
 Price Would Be Prohibitive.
 The principal objection would be that the minor leagues would run the price up so high that it would scare off cer- tain clubs that might be seriously in need of players but who could not and would not pay the high price demanded. That might be an objection. but on the other hand, if the player had distinguished him self and was desired by several clubs, it was proof that his release was worth a. good round sum, and exceptional cases Of this kind deserve exceptional treat ment, and you cannot frame rule that will be just to this particular class be- cause there are not enough of them to form a class.
 When you stick these phenomenons in class AA, along with a bunch that don't belong with them, you lay bare the in- justice and absurdity of the classification There Is the same kind of injustice done in this drafting business that Is expe- rienced in labor unions. Say, for instance. you send to the union headquarters for six or seven carpenters to work on a job Tor you. You will have to pay them all the same price, about 65 cents per hour, yet you will find that while two of them may be worth the agreed compensation. the rest will not be worth half what must be paid them. In other words you have to pay for the services of a good man the same as you pay for the rotten one. There is no discrimination, and that Is one reason why I object to the drafting method, and why think 1t works serious injury to the rank and file of the plav- CTS.
 Source of Large Revenue.
 l am well aware of the fact that one of the chief sources of income of minor league owners in this yearly sale of hu- man stock, just as they sell yearlings on stock farm, and 1t is to their inter- est to raise the drafting price to the cell ing II they can do so, and I fully realize what the National Association are driv-
 
 this instance, and will find that out be- fore the first of next year. It would be better Tor the minor leagues to dispose of thelr best players by sale to the highest bidder, and If they had real flrst-class talent to dispose of, they could derive more in this way than the would bv draft
 There is one minor league owner who mas been doing a land-office business selllng the releases of his best play CTS before the drafting period began and he has obtained first-class prices every time. When the drafting period arrived there was nothing left in his club worth drafting. If he had waited to dispose or his players by draft, he would have had to accept one-fourth of what he ac- tually received.
 This minor league player let Cincin- natl have four players last season and out Of the four there were two who made good with a vengeance. I refer to Walker and Odwell neither of whom could be secured from President Garry Hartmann for many thousands of dol lars Mir. Hartmann might have sper+. and doubtless will spend half as much IS that again in trying to get more like them and will fail. In this case the pur chase method was a success, and if it were the only method allowed, think 1t Woulu De mutually Denenc1al.
 Becomes Lottery.
 'I object to the methods of drafting for the further reason that it Is not always fair and just and often a case Of luck. Say, for instance. that four clubs send in their drafts for the same man and these four are received prior to o'clock of September S1. Under the fool rules in vogue all of them are con sidered as having put in the draft at the same time, while actually one may have been twelve hours ahead of the others and clearly untitled to precedence as was the case under the late Nick Young's regime.
 T have known a long line strung out in front of Nick Youngs house waiting for one minute after midnight on inc first day of the drafting period to hand In their checks and secure the plums Now, if you happen to be one of four who have selected the same player from a minor league. even if you have been hours ahead of the others it cuts no figure. You are subject to lot and if ia I'll gamble whether you win or lose Four names are put in a hat and Herr mann, Johnson. Pulliam and Bruce tick their mitts in and, like Little Jack Iorner, each pull out plum. The one f,,Ir is. bo 1,