The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-02
BASEBALL BUSINESS.
The Average Fan Has No Idea of Its
 Enornity.
From the Bookkeeper.

From the Bookkeeper.
 Baseball Investments in these days of baseball peace are not at all precarious When war prevailed and every baseball magnate had his knife unsheathed for ev- cry other magnate, a manager might wake up in the morning and find that a rival had hired his galaxy of stars away from him during the night. Clandestine tampering with baseball talent now Is Impossible, as all clubs and all leagues are bound by hard and fast agreements
 The expense of running baseball team through a season is staggering to look upon but it means little to the magnate who has a good ball club well up in the race. Before the ball park gates open the fans are lined up in the street fighting each other for the prior right to hand the magnate their money that they might see his great young athletes perform.
 A leading American league magnate es- inmates the average expense of running a big league ball club through a season as follows:
 New players for trials... ...... ....S 20, 900 Railroad fares and hotel bills ...... 15,O00 Players salaries ...... ...... ........ 10000 Uniforms and team equipment. zee. 10000 One thousand baseballs ...... 1,0M lncidentals ........ 6,0o0 Scouts for new playing material.... 5000
 The information of the average fan as to how the gate money Is divided between the clubs is misty.
 The plutocrat ball team of the Amerl- gan league, 1t is declared by a magnate, would be about as follows: Pitcher Don ovan of Detroit, Joss of Cleveland and Walsh of Chicago, each drawing around S50O0 The catchers would be Sullivan of Chicago and Criger of St. Louis, each pull Ing down about $4500. Charles Schmidt the Detroit catcher refused to sign this season at that figure. Hal Chase of the Highlanders leads the first basemen, with q pay envelope of s450O Lajoie, of course, leads the second sackers, with his S75OO Bobby Wallace of the St. Louis Browns, drew $6500 for three years during baseball war times and gets close to that figure now. Bill Bradley. the Cleveland third sacker, leads the players of that position with salary of between S4500 and $5000.
 Cobb, of course, tops the outlelders, with his $5o00 salary at the age of 22. Sam Crawford, the great slugging center field CT of the Tigers. Is the best paid player in that position this season, drawing close to $5000. Matty Mcintyre of the Tigers and George Stone of the St. Louis Browns vie with each other for the honor among the left felders each drawing about $45OO.
 In the National league both Manager Frank Chance of the Cubs and Manager John J. McGraw of the New Y ork Giants are reputed to be drawing S10.0O0 salaries this year. Chance Drew S750O last season. Five of the worlds champion Cubs draw between $4500 and $500 as follows: Kling, Tinker, Evers, Overall and Brown. Christy Matthewson, the star pitcher of the Giants, draws 5000, and Mike Donlin about $6500 Leach, third sacker of the Pittsburg club, draws $5000. Lobert, the star third sacker of the Cincinnati Reds, pulls down only s4000.
 Pretty fair salaries, business men will doubtless remark, that these stars of tho national games are paid. But what of it? But for the stars the game would be dull and the managers would fail to get the money.