Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-21
LIMIT PLAYER RULE
Managers Worried Because
They Can Sign But IS Men.
GRAB EVERYTHING IN SIGHT
Washington, Chicago, Cleveland and
St. Louis Are Close to High
Water Mark.

Lea rue ovner with a second division ball
club on his hands is awakening to the fine
points of the rule adopted last winter to
the effect that only thirty-fve men can
belong to q big league club at one time
1t Is hard on those who have bunch OF
old-timers all going down hill at once. for
out of every ten class A and farther down
players drafted or bought one probably
gets one or two At for fast company.
Heretofore it has been the custom to go
out and lay hands on everything one
wanted, providing the owner could come
to terms on purchase price or was lucky
enough to get men In the drafting perioo'
This cannot be done any more. Now when
la man seeks players he has finished wnen
the thirty-fifth man has been aooed 10 the
list.
Every major league club has between
twenty and twenty-five on the pay ron
during the season. Twenty-Five - pIoo
ably fair average. Each CLUB mas pos
sibly six men out on optional asI ysna rne,,
subject to recall by August .. Inc men
out on optional agreements do not nave 20
report until the season OF the league IN
| which they are playing Is nnisneo. INV
ever, every option exercised eats Up ono
of that permitted thirty-five.
| Take Detroit for instance. IT mas tWen-
ty-two men on hand now and six out OPP
| tionally IL these six are recalled II makes
a total of twenty-eight, leaving seven
men to be drafted and purchased guy VI
this seven. recruited from the highways
and byways Of base bail. the IlgerS VIII
be lucky IL they land one capable player.
In other words. with the tnirty.nvemssss
rule in effect Detroit can expect 10 aau
two or three men, at the most, benenciai
to the team.
This thirty-five-man rule was adopted
by the National Association or ffotes-
sional Base Ball Leagues as q means OF
ynAO
howled because the minors were al goo-
bled up by purchase or draft, ana men
who might have labored In class A leagues
with credit TO themselves were sent Daok
to some friendly team In class p ~ .ha
class c leagues. in return for which the
major leagues that sent cast-oms nad tne
pick of those clubs free OF charge next
season.
In this way the new rule Is a good
thing. but II Is bad for the second-divi-
sion major teams They need more than
two or three good men. all the CLUBS
having made money, and are willing to
spend big sums chasing that ever-recur-
ring hope, 1.-The first division.
The rule works against the minor league
clubs OF less than class A. and VIII COS,
them thousands Of dollars they might
have had from the sale Of players. II
will work against a lot OF young men wne
major league more rapidly. Big show
owners will not waste money on players
almost ready, but who need q little sea
soning, because the number or men they
can carry Is limited.
In consequence, a lot of men who might
have at least received q big league trfa
will be drafted by the class leagues
and when they get there they will stick
unless they display enough ability so thai
their sales look worth from 5000 to $1O..
900. An owner can draft but one man
per season from class league teams
Maybe three or four other clubs try to
clubs have designs on other players from
the same team. Lot decided which player
shall 60. and lot decided what club ne
passes TO. This concession was brought
about through oft-repeated declaration
of OUTLAW" ball on the part of some class
A leagues.
Where the Limitation rule hits the class
B, c and D owners is that 1t takes from
them a good source Of profit through
sales. Base ball in leagues less than class
A Is largely a matter Of civic pride. teams
being owned by stock companies which
think base ball a good advertisement
Selling players has pulled more than one
club out of bankruptcy. and has added
more money to the treasury along in Au-
gust, SO that further assessments on
stockholders were not required.
Big league clubs like st. Louis. Cleve-
land. Washington and Chicago. which
until in a few weeks they will suddenly
find out they have all the players they
are allowed. Then they will either have
to release men outright or stop adding.
When drafting season starts there will
be a lively mix-up. Suppose one has
thirty men on his club, and drafts ten
more. and is allowed seven of the ten.
He will be two over the legal limit, and
then what will happen? Mix-ups are sure
and the national commission is going to
have q lively time.
The thirty five-man rule Is q fine thing
for the Athletics and Boston, teams OF
young fellows, but 1t Is hard on the man.
ager or owner who has not the same
chance to replace his veterans that the
owners whose teams declined two or three
years ago had.