El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-27
By Sam
Crane
OF New York Journal

I That was four years ago. No chance
| presented itself for Snodgrass to be
come a regular catcher. but he was
/ held, nevertheless, and McGraws judg-
ment Of the youngsters ability, was
not misplaced.
Erratic Ball Players
There have been erratic ball players
loads of them There are the Bugs
Raymonds. tn Rube Waddens in the
present ranks Of the professionals, and
there were others of their ilk in the
old days Of the game There have
been also magnates who have been
known as having erratic personalities
if not considered as being in the fresh
class
The last baseball magnate to spring
sensations one after the other in pres
ent and more recent days of the sport
is John l. Taylor. owner of the Boston
American team, and his team known
as the Red Sox
When magnate Taylor released what
was considered one of his most valu-
able player assets, Cy Young. in
trade whereby his club secured Jess
Burkett. fTndcm gasped in wonder.
Ihen again the sudden shift of his
managers in various years caused no
end Of talk, but his most recent ac-
O..
team captain and considered by MANY
good judges to be. the best third base
man in the country. was a deal that
.atartled the baseball world possibly
more than any other of the strange
and unaccountable transactions he has
made in his entire career as a magnate
and club owner
Surprising Deals.
NO deal seems too surprising for Mr..
Taylor to spring on an unsuspectine
baseball public His team NAV be 90
ing along at top speed and with pen
nant prospects that any other owner
would think the best and most profit
able thing to be possessed of, and then.
in jiffy. the whole winning fabric
will be disrupted. as appeared to be
the case with the Red Sox when Lord
was given the bounce. That the team.
a winning aggregation, was suddenly
shifted into a loser was shown by
their four straight defeats by the Chi
cago White Sox Immediately after the
surprising deal was contaminated
There was not q manager in the
American or the National, who would
not have jumped at the chance to Sc
cure the discarded third baseman. and
Frank Farrell. owner of the New York
has been reported as saw
ing ne would give $4,000 in cash for
Lord. There are other owners who
would go even further than Farrell.
Third basemen of the caIibre of
Harry Lord do not grow on bushes.
They are very hard to get and when
a club is Fortunate enough TO secure
one, it holds on to him like grim
death
WhIms and Moods.
John L. Taylor is a man of whims
and moods. He wants to be the boss
and woe betide the player on his club
that develops a spirit Of independence.
Manager Fred Lake dared to have a
mind Of his own and it was the blue
envelope for him. And so II has been
with others in Taylor's employ
hope there was method in John /
Taylor's apparent madness in his most
recent deal, but one class to baseball
and its many inside workings. hates
to see a winning aggregation like the
Red SoX thrown to, the dogs by
whim-
L therefore. with many others. hope
that MI Taylor had deep, good and
sufficient reasons for Harry Lords dis
missal
Any club owner has a perfect right, |
no doubt, to control his club and team
as he sees fit, but the great baseball