Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-09
CLUBS CAN'T AFFORD
TO HELP EACH OTHER
Hugh Jennings Explains Why
Managers Hang to Youngsters
of Promise.
THEY COST TOO MUCH
MONEY TO LET GO
Men for Whom Waivers Are Asked
Are Worth Thousand in
Glass A Leagues.
Special Dispatch 10 The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
DETROIT May BIT is no wonder
the clubs of the major leagues rather re-
tain their surplus players than let them
go under the waiver rules which now OBJ
tain i'm the big leagues" commented Man
ager Hugh Jennings OF the Detroit club,
who. il has been thought might turn
over to the Browns some OF his surplus
material for modest consideration.
I'VE have three or four men who are
young and who have just shown enough
of what they may become that We can
not afford to part with Them continued
Jennings Drake. Smaller. Ness, Cavitt.
Lathers are all young, and they are all
ambitious. II we had to go out and Sc
cure young players of their caliber from
cla.o A league clubs We would have TO
paw from $500 to $1,000 each. and in
turn would get untried material. The men
| mentioned would have to be turned over
to a rival club for S1.5oo the waiver
price, if we asked for waivers and had
to reduce our squad.
Viewed From a Business Standpoint.
every first division ball club is con-
fronted with the proposition sooner OF
later that 1t has lost sight of the CO.
operative features of the American
League. upon which that organization
was founded We have been besieged
as other clubs have with requests from
tail end clubs. that we give them our
surplus material, so that the league may
be better balanced and the sport of base
hall receive an added impetus In conse-
quence. ,.
You can readily see our position. IL
we ask waivers on our young men ai,u
send them to a CLUB that really neeos
strengthening We part with from Wow
to $4,000 worth of base ball material for
the nominal sum of $500. Imagine any
man in a commercial line OF business
listening for one minute to q proposition
of this kind. $50
released. a pitcher. The others we Will
probably keep. 1 would like to place the
young men with fast class A league
clubs but will keep them all on the
bench rather than lose title to PLAYERS
discover.
Every Club Makes Money.
The American League, by the way
was conceived upon cooperative ano
| 'let us help each other" basis Time was
when even the first division teams maze
so little money that they were willing to
turn over to the weaker members Few
players in the hope that the added pa
tronaye would be beneficial to all con-
cerned. That time has passed. No major
league club loses money. Even rank
taiiender shows a balance on the rlSht
side of the ledger when the frosts oil au-
tumn inhabit the festive pumpkin So
often mentioned by the dliigeht poet.
Base ball is a profitable pastime Tor the
nf whom nave Deon SUI
cessful in getting the kind Of men he
wants and some Of whom have failed.
Charles Somers. the Cleveland magnate'
spent literally but drew nothing oetter
than a second division crowd: Connie
Mack blew money like the fellow who
h,,T cents worth of peanuts. but he
got the stuff There are the Two eN-
tremes in the American League In sue
cessful and futile efforts to build up a
winning organization.
Base Ball Has Commercial Taint.
The time has passed when the rival
magnate slips you anything because ne
loves YOU or wants you to succeed. He
figures al! hands will make a profit and
his will be greater il he has winning
club-therefore, retains everything worth
while Base ball is not a sordid. money
grabbing business like running a pawn
shop or q twenty-five-cent loan office but
II has become filled with enough of the
commercial spirit that nobody is going to
elm Won ANYTHING out of the goodness of
his heart.
Greats" but il old Solomon came back
ned have a tough job picking the likely
ones.