The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-24
Drafting Season Is Al Hand;
Keen Demand for Material
Big League Clubs Eager to Nail Prizes; Scouts
Have Combed Minors With Fine Tooth
Rake and Fancy Prices Prevail.
BY w. J, MACBETH.

"A TEW YORK. Aug, 23.-The major
mi league drafting season has once
more arrived. The next week or
ten days may prove the most
important Of the season. for number
of big circuit clubs now struggling for
recognition. Conditions within the
past several years have greatly
changed. No longer is it possible for
indiscriminate drafting. The new
working agreement under which or
ganized baseball operates holds all ma
jor league teams to a rigid roster linz
il Of thirty-five men, besides limiting
the liabilities to draft from leagues of
inferior rank.
Only two winters ago Charles II. Eb-
bets Of the Brooklyn team secured
through the draft something like forty
players. Of course he had no idea OF
carrying even one-quarter of these
through even the spring training trip.
He was so profusc in his claims simply
as business proposition. He wished
to retain few of the very best play
ers secured rs near. Of course. as could
be Judged without thorough trial and 70
utilize the rest as material OF in con-
tempatod deals Besides. when there
was no limit to draft numbers, the
more athletes he bagged the more were
kept from rival clubs that might bene-
fit thereby.
Roster Is Limited.
The roster limit as at present cousti-
tuted has struck telling body blow TO
the former curse Of the draft. Major
leagues cannot tumble so heavily in
green material and must necessarily ex-
ereise far greater caution in selections.
But in limiting the field of draft doubt.
less far greater premium has been
placed in bnnd luck. We will try to
see how this is so.
The draft is moro or less blind stool
in the dark, anyhow. 1t is simply a
case of outlueking rival in tho draw,
nine times III ten. Every major league
club has the right To claim so many
players from league Of inferior rank
ing IL is therefore possible for every
major league club TO put in draft for
some certain player. When more than
| one team claims certain man his fate
is decided by lot 1t is therefore pos
sible for certain club TO secure all
the prizes Of the draft, while on the
other hand an owner may draw nothing
from his lottery even II he has placed
the most claims for talent.
Freaks of Draft.
Simply because of the loopholes of
draft have such fancy prices been paid
this season for minor league stars.
Charlie Comiskey gave $4,000 value
for Outfielder Harry Chappell of Mil.
waukeo. Frank Farrell paid equally
dear for Infielder Maisel of Baltimore.
Either might have landed his prize for
s2500-the draft price-had he waited
| till August 20. But each magnate real
lied n delay might be dangerous. II
was reasonable 10 suppose that athletes
of such caLuer had attracted the atten.
tion OF many scouts and that practical
ly all the clubs of tho two big leagues
would be willing to hazard an outlay Of
$500 apiece for such stars.
To protect their interests and abso.
lutely assure the delivery of the cher.
ished material, the Chicago and New
York promoters had 10 pay about seven
times moro than recognized market val.
ue-as estimated by the standards OF
interleague business,
| Farrell and Comiskey are cited ms ex.
amples simply because OF the unusual
expenditures for individual minor
league stars. In both cases these sin
glt transactions represent o very small
friction of tho outlay Of the. promoters