Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-05-07
BY J, ED GRILLo.

PHILADELPHIA. May THE facts
of the Frank Baker case have finally
come to light, and they make the en-
| tire affair of the slugger's refusal to
report to Mack appear quite different
from what has been generally sup
| posed. To begin with there is no truth
in the story that Ba ker signed a three
year contract calling for $4,000 per
season The fact of the matter is that
last summer Baker and several other
members of the Mack team insisted on
having their salaries increased. Mack
had been having trouble getting Baker
to sign in former years, it always hav-
ing been necessary to make trip to
the players home at Trappe to get him
under contract.
Mack decided, and so told Baker, to
sign him for three-year period Baker
was told to name his own figure. and
| he named $4,000 for three years. at
W hich rate of salary he was paid dur
| ing the closing months of last season
| and would have been for the next two
years had he reported
Bakers treatment was along much
| more liberal lines than any one sup
posed, and now it is hard to understand
why he has not awaited himself of the
| opportunity TO earn this money
These disclosures put Connie Mack
| in an entirely different position with
the base ball public. for it was be-
Ieyed that il was his refusal to pay
Baker as big a salary as other players
| of his prominence draw, which caused
| the split, but this is absolutely not the
case, and the figure above quoted is
contained in the signed contract, which
club.
| Just as was expected the Nationals
/ broke loose with their bats yesterday and
! looked more like great smuggling aggre-
CATION than ever before. Pennock and
Bressler TWO of Macks coming left
! ha nded stars, suffered severely from the
! drubbing the visitors inflicted and had
| day been distributed in the right spot in
+, the two shut-outs the Nationals suf-
| fered in Boston, the Grffmen's record at
this writing would be clean of defeats.
But now that the team seems to have
found its batting stride. better things
| may be looked for. for the pitching and
| fielding continue of the highest order and
| is sure to win ball games if there is just
| an ordinary amount OF batting
| For the first time this season, Bert Cal
| liza issued pass yesterday, in fact, he is
! sued two of them in the five innings ne
worked, one to Schang in the first and
another to Strunk in the third. But
| lila was very effective and was not
scored on in the five innings he pitched.
! Having the game well in hand in the
/ nfSt Two innings. 'ilHlin dllo"eu MN "
| go five and then substituted Harper who
| struck out five and allowed four hits in
1 the period he officiate
( Though Harry Harper had pitched for
! fully fifteen or twenty minutes in batting
! practice before the game. he made very
| creditab bile showing in the four innings he
faced the Athletics. during which time
he was hit safely four times. but three
| Of these were of the infield variety. He
only gave two passes and seemed to have
| lot of stuff.
| Dan Moeller's three base drive hit the
! fence Of the center field hleachers on the
, first bound and If it had struck the
! ground little further back II would