The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-23
Shropshire Resolutions
 Win Furnish Feature at
 Spring Meeting in Atldnta
BAUGH AGAINST RULING EITHER SPIf OR MUD BALL ILLEGAL-OTHER REGULA- TIONS NOT IMPORTANT, SAYS LEAGUE PRESIDENT

It is. unlikely that either the mud, oI spit ball will be prohibited in the South ern league this year, as, President Baugh has set his face against unnecessary reg ulations and regulations which will tend to cause wrangling between the players and the umpires.
 Those who followed with keen interest the contest last year between MT. Baugh and Clyde Shropshire of Nashville for the presidency of the league will remem- Der that the Volunteer boss, as slap at the Baugh administration, introduced a series of so-called reform resolutions which were not acted upon at Birming- ham, but were postponed until the At lanta meeting.
 It is very probable that these same resolutions will constitute very live topic for discussion at the meeting in Atlanta Saturday. A schedule fight is the regular thing, but the Shropshire resolutions will furnish a feature that will prove interesting
 It is not believed that those provisions to which MT. Baugh is actively opposed will be enacted and it is somewhat in- teresting to know just what he thinks about them.
 T do not think we should enact any hard and fast regulations requiring the umpire to wait an hour before calling the game on account of rain. True, do not approve of our present rule that an umps must wait 20 minutes. I think it should be left to the umpire's discre- tion, whether there is prospect of fair weather and other consderat ations. An hour might be too long to keep the fans sitting in the stands and I do not think that there should be any hard and fast restriction.
 WANTS GAMES NINE INNINGS
 T am against the provision in the res- olutions making all doubl-headers but seven innings. The constitution says that it takes nine innings to make game and I do not believe that these games could be counted should the rules require them to be but seven innings. If the man. agers want to get together and agree to make them seven innings that is all right, but I am against any changes in the present rules.
 That resolution presented by MT. Shropshire to which I am the most de- terminedly opposed is the one prohibit ing the emery, the mud or the spit ball. This contains disastrous possibilities of such grave consequences that I shall impress upon the directors my opposi- ton to it's enactment.
 There is already a rule against the emery ball. so we may dispose of that; it is just possible that ruling might be framed against the mud ball, but l am against that, but to prohibit the spit ball would be impossible. It would pro- dEce endless complications between the pitchers ad umpires which would tend to disgust the fans and delay the games
 For instance, player might go ball and be called by the umpire. He could protest very innocently that it was merely his method of delivery and he had no idea of throwing a spit ball, at the same time exhibiting the pellet free of saliva. And the very next time he might go through the same motions and the umpire, remembering his protest on the previous ball, might say nothing. And that time the pitcher might use the spit ball
 "The prohibition of the spit ball would furnish the pitchers a powerful weapon against umpires, one with which they could worry them to death; at the same time de-ayding the game endlessly and driving the fans from the stands in dis gust.
 T am unalterably opposed to any such ruling and will so indicate to the direc- tors.
 OTHERS NOT IMPORTANT
 'As to the other regulations, do not think them of any great importance. For instance, the one providing that a player must be fined before removal from the