New-York tribune., 1918-02-09
Yankee Manager Receive.
Letter From Second Ba..
man Expressing Dis
satisfaction
By Louis Lee Arms

II there was anything that smat,s,
OF the unofficial about DerrIll p,,...'
hold-out it became formal epou,h
terday to suit the most exact;n.
other words, Miller James Euggin, -
celved personal letter from D.
reiterating the assertion, uuh,;,h.,
earlier through these columns. tb..,
was dissatisfied with the docnn..
rendered him by the New York AM.
leans.
Thus touch Of high life is 80 en-.
being tossed Mr.. Huggins's way n,
humorous angle Of the thing is that !,
has long been the custom of III.
KEGS to withhold the names Of tbo.,
who are displeased with the terms s,h
mltted them. By tnat simple methoa
the ball player himself is enabled II \.
most of the worrying.
In Pratt's case the young Southe,,..
promptly declared to St. Louis fr;a,S.
that Colonel Rupert hadn's dnc 10
enough into his jeans; the ST fou;.
TRENDS forwarded the news East ard
1t was known here by outsiders that
Pratt was hold-out several davs a' ha
fore the executive Offices OF the Van
KEGS were apprised of the momenton.
fact.
Higgins Calm and Smiling
Manager Higgins met the first ~.
is the Yankee lutte with a calm and
smiling exterior.
Il am certain everything will 5e
Strengthened out" said he. ut NAV
even be settled satisfactorily hefo-s
another fortnight has passed"
Having landed right side IN fonr
years in row in st. Louis, Mr.. HIP.
gins would give an earthquake an arpu
ment before he would admit that in
the long run this is not the best of all
possible worlds, as Kid Aristotle rba
shortstop on the old Athens Parthe.
mons, used to say.
Howard Baker is again a member of
tract as received by secretayT s sgneS Fos15, s1l
yesterday. Howard has spent some Of
the best years of his life being signed
by the New York Giants and then being
tlncanned to the minors.
With New Orleans last season he
flelded for the nifty average of .sl4
and whaled the old sphaghetti for an
average of .265. As .265 batting aver.
ages go, Howard's was a good one, for
in it he placed twenty-nine doubles.
seventeen triples and three home runs
So Howard will be taken 10 Marlin
Springs, and if worst comes to worst
it will be no trouble to drop him of
again at New Orleans on the way North
There is nothing definite that may
be said until the meeting Monday"
declared Edward Barrows, president Of
the international League, yesterday.
international magnates will be called
upon to make a decision that will have
farreaching effect on baseball II
they decide to throw up the sponge,
and the indications are they will. il
VIII be severe wallop to minor league
ball
The world war has been a jugger.
naut among the minor leagues. Many
of them who have in the past begun
alllng along about July have been
put entirely out Of business, and the
present inclination of tie Interna tionaI
to quit is a commentary on the status
Of baseball as played in the smaller
cities.
The International magnates them.
selves balled things up fearfully by
handing Ed Barrows an unwarranted
wallop in the shape of salary slash
ne has shown no disposition TO accept.
IT ever the league needed his executive
ability it needs it now.
II sr CT
of flat foot may do its share toward
shaping the destiny of the 1918 Ma
tional League pennant race The pos
SCISSOR of this fiat foot is Grover Cleye-
land Alexander. 1t may keep him out
of the army.
Alexander has been placed in Glass
l of the draft eligibles by his local
exemption board. Meantime he has
undergone a. physical examinationa
which has revealed fat foot and
weakened knee. The Great Alex fiat
tened his foot by leaping off load Of
hay some years ago The knee he
wrenched while skating.
But in spite of his general weak.
ened condition Alex expects to win
thirty games of ball this year and is
strong enough to hold out like mule
for the $4,000 bonus which he believes
Weeghman CT Baker should pay him. :.
The affable Billy Evans bewails the
intentional pass. There is hardly any
thing worse. including the uninten-
tional one that forces home the win
ming run in the ninth inning.
II think I might have easily signed
Hornsby at the conclusion of the 1917
season." says Miller Higgins. Since
the end of the 1917 play Charlie
Weekhman hae 'e'i'-~'o4 erch effective
tory that young Hornsby now says
he won't accept 4 oen0 Jess than s10@
per year. AS Theodore Aloysius says
the first IL 90 tln n cdaSt