Evening star., 1918-01-07
OBJECTIONS VOICED
TO NEW COIN SPLIT
Critics Say World Series
"Profit- Sharing" Scheme
Will Reward Inefficiency.
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

Considerable criticism Is being heard
johnson and Garry Hermann for di-
] viding the world series money. A few
Of the major league leaders, Clark
Griffith among them, are outspoken IN
| their opposition t othe scheme, and a
number Of the players also have voiced
objections to it. The reasons advanced
for regarding the scheme as inadVlsaoie
are varied. but the principal one Is tnat
] 1t will reward players whose WORK
| merits no financial benefit.
| A list of the arguments against the
| new method Of splitting up the receipts
| from the annual fall classic. details OF
| which are expected to be worked out
at the national commission meeting in
Cincinnati tomorrow, If the members
of that august body are not further
prevented from gathering by the heavy
/ snowstorms in the west. has been com
piled by Monitor in the New YORK
World, who says that chief among them
is the declaration that the division out
lined will permit of Indifferent playing
by second division clubs against nrst
division teams that may have chance
to jump notch in the race and m
crease their prize. According to this
authority the assertion is made by IN
terested fans that there will be LAYING
down" accusations galore when these
tactics are suspected and that scandal
unhealthy for the sport will develop.
Another point against the plan, says
Monitor. is that it will reward ineMciency,
giving money to mediocre men who nave
done nothing to earn it Hard-working,
earnest stars whose misfortune it is to be
on weak clubs will get nothing for sea-
sons work, and bench warmers on strong
clubs who get into the lineup only two or
Il q
way from 5000 to $1,000 apiece. Why
should Walter johnson, Stuffy Mc1nnis,
Miller and Carey of the Pirates, George
of er s snd Of Of the the
Brooklyns, to mention only a few names,
go unrewarded after struggling through a
season to help weak, undeveloped teams
to the top. while colt pitchers, extra out
f1elders and green players of all descrip-
tions on strong teams get nearly a third
of a seasons pay through accident?
critics Of the new system declare, and the
whole idea of the sport is changed when
1t is made profitable to lose. the World
scribe continues. adding that there are
ing because of the opportunity it gives
to the bettorS to take more chances and
enables the bookmaker to even up on
losses. Similarly. in athletics. there is
more than one prize in order to stimulate
| interest and insure a greater number Of
competitors
A sure result Of the paying of extra
| money to the second. third and fourth
| clubs will be that the players on these
| teams will pool their prizes and put
forth no more effort than they now do
| after the race has settled down, ac-
| cording to Monitor. who opines that
| another evil that is likely to arise will
be the effort of players to get with GER
| tain fancied clubs that have a gilt
| edged chance of being 'in the money
and the consequent reprehensible prac-
tice Of playing for releases" He thinks
there will be discomfort among young
players who are drafted into weak
teams when they see the youth who
played with them in the minors go into
an organization that will get several
| Thousands to divide among it's players
at the end of the season. These young
men, instead Of putting forth their best
efforts in the spot where luck has land
ed them, will be liable to sulk, in the
hope Of being sent back where they
at a star berth when the draft time
comes again. He also points out that
the new scheme will, be likely to affect
salaries; that managers will use the
possibility of their teams getting a
| pot Of money as an inducement in the
same way that the bonus of former
years was used.
Instead of giving more money to the
| profit sharing" idea would favor re-
| arranging the division SO as to give
more to the winners and even less to
| the losers.
One proposition advanced by Monitor
! is to make the division between the two
teams contesting for the world cham
pionship 80 per cent to the winner and
10 per cent to the loser. This. 1T is as
serted, would make the competition
| even more keen than at present and
would force the players to take even
more desperate chances to come out
victorious. Originally the world series
division was rs per cent to the winners
and 25 per cent to the losers. Then 1t
was changed to 60 and 40, as it is to-
day, and there is growing feeling that
! this 40 per cent is entirely too much
"salve" for tho wounded feelings OF a
beaten team.
Don't pay men for losing" and no
reward for ineficiency," are slogans
Monitor thinks applicable to plans for
whacking up tho world series receipts,