New-York tribune., 1920-01-25
Huggins Plans
10 Make Call
On ]. F. Baker
Manager of Yankees Ar~
ious to Assure Himself
of Slugger's Services
By W. ]. Macbetb

Manager Miller Higgins Of ths v.
KEGS has decided to put on tn. .n.
shoes and hit the highways Of the rs..
SO that he can round up as speed;,r -
possible those athletes who Bv. "
these parts that have 30 far fa;,aa :. ;"
respond to the contracts ma;,ea "
the Yankees before the first Of ~,
year. The Miller will probab,r 49,:
Maryland first, as he is any;o,. .'s''
sound j. Franklin Bakers sen,;n,..Vo ~
toward the game, now that his clnh ll,,hen1s MS
added such menacing mace nc .has
of Babe Ruth to the we'll know MAY siiA'
derers' Row. "us-
Il anticipate little trouble" ,..,
Higgins upon his arrival in town sa'd
eral days ago. The Office has hs sev
from practically ali of the veteran ,Sato nla
ers, and none Of them showed the laa.s.
disposition to be unreasonable ISs' ss
tend to see the owners of the clnh u"
soon as possible and arrive at defn;ss a.
understanding as to the salary Of eass
individual. Thus armed. am snra :.
wlll not take very long to whip eyery
body into line.
AS to the youngsters. there ia E.,,.
occasion for worry over them Thau
are ANXIOUS for trial with New Yori
club The addition Of Ruth has had
salutary effect upon them. The rooLio.
think Ruth is that pennant factor wb;cS
we lacked last year, and, of course. all
the recruits are anxious for an onen.
! ing with team that may be interes,es
IN the next worlds series monev"
Colonel I. l.. Huston, of the Yankee.
declared yesterday that he was in M
manner worried over the possibility ~
"hold-outs." He said that with one ey-
ceptlon there did not appear to be $500
difference between what the club had
offered all its players and the higher
rating OF the athletes themselves. Tha
one exception. too, he prophesied
would be an eligible long before the
team leaves for Jacksonville.
While Higgins admits that he is 70.
ing to come away from the big CHICAGO
conference with veteran catcher and
an outfelder of the first rank if there
is any way possible to put through tbs
deals he contemplates. he frankly ad.
mlts he IS more anxious to get the ont
fielder than the catcher. Miller
has great faith in Muddy Ruel. He be.
lieves him youngster who needed only
the experience he gained in 1919 to
take his place with the Schalks and
the O'Neills. Last season was the fra,
real test to which Ruel was nut as
major Lacquer. He is still kid. barely
entered into his majority. An injured
finger incapacitated Muddy Ruel early
last year and later bone bruise had
MN trlfie nervous. if not shy The
youngster hit well in the minors and
Huggins believes he will hit well for
the Yankees, too. Besides, Huggins has
mad the most glowing reports on the
many virtues Of Holman. rookie
catcher He is said to be as far ad
vanced now as A Walters was when he
came to the Yankees.
Huggins's hunt for a star outheldcr
VIII continue, because he wishes to use
wilson Fewster on the inticld. Miller
declares Fewster would soon rank with
the great ccnter-ielders of all time. for
nc believes this fellow carries the
punch necessary to make him such. Bu,
ne also regards Fcwstor as a wonder
fui iniield asset because of his
versatility.
Fewster plays second, short or third
most equally well As an jntield sub
sutute he is therefore rare level He
Is an asset all the more valuable be
cause of his speed The veteran cast
haker, Pecklnpaugh, Pratt and Pip
while carrying deadly walop. does
not quite shape up to average major
STANDARDS IN speed on the paths
1hc Yankee manager realizes that he
must greatly speed up the cast if he
's TO get an average amount of runs
out Of the hitting possibilities. With
an average amour; of runs he figures
ne should hold an edge over The field II
MS pitching staff developed the
strength attributed by smart baseball
men,