The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-01-13

START A DEBATE
Critics Disagree on Doc
Seabough's Sug-
gestion
uFrom The sporting >tws ST. Louis'

tFrom The sporting N,ws, ST. Louis1
Al the recent meeting of the
Western association held at Tulsa,
Doc Seabough Of the Springfield
club sprung on his fellow magnates
q proposition tina, they do away
with regular umpires the coming
season and instead use players az
officials. Most Of the baseball men
and the newspaper critics gave Doc
the hoot, but Charley Brill. secre- :
tary of the league who probably had
amo troubles with regular umpires'
such as they we're, last year. adinits
that Seabough made a good argu-
mcnt for his idea.
Writing about Seabough's proposal
Brill makes these observations:
Cut out employment of the string
haltered glass-eyed, decrepit has
been players who have come 70 look
10 the small minors for pension JOBS
a. umpires and employ IN their
stead available players OF the com
peting teams Such Is the startling
proposal made by j. W. Seabough.
secretary Of the Springfield club OF
the Western association.
So radically contrar. 20 precedent
was .he suggestion that yniles ana
winks were exchanged by some OF
his contemporaries whose faces were
concealed from the speaker; but
during the informal discussion
which followed. 80 many points In
favor Of his scheme we're advanced
by the author that he was instructed
to draw up his scheme In written
form and it will be presented to all
10 1.
next two weeks.
II may be given a trial.
Some Arguments In Favor
Included in arguments in favor OF
the proposal are:
Active players have eyesight su.
pcrior to the veterans. Failure of
eycsight IN what puts 30 per cent OF
players out of active playing.
Active players can get on top OF
all plays whereas few OF the has
beens retain sufficient agility.
Players are less inclined to ride
pIayer-umpires, AZ has been proved
I'm all games where pAayer-uppires
have been used during emergencies
Fans are less inclined to 'razz" or
attack player
Player seldom show as
much favorttism for their own club
as the average veteran umpire does
toward the home team.
Because Of elimination of trans
pOrtation expense. the double UNI
pire system can he used by small
minors which now can afford only
single.
Given an opportunity to pick up
extra money for umpiring. better
players generally pitchers) can be
secured.
Western Association clubs last
season were compelled to substitute
players in more than so games and
in every instance they gave better
satisfa ction than the regulars.
Contrary View OF II.
Answering this. Larry Daley
writes In the Tulsa World:
While II is true that umplr.ng
last season not only in the West
ern association but in other minor
leagues and even the majors was
farce on some occasions and that
when players called the PLAYS In the
absence OF league umpires they gave
some satisfaction. Seabough's plan
az imprn ctial and impossible and any
circuit employing it would immedi-
atcly become joke In organized
baseball.
When players umpired last sea-
son they merely filled a vacancy for
n day. Sportsmanship OF other play
ers demanded that they recognise
that fact and not TO bicker at de-
cisions as they would by regular UNI
pircs. Players umpiring every day
would cause hard feelings on the
part OF other players. That would
be- inevitable. Handling an import
ant game they would be the tar
get of criticism Of other players
not necessarily by the opposing club
but by their own.
Little economy would resul. In the
player-umpire system Railroad trans
portation would be saved. It is true
but while the salaries OF umpires
would be eliminated, the salaries OF
player-umpires would be about equal