The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-11-22
ny FRANK c. MENKn


A COB Of surprise was occasioned
in some quarters over the announce
ment that every club in the major
leagues has waived on Carl Mays,
singer for the Yanks.
But in other quarters 1t was no sur.
prise at all-and there's real reason
For Mays is the type of athlete
whose temper, whose childish out
breaks of wrath and whose tremendous
ego discount practically all of his
greatness as a pitcher. Add to those
drawbacks the facts that Mays had a
bad year, in 1922, and has a $4,000
salary contract for 1928 which his
ultimate owner must pay-and you
have the full reason for his undesir-
ability.
Mays has been one of the outstand-
ing trouble makers in baseball. He
was accused of having wrecked the
morale of the Red Sox-and nearly
duplicating the stunt with the Yankees.
He precipitated the only internal strife
that the American league has ever
known. And, in the matter of salary
holdups. Mays never had an equal
Always Good Pitcher.
Mays. with his freakish subway de-
livery, always was good pitcher-at
4 times a great one. None can take
that away from him. But Mays is per
haps the toughest loser the game has
ever known and one of the most fer
vently hated men in diamond annals.
| 1t wouldn't require the use of many
fingers to count up his total of base
ball friends.
| If he's winning Mays is like most
+, winners-cheerful enough and not so
hard to endure except that Mays has
the dainty little habit of taking about
ninety nine per cent of the credit to
himself
But when involved in losing strug-
gle, the temper of Mays usually be-
comes uncomfortable. If batsman
wallops out a hit, Mays flies into a
rage-and has the habit of blaming one
or another of his mates. He may
abuse the catcher for calling for ball
which the batter happened to hit-Or
blame an infielder for not killing off
the drive. 1t doesn't occur to him that
maybe it's his fault for delivering a
ball which wasn't deceiving batsman.
Mays was known among the players
as a vicious loser while with the Red
Sox. The public didn't become jerry
to it until after the Sox faded from
glory and became a second division
outfit And then it got its knowledge
through Mays desertion of the club.
Fans Are Angry
He quit it cold when he found II
couldn't win newer remnants and pro
vide him with world series money
When he left the team a wave OF
anger and resentment surged through
Boston fandom. It came to despise
Mays as it despised no other man that
ever wore Boston uniform.
4 When Harry FraZee, owner of the
Sox, became convinced that Mays
wouldn't rejoin the team, he sold hin
to the Yankees for 100000. Then
came the split within the American
League. For Ban Johnson ruled tina
Mays was not saleable. He had plac
ed the pitcher on the suspended lis
when he deserted. The baseball law!
specify that no suspended player car
be sold or traded. Therefore the dea
was void.
Frazee then declared war on John
SON. The Yankee owners lined VI
with him. So did Charlie Comiskey
| of the White Sox. Each had a reason
Frazee wanted the $4,000 The Yank'
wanted Mays. And Comiskey, an en-
envy of Johnson's for several years
wanted help in fighting the American
: League chieftain.
The war was dragged into the civil
courts. Then, as a climax, 1t wa!
: deemed necessary to hire some one o
+. power and with prestige to rule thu
/ game and save it from disruption
That's when X. NJ. Lands was hireC
at $4,000 a year.
Mays pitched great baseball for thu
! Yanks in 1921. He was the outstand
ing pitcher of the year. Thereupon h,
took advantage of what might be call
ed an opportunity and became sor
> of hold-out The contract which ht
:, had with the Yanks was said to EN-
brace 1922 at a salary of $4,000 ;
year.
But Mays announced he wouldn't re
5 port for that sum. He demanded NOR
! money-and a new contract. He go
! it-but not before his actions haC
A alienated most of the esteem in which
the Yankee owners held him.
t Then came 1922-and the downfall
: of Mays as a singing star. His worl