Great Falls tribune., 1922-02-22
PRESS AGE|VT|VC
Of SALARIES IS
COSTLY BUSINESS
''Srnart" Tactics Of Magnates
Responsible for Players De-
mands Is Sanborn's View.
By /. Z. sANBoRN

ss, sss.laI coffessoadsnt Il Great faIls rrIsuas
Chicago, Feb. 21.-Magnatps Of the
green diamond fuss a lot about the
high salaries demanded by their star
players, but they have only themselves
to blame. in a way. The owners are
too careless about the use of the
dollar sign in press-agenting their own
business.
When Rogers Hornsby. backbone
Of the Cardinals, read that John Me-
Graw. manager of the Giants, had
signed d long term contract for a
salary which the Gotham press agents
allowed was in excess Of the $4,000
year he had been receiving" Hornsby
probably reasoned that he was worth
at least half as much as that to st.
Louis, SO. demanded three year CON
tract at $25,O0O per annum.
Swallow Big Figures
Ball players are more prone than
the average reader to believe all they
see IN the newspapers, because most of
the players concentrate on the box
scores, which they know are accurate,
and the batting averages, which they
know are complied by careful statis-
ticians.
So when star reads about Nc
Graws alleged salary. or the small
iOA tunCo, Chdt ulc Su4pOScu W CIuu6 Z
hands when a player deal is pulled off,
he forgets to apply the alum bath to
the figures behind the dollar sign.
These swelled figures are intended to
impress the baseball public, but the
players oftentimes swallow them, too.
1t seems to be the idea of the club
owners that if they can plaster play
, er's uniform with dollar signs the fans
will believe he is a great athlete, no
matter what he does not do on the
field.
If young player is purchased for
$1,000, for instance. the magnates be-
drawing card if they slip reporter
''in strictest confidence the informa-
ton that the said player cost them
$4,000. This often is q boomerang.
When a player demands half the price
paid for his release, as frequently
happens. the magnates are UP against
it. If they are willing to pay the
athlete half the actual purchase price
they have to give away the fact that
they swelled the figures for publica-
tiof. Then the reporter is made the
boob. of course.
That's why, in over thirty years con-
nection with the game, l have never
quoted players salary or the coin
lHNp1Stu Ill u Atoi ut1iCsS L Wue oStuoA'J
shown "the papers,
Commissioner Lands is going to
stop lot of the crooked work that
has been going on among club owners
for years, judging by some of his re-
cent decisions. The majority of them
have been fines imposed on clubs for
irving to beat the rules of organized
baseball relative to the transfer OF
players.
One of Worst Abuses
This is an abuse that has been one
OF the worst evils in baseball for
years, and has worked great injustice
on young players at times. by con-
niyance with each other. by. secret
agreements, and covering up deals,
the magnates Of big and little leagues
have been allowed to beat the rules
outrageously at times. 1t came to be
considered a smart part of the game.
just as the player thinks he is smart
Il he can cut base ten feet when the
um9sres are not watching him.
After q club owner has been fined
a few times for these tricks of the
trade he will quit and run true" be-
cause the only way to convince the
average club owner he is wrong is to
hit his bank roll.
Increase Limit on farming"
The major leagues seemed to have
hunch on Commissioner Landis' plans
to punish violations of the rules In
covering up playes, because they ln-
creased the number of players who
can be farmed out to minor league
teams under option contracts. As all
such contracts must be filed with the
commissioner, to be valid, there is no
chance Of deception in most cases,
and the limit is so high now that
there will be little excuse for cheat
But the abuse of the option con-
tract is one of the chief bones of con-
ten,ion between majors and minors, and
probably always will be.