The New York herald., 1922-02-14
BAKER PRESSES HIS
TAMPERING CHARGES
Files Formal Complaint With
Heydler Against Ebbets
and Hickey.
by DANIEL.

! lciody ny w IodhCl against
Charley Ebbets and Branch Hickey with
John A. Heyder, president of the Ma
tional League. Bakers complaint, en-
tered into the archives of the National
League for the first time-though much
has been said about it in the last few
weeks-gave a sort of old fashioned
. favor to the schedule meeting OF that
I organization, which will be held in the
Waldorf-Astoria to-day.
Baker called on the league to look
| into alleged evidence that the Brooklyn
| club, through Wilbert Robinson, has
! approached Arthur Fletcher. whose SER
| vices belong to the Phillies, with a
| view to getting the former Giant to
! join the Dodgers. The Philadelphia
owner also charged that Hickey had
tampered not only with Fletcher but
with Lee Meadows, the bespectacled
right handler. as well.
! Officials found guilty of tampering
are fined $1,000 for the first offense
! and are expelled from the league for the
/ second. However. who ever has been
found guilty of that charge? Echo an
/ swers-NOBODYi
! No sooner had Baker filed his COM
/ plant than Ebbets came to bat with a
! letter from Robinson in which the man.
ager of the Dodgers states that he ap-
/ preached Fletcher only after he had
obtained permission from Irving Will
helm, manager of the Phillies. A copy
/ Of the letter follows
| Dear Charley: Larry Sutton sent
! me clipping where Baker accuses
me of tampering with some of his
! players. / suppose he means Fletcher,
for he is, as you know, the one L
wrote to. While at the December
meeting was talking with Wilhelm,
Bakers manager, and telling him
how badly needed a shortstop. He
thought a minute and said:
Write to Fletcher He does not
want to play in Philadelphia but
might play in Brooklyn"
] said to Manager Wilhelm:
II have no right to talk or write to
any player belonging to another clIb
without the consent Of the players
president"
go ahead" Wilhelm replied. add
ing that he would explain the matter
to Baker.
/ wish you would talk to Baker
and tell him to speak to Wilhelm
about it. l don't do business that
way, as you know. That is all at
this time. Yours respectfully.
W1LBERT ROBINSON
BRUNSWICK, Ga, Feb. Z.
Bakers Attitude Unchanged.
When Baker was informed of the
letter, he declared that 1t did not change
his attitude. and that he was going
into that meeting to-day with the de-
! termination to stop such stuff" AS
| for the Squire of Flatbush. he got hotter
! under the collar every minute because
! Baker never saw him about the matter
| but conducted his campaign through
the press.
Neither OF the managers named by
Baker will be here to-day, so the presi-
dent OF the Philies will have to do his
battling against proxies--a procedure
! always unsatisfactory. Robinson did
not feel that he had any reason to leave
his freside down in Maryland, while
! Hickey remained in st. Louis to prepare
for his departure for the Cardinals
training camp at Orange, Texas, on
| Saturday.
According to Heydler, II the league
finds that the charges are founded on
| fact. II will refer the cases to the board
Of directors. which is composed of C. A.
Stoneham. New York: George w. Grant.
Boston; William veeck. Chicago, and
Barney Dreyfuss. Pittsburgh. The
board would summon both hickey and
Robinson-but it looks like dollars to
doughnuts that the matter will be dis
posed of to-day in jig time.
Samuel Breadon. president OF the ST.
Louis club. who paid visit to Heydler's
Office, pooh-poohed the charges. He
denied for Hickey that he had tampered
with Fletcher. Meadows or ANYBODY
else, and added that he might find II
expedient to make a formal statement
on the case at the close of to-day's
meeting. "RicSey may have said some
thing to Fletcher about coming to the
Cardinals" said Breadon. "but only
with the permission of Wilhelm.
Fletcher. who still has lot of fine
baseball left in him, lives near st.
Louis. We knew that he would not
play for the Phillies. AS for tamper-
ing--nonsense."
Hermann Laughs at II.
Garry Hermann, vho came in from
Cincinnati with Louis Widrie. treasurer
Of the Reds. and Pat Moran Just in time
to get into the debate. seemed to regard
the whole matter as a joke. 'T think
| will go into that meeting tomorrow
and propose first OF all that the fine for
tampering be increased to $4,000.
Maybe that will get rise out OF
Charley Ebbcts, who was responsible
Ior inc present rulc ana Sl.OOO fine
laughed Garry.
Heydler said that he expected nothing
| sensational at the meeting to-day. "The
schedule already is adopted said
Heydlcr. 'It goes into effect automat-
ically as soon as IL is approved by the
president OF tho league We will take
M the matter OF offering a $1,000 prize
for the player who proves of greatest
value TO his club during the season
prize similar to that instituted by the
American League the other day"
Another harpoon was thrown into the
well known draft by tho international
League at its schedule meeting I'm the
Commodore yesterday. The "Tnts" once
more went down on record as being
irrevocably and unalterably opposed 10
the return OF the rafting system. They
announced that the major leagues really
had sent them no formal notice that
they had consented 10 raise the drafting
price for Class "A leagues 20 $500.
but added that even n they got formal
notice 10 that effect they would not take
the old draft back.
No schedule was adopted. but the pair
ings for the openings were announced
The season will he inaugurated on April
~. with Buffalo In Newark. Syracuse in