Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-20
TRADING PLAYERS
NEAR LAST MINUTE
INJURIES BASEBALL
Deals by Yanks and Giants
Serves as Lesson for
Moguls.
By /. E. SANBORN

Doing things by halves never was
anything but a makeshift, and never
will be. Major league magnates are
learning that lesson from the noise
raised over the two eleventh hour
player deals whereby the two New
York clubs attempted to assure them
selves another worlds series between
themselves this fall.
Instead of profiting by the protests
Of the baseball public against the ac-
ton of the Giant owners last year,
when they found their team slipping
and bought strength enough from the
Philadelphia Nationals to make sure of
coping the %pennant, the promoters of
the diamond pastime merely showed
the date for such deals ahead one
month.
September / used to be the limit for
taking on additional strength in the
pennant races. That made it possible.
of course, for the hopeless tail-ender
to reimburse itself by selling some of
it's players to help out a more sue
cessful and wealthy rival. But that
sort of thing does not appeal to the
real sportsmen, of whom there are
many still interested in baseball.
Public Against Buying remnants
The club owners thought they could
satisfy the public by passing resolu-
tons and issuing propaganda against
purchasing pennants. and in proof Of
their determination to prevent such
things in future they voted to make
Aug. the date after which no pur-
chaos of players could be made between
major league clubs except by the wal
yer route.
That makeshift resulted in a worse
blow to the game this season. In
stead of one such deal. there were :wo
While the fans were still snarting un-
der the misdeal by which the Yankees
bolstered up their chances to beat out
the hustling Browns. the Giants pulled
a replica of their 1921 stunt BY roping
in another star from a tail-end club.
waiting until Just before the limit for
such transactions expired.
Now the magnates are talking Of
changing the date for drawing new
cards from the same deck TO July /
instead of Aug. !. That won't help
things much. The races are practically
over by July 4, and by that time the
teams in both majors are pretty well
divided into first and second division
outfits. II still will be possible for
club owners to estrange the sport
lovers in the same old way by strength
ening the leading clubs at the expense
of the tail endcrs.
June I Might Help Some
Advancing the date TO June l might
help some. but it still would be a make
shift and would not keep the club own
ers, whose horizon is bounded by their
ball parks. from making trades which
the fans could question. Baseball is
the only sport in which the contes-
tants in a race are permitted 70 renew
their strength with the aid OF com
petitors. Two horses from the same
stable might do a little pacemaking to
aid one or the other in a race, but the
turf fans would not look upon them as
real competitors.
In q motor race. the leading auto
driven isn't allowed TO buy even an
inner tube from a rival. He has to
have spare tires of his own where he
can obtain them quickly.
If the baseball promoters had the
best interests of sport always AT heart
they would pass a rule 10 prohibit p
sale or exchange of players at any
time during the championship season
from a second division to a first dlvl-
sion club. That would make 1t i'm
possible for the strong to profit by the
financial needs of the weak and still
would not prevent trades for players
that would be beneficial to the game.
Boston Once Great Ball Town
One would naturally think the own
er of a tail-end team would want TO