Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-08-16
WAR
IS EXPECTED
Johnson Ruling on Ruth's Bal
May Start New
War
By NEA Service

NEW YORK, Aug. 16-Another
storm is brewing in the American
League between President Ban John
son and the New York Yankees.
1t promises to be as serious as the
Carl Mays dispute which was carried
into the courts and almost disrupted
the American League.
Babe Ruth is the central figure in
the impending row.. His new bat,
Betsy Bingle," is the cause of the
dispute that may cause Owner Rup-
pert to go as far as he did in the
Mays case in order to prevent Presi-
dent Johnson's interference. John
son has ruled that Ruth cannot use
the bat.
On July 2 Ruth discarded his old
style bat and started to use a new
type, the invention of Sam Craw-
ford, former star outfielder OF the
Detroit Americans. Ruth had been
In a slump at the time. With the
new bat he started on a batting spree
that has brought his home run total
to 20 and his average close to the
400 mark.
Crawford's bat, which has been
named Betsy Bingle," is constructed
of four sections of the very best
selected wood, so that 1t is uniform
throughout and a be held in any
manner by the batsman without pay
Ing any attention to the grain of the
wood. The four sections are glued
together. So cleverly are the bats
made that is is impossible to deter
mine where the sections are Joined.
Some idea of the a n and ex-
pense of the construction of the bat
can be CLEANED from the fact that
the new bat retails for IS, while the
ordinary bat used by big league
players costs only 81. There is much
more drive to the new bat because
of its unusual construction.
After permitting Ruth to use the
bat for six weeks, President john
son has pronounced it illegal. In a
letter to Manager Higgins of the
New York Yankees, Johnson says:
THE special bat George Ruth is
now using does not conform to the
regulations prescribed by the rules
and must be discarded at once. The
American League of Sam Crawford"
Owner Rupert, Manager Higgins,
and Babe Ruth are up in the air
over the ruling. Manager Higgins
insists that johnson is in error n
will be forced to reverse his ruling
when the facts in the case are prop
erIy presented. Owner Rupert says
he is back of Higgins in any stand
his manager decides to take. Ruth
is sore and doesn't make any at
tempt to conceal his feelings.
The ban on Ruth using the new
style bat came at a time when he
was within a fraction of a point of
catching the league leadership in
batting this year. Since that time
Ruth has dropped back slightly.
AZ can see no reason why johnson
should bar the Crawford model bat"
says Manager Higgins. II must diff
fer with President johnson when he
says it does not conform with the
rules.
1.-THE rules simply state that the
bat must be round, entirely of hard
wood and conform to certain dimen-
sions.
"The new bat used by Ruth is
made of hard wood and is perfectly
round. The rules do not state that
the bat must be made out of one
piece of wood. Ruth's bat is not a
trick bat, but simply an Improvement
on the old type. A four-piece bat
is much stronger than a o~ne-piece
affair and of course has much more
driving power.
IT have shipped a bat to President
Johnson for his inspection, also a
letter telling my reasons why I be-
lieve the Ruth bat is perfectly legal.
I am sure President Johnson will re-
verse his ruling by the time we open
in the West"
Owner Rupert backs Higgins up
in his stand. and says he feels that
Ruth is being Disseminated against.
He has wired President Johnson to
that effect in strong terms.