, 1923-05-06

tAAs aAe
for and make the choice Of the player
Of greatest service to his team each
year. has been pondering md discuss
ms for nearly q year the question
whether the "best player" selected
should Be eligible to the same honse
tn the subsequent year or yeArs.
At first thought II might be esrsda-
cred . simple thing 10 spend % much
tins and thought OF and one on vhieA
there could BE- no differences Of eplnisn.
But thsrS proved to be two siass -
this question. and each side dsveleped
the aAms number OF odherents, rssuit.
Gns In Q temporary deadlock.
CDatssa ops1 - An
me arguments advanced By tAaee
Of the trophy committee who believed
the annual contest for the honor q
having bean Of greatest service TO
tsani should include previous vinnsre
~ be summarized briefly In this vsy
That the contest should b open 70
every player In the league each yasr.
just as in n tsnrs or other tourns-
nent In which the champion def.nds
his title against all corners and 70
tsirs IL if hs can Othsrwiss. with the
pYsvious winners eliminated. the prize
would not necessary carry the title %
ssEt player" of the year. but only
second or third best.
Those who favored s~limiAatfrq pro
vsous winners argued that the CHIEF
reward for distinguished service va
h honor OF having ones name Ia
scrihed on q Hall of fame tablet on the
monument dedicated to baseball and
20 Be erected In Washington by the
club owners Of the league. That there
we're great players who deserved to
have their names and Memories per-
pstusted by this Hall of Fame vhs
might not attain this honor during the
career OF some player who stood out
prominent owe his rivals for . psrtod
OF years. That instead Of telling pos
terity the am of the great paysre
of Q generation. Il would preserve the
memories OF only the super-great OF
each period.
Vote Split Even
The trophy committee. composed II
ore veteran baseball writer in each Of
the eight cities. voted four to four 90
the proposition, producing = tie which
Il was up to the chairman of the COM
rnittee to unite. This was not lone
until the donors OF the trophy and of
the monumental Hall OF Fame were
sounded on the proposition. which de
closed \ sentiment In favor OF elm
mating previous winners from the CON
test and inscribins = new name on tha
historical tablets each year.
No sooner had this decision bssA
reached whereby George Sisler. ths
overwhelming choice OF the trophy
committee for the "best player" OF
1929. would be ineligible to tho Hal
Of Fame for another year. then Dame
Fortune stepped In and apparently
solved tao problem herself temporarily
by rendering Sislor hers du combat At
the start OF this season.
Number of Games Considered
Ono of the leading considerations on
which the choice of the most SERVICE
able player is made In the number Of
games in which he takes part in a sea
son. entailing freedom from accident
or sickness. In other words. quantity
of service and endeavor Is rated higher
than mere quality. nc matter how bril-
liant. II rendered for only part OF .
season. Consequently, In view of Sis
ler's unfortunate and regrettable mis-
hap, his absence from the game for
n considerable portion OF the season
would make It almost impossible for
him to retain the title of "best play
er" for 1923, sven II he were eligible
to the contest this year.
Thus did the tlnx which pursued
George Slsler render unnecessary tho
vote OF the trophy committee and es-
taSlish the wisdom OF not crossing
bridges until M reaches them. Still.
that bridge has to be crossed some
time. and an eight man team might
ave baked and treated confusion at
It's approach.