San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-06
Big League Clubs Exploit
ing Few High-priced
Men This Spring.
$4,000 ABOUT LIMIT
And Nowadays That "Pal-
try Sum" Doesn't Get
the Headlines.
BY John Il. FOSTER.

Copyright, by the San Antonio Light.
New York. March 6.-No dollar
sign is hung over any spring training
camp this year. which is a radical
change from the last three seasons.
Five $4,000 players are scattered
among the major league clubs. They
are Dean with the Giants, Combs with
the Yankees. Lee with the Boston
Americans. Strand with the Philadel-
mia Athletics and Wingo with the De-
troit Tigers. That $4,000 was paid
for some of these is doubtful.
Dean was not going to report. but
he has reported. Combs has not re-
ported yet and is as stubborn as the
mountains Of Eastern Kentucky,
whence he comes. Lee held out for
money but the difference has been adj
justed. Wingo slid along to Detroit
without peeping. evidently happy to
sing in grand opera instead Of comic
opera. Strand doubtless is happy to
hit the majors again.
Braves Keep Their Coin.
The Boston Nationals haven't
greenback-unifOrmed player on their
team and NOT more than half Of their
SQUAD has had major league expe-
rience. Brooklyn put out something for
Jones and Harrison. but not TO the
tune of $4,000. The Philadelphia
Nationals have not been buying Gu
rios. Washington has a lot of new
material but deals by reciprocity with
the minors got much Of it.
Pittsburg put up something for
Wright of Kansas City. 1t may have
been $4,000 and it may have been
more. for Wright is one Of the best of
the few best. Cincinnati put out money
for May and for Mays.
Neither st. Louis clubs is out any
thing financially before the season
starts.
Cleveland did not have to spend
because il had a pretty good team be-
fore il notified the players To report
The Chicago Cubs and the White SO1
did not unbelt their bank rolls to any
great extent. ComiSkey has no S1OO,-
600 player 10 exploit this spring as
he had last season when Willie kamm
was flashing out in the prairies,
Money Mania Dies Out.
One year ago it was suggested that
the ball clubs of 1924 would not spend
as much money rs they spent in 1923.
That expression of opinion was
secuted by some who insisted that the
money mania would not run its course
for another ten years. But it has.
There are two reasons. Clubs got
stuck at high prices for ordinary ball
players and there have been no bal
players produced in a year who are
much above the ordinary.
The minor leagues never turned out
feebler crop than they did in 1923
That is a collective summary. Here
and there, of course there were prom
Using ball players. bS until the minoI
leagues actually get Nlck to the tasl
of developing ball players and not
fooling with big league cast-offs they
are not going to make baseball wha'
it should be in their sections.
OF all the high-priced stars of 1872:
Willie Kamm came through the best
but so little was cleaned by the Whit,
Sox in the way Of league standing tina
the dollar exploitation did not carr!
The fame ~ the team into another year
Had the White Sox won the champion
ship Kamm might be the sparkler o
1924, but now he is only a third-base
man on team trying to get out of tn
second division.