New Britain herald., 1928-02-01
HUGGINS VISITS
 OFFICES 0F CLUB
Mite Manager ArlivS to See
 About His Baseball Team


 T. Huggins. the mite manager of the New York Yankees came to town today to personally see about his world baseball champions
 Almost furtively Husglns ducked around tho corner of Broadway and slipped Up 42nd street to the officea of the Yankees for private confer ence with Col. Jacob Ruppert and Ed Barrow.
 One of the strangest characters In the game Higgins and his methods continue to mystify greater part of the baseball world. Overshad- owed by clustering Babe Ruth and a team of high priced stars, Huggins prefers to keep his tiny figure al- ways tn the background.
 Rut the records speak for them- selves. and they show that in ten years under Husgins the Yankees, once the joke club of the league, have won five American League pen nants and two world championships.
 Higgins, in preparing for his eleventh season at the helm Of the Yankees, realizes that baseball fans and magnates live in the present and not the past. and his present mission concerned the lineup for 1928.
 Several members of the Yankees all-star cast haven't been signed. but Waite Hoyt. star right-handed pitcher. and Mike Gazella, utility in- fielder. are the only out and out holdouts.
 "Hoyt puts his case plainly :. T won 22 games last year and I want more dough-"
 Gazella has only .c7s batting average to fling in the faces of Messrs, Ruppert. Barrow and Hug gins but he. too. is dissatisfied with his wage.
 The Yankees pay their players libcrally. but since they will pay Ruth and Gehrig, the home run twins, alm ost a sl0o,000 between them. this season. they may not feel in a mood just at this moment to meet the demands of Hoyt and Ga zella, though trivial they may be.
 Hoyt may be traded. and Gazella may be pitched in for good measure, for . l4ft-handed pitcher. The name of Jee 6haute of the Indians has been linked in such a trade.
 Teay LAsssrt and Mark KoeniE. the ksy6tonA kids. are two other im- portant members of the Yanke.. co,nbtA4tth who haven't affixed their ;, signatures to contracts but thsy are expected to come into the fold shcffy.
 When al the Yankees are signed up the payroll of the world cham pions is expected to approach $3oo,- 900 and label the Yankees as the highest priced ball club of all time.
 What is worrying Hugsins is the personnel of his pitching staff and | guardian for third base.
 At tho present time 1t looks lv:e he will have to depend upon George Iipgrass, who blossomed into star in his own right in the world series. Herb Pennocx, the aging southpaw. Wiley Moore. the 1927 rookie. Urban shocker. who has seen his best days, and Hoyt, or his successor.
 Dutch Reuther, who won 3 games last season. and Bob shawkey are gone.
 The Tanks have ii rookie pitch- CTS on their roster and there may be another find among them like Wiley Moore.
 Joe Dugan will attempt to get his trick knee in shape to win back the third base job. but no one is relying on him. Gene Robertson. the for mer St. Louis Brown who was bought from St. Paul this fall. may win tho berth.
 The Tanks have another great in- fielder coming up from St. Paul in Leon Durocher. but he's short stop and probably will be used to under study Koenig.