Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-30
OTHER STARS BASE
CLAIMS ON BABES
Bambino and Rupert Hardly
Likely to Fall Out Over
CIouter's Wages.
BY GEORGE CHADWICK.

n YEW YORK, December 3d.
Babe Ruth sets the style in
NJ base ball salaries in the ma
A JorS. And now that the time
for mailing contracts to play
ers has approached, everybody is watch
ing to see what the mighty George
Herman will draw from his employer
Col. Jake Rupert, owner of the New
York Yankees, when he is offered new
contract this Winter.
Ruth'S salary with the Yankees is &C
cepted for standard gauge nowadays,
it seems. If Ruth signs a contract
hitching him to the Rupert cart for
several years, that will be the desire of
other stars and aSpirantS all around the
big leagues. If Ruth doesn't succeed in
signing up for more than a year and
fails to obtain an additional inch of
icing upon his already thickly layered
salary other players will believe that
salaries will have reached the peak for
the time being.
Major league players thought that
when Rupert and the mighty BAN
came to an agreement last year on a
salary that Ruth could live on as a
country gentleman, with pigs and pop
corn for life, good times had begun for
base ball.
Case of Wiley Moore.
BAH players have been extremely well
paid for the last three or four years.
Some have been getting more than they
were worth; others less. Some are
signed to salaries expected to yield 10
per cent on investment, but flop miser-l
ably. Others sign for low salaries and
are expected to do very little, but do
marvels
Take the case of Wiley Moore of the
Yankees. He joined the Yankees with
a valuable asset, a dry splitter, also
called the sinker. In his first year with
the Yankees he had as much to do with
the winning of the pennant as did his
lordship of swat, Ruth.
Moore saved game after game from
the red ink column. Miller Higgins
appreciated it and gave Wiley sub
stantiaf bonus
The next year Moore failed to get his
sinker to work. Trouble usually follows
on such delivery. Had he duplicated
his first years record. the Yankees
wouldn't have fallen as they did.
Klein Earned His Keeps.
Chuck Klein, National League home
run king, earned all that he received
in 1929, and so did Frank O'Doul, Ma
tional League batting leader. The Phil
lies expected stardom from neither of
these two men. That is a case where
an owner gets the edge, when he is up
against salary list all the way from
$4,000 to $3.50, 900.
Until Ruth's ascension to stardom
and huge salaries, ball players were
envious OF him. Half the trouble of
some managers then was that players
were envious of the high-salaried men.
But they are not envious of Ruth now
If he does get raise, they will too,
they think.
It is a question whether some of the
publicity that was manufactured to keep
Ruth in the limelight was worth while.
The intrusion Of family affairs in base
ball has proved to be a bust in the
past. It may do for the stage, but there
is little sob-SiSter stuff in base ball.
It has been to some extent the cause of
sly ridicule Of Ruth and that isn't good
medicine.
Difference Unlikely.
There is little possibility for any diff
ference between Ruth and Rupert over
the salary matter. The Babe may pro-
test against any contract he is called
upon to sign, but it isn't likely that he
will quit or hold out. Paul Waner
tried it, missing Spring practice sea-
son, and his brother ran away from
him. Ruth, after holding out, wouldn't
be the same.
1t Is said Ruth's 1929 contract called
for $4,000. Some believe he will not
get any more this year, and some figure
he may suffer cut.
Players think a conference Is held
by owners prior to sending contracts to
players in order to come to some mu-
tual understanding on the years pre-
vailing salaries. That doesn't happen.
Owners don't want others to know what
their men are getting. They are actu-
~. - Il. 4 III.
in case costly player turns out to be
q lemon.