The Washington times., 1933-01-24
WASHINGTON TIMES SPORTS
List:of:HoId!outs
Diminishino.
Everyday
BY DAVIS J. WALSH

NEW YORK, Jan. I&.-4HAS
advertised war to the death be-
tween the men who run baseball
and their truculent employees,
over the introduction Of newer
and lower and even fewer wages
for 1888, seems to have developed
some of the symptoms Of an ex-
hibitio11 drill between picked
squads from the Christian En-
fhis, anyhow, was largely the
testimony made available today
by a national survey Of the hold
out situation. The sterling young
men, with few exceptions, do not
seem to be holding out. Some OF
them even do not seem to be hold
ing off,. It's getting so nowadays
that nothing is confidential, so
maybe somebody told them times
are hard. Anyhow, the fact is that
fewer holdouts are recorded than
at any corresponding time in the
years when money was so con-
tagiouS it was nothing but a
downright nuisance.
Ruth is one Of the exceptions,
but that's no novelty. He hasn't
signed and won't-until the ter.
rible suspense just can be borne
no longer. The YankS. in fact,
are having nearly all the trouble,
but that's fair enough. The Yanks
have nearly all the money. I no
tice, however, that Mr.. Lefty
Gomez signed yesterday, 90 q
couple of docile souls like Gehrig
and Combs ought to be around
with their hats in their hands in
q couple Of days.
Lou WIN Sign ~.
Gehrig, for instance, won't talk
about his salary. because Colonel
Rupert wouldn't like it." Any
young man who worries about an
employer who Is understood to
have cut him by $1,000 is a hun
dred to one when the time comes.
The Washington Senators seem
to be getting them in. So do the
Giants, Pirates and. Athletics.
with the possible exception OF
! Earnshaw.
Cuccinello, of the Dodgers,
signed yesterday. Lefty O'Doul
has been down on white paper for
months, while Chuck Klein, OF the
PhillieS; AL Simmons, of the
White Sox, and Grove, Cochrane
and Foxx, of the Athletics, have
those museum pieces known as
holdover contracts. OFT, Critz and
other Giant regulars quickly ag-
gravated the dotted line. Freddie
Lindstrom, a notorious holdout Of
other years, signed with the
| Pirates some days ago.. SO did the
| Waner brothers and they're no
body'S set of Sapolio:
/ Even Babe Herman, a die-hard
in other years, signed the other
day with his new employers, the
Chicago Cubs, for a sum reported
TO be $4,000. All I care to add
is that if Herman got $2O,0OO he
ought to have signed twice; once
for himself and once for the man
they seem to think he is.
Many Silent
Jim Bottomley, supposed to
have been cut $1,000 by the Reds,
released a bleat about a month
ago and hasn't been heard from
since. Frank FriSch says he
hasn't received the papers yet.
So do Joe Sewell, Tony Lazzeri,
Frank CroSetti, George PipgraS
and Ben Chapman. To a man
up tall tree it sounds as though
some Of the boys are not quite
satisfied but don't want to be
caught admitting it in public.
It doesn't take long to placate
| that kind.
| Hack Wilson, cut approximately
As per cent, says he Is absolutely
unsatisfied," thus adding a new
phrase to the annual war Of
words. That probably goes, too,
for Dazzy Vance, who sustained
| a somewhat similar Outrage"
and Joe Strips contract re-
bounded off his indignant bosom
all the way back to Brooklyn
when he noted that it was short
by $4,000.
However, the truculent en-
ployeS seem to be taking the
situation mildly enough. Their
incomes have been aSSailed in a
very daStardly manner and, in
fact, to the amount Of some hun
dreds of thousands of dollars;
yet their reaction so far is not
definitely adverse.
The answer? Maybe the ster-
ling young men have figured it
out for themselves. After all,
when the other fellow has moth
ing you can't take much.