The daily independent., 1937-04-21
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By JACK CUDDY

New York, April 20.-tU.P,--
Thomas David Heinrich, j e
Yankees new $4,000 rookie out
fielder, today exploded that beau
tiful myth about his being a
Magazine Bail Player
Heinrich, a handsome siX-Iootcr
with wavy tafy-colord chair and
a fair complexion, Gains h
never read any magazine article
Dy Billy Evans, business manager
CT ihe Red SUX. Hence tn artl-
clA he d!unt read mad aDj0lI ely
no part in shaping lis bIactal
deStln1eS.
Tommy is the 21-ycar-cld lad
from MasSillon, Ohio, who was
declared a free agent last week
" Commissioner Lands after an
ln%estigation rcVC2.ed that The
Cleveland Indians had shifted
him from New orleans to Mil
waukee in "covCr-up" deal. In
mcdlat.ly eight clubs I'D for
his services and the Yank; won
out.
A widely printed story told OF
Tclnmy'S reading last winter a
magazine aYtIc e in which Evans
allvgcdly said he considered Hen
.ICh one OF The LEST OuolesdcrS
in the minors and a cheap buy
fer any MAJOR league club at $l5,-
100. The story added thar when
Tommy read Evans remark about
tn. hftecn grand, he Immediately
laid. then how come Pitcher
Vye.ngarner anI I W,re 3cIa to
Milwaukee for $500. I'll have
% i.rd out abOu, this"
What actually happened, Tom
my explained at his hotel today.
was that he read newspaper re-
ports about the Lee Handley case
Judge Lands made Handley a
agent-at the expense CT the Gin
cinnati Reds. Lands claimed
that Handley's baseball progress
had been interfered with. Then
the Pirates gave Handley about
$1,000 to play with them.
I decided my case was much
like Handley's," Heinrich said.
so in late January, I wrote Judge
Lands asking for an invcstiga-
ton. Judge Lands gave my case
a hearing in New Orleans on April
! and made his decision last week.
Meanwhile, he had told me to re-
port for training with Milwaukee
at Biloxi pending the outcome OF
the investigation"
After last weeks decision, Tom
my read the story about the
Evans magazine article but he
sadi I've tried every place to
get a copy Of that article or to
find someone who read it. But
I can't get any trace of it yet"
Tommy said the Evans article
myth probably originated like
this: In April 1886, sports
writer in Canton. o., quoted Evans
as saying he would pay $4,000
for Heinrich. Tommy met the
writer Of the Evans quotations
later and asked him about the
statement. But that fellow said
he couldn't remember anything
about it. so I didn't pay any more
attention to it. That happened
a year ago."
Heinrich is the son of a con-
tracting plasterer in MasSillon,
but he preferred to plaster balls
instead of walls" Scatter
playing soft ball for three years,
while attending Catholic high
school in Canton. O., Tommy took
up the hard-ball game in his
senior year. 1888. Canton is only
eight miles from MaSsillon. He
became such a sensation on the
diamond in his first year that
Bill Bradley scou t of the Cleve-
land club. signed him to play with
GAINESVILLE in "a. The GAINESVILLE
club, no longer in operation, was
owned by Cleveland. GAINESVILLE
farmed him out to MoneSSen, Pa,
for the "a season.
Tommy played with GAINESVILLE
in '35. but was sent to New Or
leans for the last two weeks OF
that season. New Orleans has a
working agreement with the
Cleveland club. With New Or
leans in SO, Young Heinrich led
the Southern Association IN total
bases. 1923. and hits .346. After
the season New Orleans sold him
to Milwaukee, which also has a
working agreement with the In
dianS.
Il already had spent my tnIce
years in the minors" Tommy con-
cluded. And l was facing a
fourth year there. Meanwhile, l
had understood tn at several
major league clubs had been try
ing to buy me from the various
clubs with which l played. And
I understood that the Would-be
buyers had been told to negotiate