Evening star., 1939-12-03
Lewis, Case, Leonard
Safe From Block,
Says Magnate
Will Bottle for Sharp
Reforms; Harris Seeks
Fielder, First Soeker


self ready to battle for sharp reforms
and Bucky Harris, manager of his
sixth-place Nationals, prepared to
campaign for right-handed hitting
outfelder and first baseman.
There are only three players I
won't trade if the right deal is offer
ed" proclaimed the old gentleman
as he locked up his office. I'm
a-keeping Buddy Lewis, George Case
and Dutch Leonard. Nobody Is
a-going to get them from me. I
don't know about the rest"
The minor league meeting will
open tomorrow and run through
Wednesday. The major league
meeting will start Thursday and
close Saturday with a joint session.
Griffith, however, will find himself
surrounded by plenty of big league
baseball personalities when he ar
rives. Some have been on the scene
for days.
Rumors, Bunions In Plenty.
In prospect is the most active
meeting in years. Whether the
brass hats will get anything done
is doubtful. They rarely do. But
strictly as a rumor and bunion
foundry the Cincinnati meeting
should rank with the most produc-
tive Of all times.
Griffith, for instance, is carrying
to the meetings three reforms and
an amendment to 1889 reform.
They are, left to right, as follows:
/. Night baseball should be played
throughout July and August, inclu-
sive, except on Saturdays, Sundays
and holidays. This prevents the
breaking up of the normal life OF
a ball player, who must lay off a
full day now after playing a night
game. This plan, Griffith insists,
will more than double the present
seven-game limit on night games
and make it worthwhile to install
lights, which cost 100000 and up.
2. A limit to the number of farm
teams operated by big league clubs
should be made. Griffith will sug-
gest that no big league team may
be allowed more than one farm in
any single classification except Glass
D, (which has more leagues than
any other and needs financial help
For example, the world champion
New York Yankees own Kansas City
in the Glass AA American Asso-
citation and Newark in the Glass AA
International League. If Grifhth's
plan is adopted the Yankees will
have to sell one of these highly
productive farms In turn, a minor
league team like Newark cannot
embrace more than one Glass A, B
Or D farm of its own.
Not Cunning for Yankees.
3. No team that wins a pennant
should be permitted to buy or trade
for ball players, except by the waiver
route or through transfers from its
own farms, until it has lost its
championship. This, Griffith de-
clares, is not intended as a blow to
the Yankees. Its only to make
the pennant races closer each year,
he explains.
4. Pitchers should be allowed to
rock freely on their left feet (pre-
Stunning they are right handed
pitchers) while winding up with no
body OH first or second base. Grit
fifth thought he had pushed this
rule through last year, but he dis
covered the umpires curbed the
hurlers so much that it was tooth
less.
For each of these proposals the
70-year-old Washington club presi-
dent will cast enthusiastic votes. At
the same time he intends to black
ball most of the other reforms sug-
gested since the close OF the season
by other club owners. Larry Mac
Phail's plan to match not only the
pennant winners but the second,
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh
and eighth place clubs OF the two
leagues is out, Griffith says. Its
q bum idea," is his explanation.
"MacPhail hasn't been around very
long, or something"
Bum National League Idea"
Sam Breadon, president of the
st. Louis Cardinals, has suggested
that double headers be played every
Sunday. When and if this is
brought to a vote Griffith will drop
In his blackest blackball. Another
bum National League idea," he calls
1t. There's no chance that it will
pass"
So busy will Griffith be as high
officer on the American League Ad-
visory Committee that he Will have
little or no time to sound out the
other clubs. This will be left en-
ttrely to Harris, who batted 900 IN
lobby league last winter.
The hardest of the trade rumors
involving Washington has been that
Travis -to-Detroit yarn. This has
survived chiefly because Cecil is the
best of Griffth's material, excluding
Messrs. Lewis, Case and Leonard. IL
seems the Tigers could use a short
stop and have exhibited interest IN
Travis. In exchange Griff would
settle for somebody like Hank
Greenberg, Budy York or Brdle
Tebbetts, the catcher.
II figure that Detroit will have to
trade one of these fellows" is
Grifdth's slant. They can't sit
York on the bench while Greenberg
plays first base and Tebbetts catches.
Either they'll have to put York on
first and trade Greenberg, or put
York behind the plate and trade
Tebbetts, or trade York himself.
Personally I don't think he's a good
enough catcher to 60 with a team
that wants to win championship"
He'd Like to Get Tebbetts.
,Grifhth admits that he would like
to have any or all of these fellows.
II he acquired York he would play
him at first base, of course. If he
got Tebbetts he would make him
the Mats regular catcher. In this
event the way would be opened for
more trading. The chances are that