Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-01-09
Mats Boss Would Aid
Minors al Lands
Planning Session
Ry John B. KELLER.


to his clubs roster and mulling over
operational plans he hopes to present
at organized baseballs postwar pol
icy meeting to be held In Chicago
sometime this month.
IT appears the major minor com.
mittee that Commissioner K. M
Lands will call into session will
have much to say about curtailment
OF major league chain store opera.
tions in the minors and Of genera
reorganization Of minor league base.
bali after the war ends and Grintf
has some strong ideas along both
lines.
THE farm system that In recent
sears has made great advances ir
the national pastime should be re.
rised thoroughly, Griffith believes
<hough he doesn't advocate drastic
changes right after hostilities art
over. Instead, he would have 6
modified chain-store arrangement t.
help the minors carry along a few
Clubs that hadn't been able to live
without major league support anc
give the big leagues enough time t.
get rid of larger minor holding.
without taking a beating in theil
treasures.
Would Limit Chain Systems.
This doesn't mean I am against
chain-store baseball in It's entirety,
Griffith said yesterday, but I am
against permitting major ball club
to have extensive holdings in minor
CIRCUITS and thereby having under its
direct control perhaps 200 to SOC
ball players.
sri This not only is a ruinous policy
so far as most major league clubs
are, concerned, but it also hampers
the development of minor leagues.
More independent ownership is
needed to stimulaas the minors. I
strongly advocate home ownership
OF clubs. BY that I believe we get
better minor competition and
thereby better talent coming up
through the various grades of min
ors to the big leagues.
IF the chain-store system is to
be maintained after the war, and 1
Imagine it will be in some form. let
us restrict a club to ownership of
one farm only in each minor league
observation-disclosures each in the AA.
AL and A circuits and one each in
the B, G and D groups. That
should prove satisfactory.
= washington did have three minor
league clubs and maintained work.
ing agreements with two others.
But the war came along and it had
to close down its Charlotte Club in
the Piedmont League and Orlando
In the Florida State circuit. Spring.
field OF the Eastern League, a work
Engagement affiliate, turned In its
franchise. Now we have only Chatta-
nooga Of the Southern Association
as farm and working agreement
with Minneapolis in the American
Association. Maybe that Springfield
franchise will be transferred to give
LIS third spot this year. I'm not
certain Of this yet.
Needs Only Four Clubs.
But after the war I feel that the
Washington club can get along with
a chain of four minor clubs to de-
velop talent for 1t. And they don't
have to include an AA club, either
After all, we've managed to get a
lot Of sound material from Al
ranks.
But while the majors must con-
tinue some kind of working agree
ments with minor clubs in order to
enable the little fellows to get
along, I still say independent own
ership should be encouraged. This
was general until the depression
reached its peak in 1888. Then
many of the minor leagues came to
the majors and frankly admitted
they couldn't survive unless some of
their clubs were taken over for OPP
Grafton by the big fellows.
This opened the way to the build
ing of big chains, a scheme that
had been adopted only by the st.
Louis Cardinals. And it began
breaking down the pride of the
minors. Too much peddling of fran
chises resulted. One postwar policy
of baseball, 1t seems to me, should
be to resell minor baseball to the
minors"
Griffith is among four American
League officials to join as many Ma
tional Leaguers and the minor rep
resentation at the postwar planning
conception. The sessions probably
will last several days. for many items
are to be discussed. Rules as to
what should be done with players
mustered out Of the services must be
set up and territorial realignments
of mirror circuits also are to be con-
sidered
Sees No Griff Holdouts.
Contracts for 1914 for the Mats
began going out of the Washington
clubs Office last Friday and Grit
fifth expects to have all on the way
by tomorrow. He would not divulge
what players had been given in
creases, but said he anticipated no
trouble with bakers. I'VE took care
ofs,the boys pretty well last fall after
they finished second in the Ameri-
can sheague race" he said. de-
serving ones were given bonuses.
The others may get some more this
time
Redistribution Of Dutch Leon
ard, veteran knuckler, as Al by his
Springfield Gll) draft board adds to
Grifiths selective service woes only
lightly. Loss Of the pitcher could
hurt, but probably not as much as
the departure of Gerald Priddy. The
second baseman, who was a regular
at that post last season, was taken
into the military service in Califor-
MIA last Tuesday, and now the Mats
must find another top-notcher to
plug the vacancy. Neither Griffith
nor Manager Ossie Bluege knows
where to look for q replacement.
And it looks as though Jake Early
flrst-stting catcher, soon will 60.
Thai lv4r3enA x,xo,,y<l L.