Evening star., 1954-01-14
Griffith Worried
By Only 8
Early Ho|douts
PorterfieId Matches
Vernon's Firmness;
'Grusso Joins List
By Burton Hawkins


grumbler. today joined the SWELL
ing list of dissatisfied Senators
who plan further salary discus
sionS with the front Office, but
Vice President Calvin Griffith
anticipates serious squabbling
only from Pitcher Bob Porter
field and First Baseman Mickey
Vernon.
Grasso became the eighth
Washington player to voice OBJ
lection to his 1854 contract
today. The hot-headed catcher,
who batted .209 last season and
yielded the Senator's No. re-
ceiving spot to Ed FITZGERALD,
said his salary was sliced but
didn't divulge' how much was
trimmed from his 1852 income
of $4,000.
Mickey said he planned to
visit Griffith Stadium in the
next few days in an attempt to
settle differences with President
Clark Griffith. Grasso. who op-
crates a restaurant here. was
among the last of the Senators
to sign last year but didn't seem
too perturbed about the figures
on the contract he recently re-
ceived.
Calvin Griffith feels that the
most determined of the dis
gruntled Senators will be Por-
terfleld, who led the American
League with 90 victories. and
Vernon. the leagues leading
hitter with 1897 average.
POrterfield paid Well"
"Porterfield has been paid ex-
tremely we'll since he has been
with u.s." young Griffith declared.
land we're being fair with Ver-
non. I can't blame Vernon for
trying to get all he can at his
age $3.50 but the players should
see our side of it. too.
IF the players draw custom
ers we're willing to pay them
accordingly" Calvin continued,
but they didn't draw last year.
We lost $159,000 in home and
roac receipts last season as
compared with 1882"
Calvin pointed out there has
been steady decline since the
Senators reached their peak
home attendance Of 1927, ,22l in
1916. Last season the team drew
SOS. .493 fans. dropping below the
100000 mark for the first time
since 1914.
Clubs Expenses Rise.
Meanwhile. costs have gone
up" Calvin said. Hotels and
meals cost more. and the players
now get minimum salary of
$4,000. Some of the increase in
costs we've offset by raising the
price a bit en- choice seats. We
barely broke even on our major
league operation last season.
with concessions and rentals
getting us over the hump. We
lost money in our minor league
interests. as usual"
In addition to Vernon. Porter
field and Grasso, other Senators
who have expressed chagrin
over the 1854 contracts have
been Outf1elders Jim Busby and
Gil Ccan. Second Baseman
Wayne Terwilliger. Shortstop
Pete Runnels and Third Base
man Eddie Yost.
Vernon, Porterfield. Busby and
Terwilliger have been offered
raises. but are squawking at the
size OF them. Runnels, Coan and
Grasso have been cut. while Yost
was offered the same $4,000
contract he received last year.
Only Vernon and Porterfield
have indicated they'll be hard to
handle.
Porterfleld. currently instruct
ing pitchers at Washington's
baseball school in Winter Gar
den. Fla.-only a few miles from
the Senators spring training site
at Orlando-said. THE club will
have to come up with more
money. They didn't offer any
where near as much as / ex-
pected. I have a definite idea
of what want and they're not
near that figure"
Shea and Stobbs Sign.
Pitchers Spec Shea and Chuck
Stobbs said they have returned
signed contracts. Outfielder
Tommy Umphlett represents no
problem, since he signed a con-
tract with the Red Sox before
Washington landed him in the
deal for Jackie Jensen. Pitcher
Maury McDermott. who also
came to the Senators in that
trade. said he hasn't received his
contract. He expects a fat raise
after winning 18 games.
Runnels, whose batting aver
age dipped from .2S5 in 1852
to PSI last season. blamed the
slump on the fact that his bosses
tried to make a pull hitter out of
him. Terwilliger. a .252 hitter,
got a boost but feels he should
get more. I'm a regular and
ought to be paid like one," Ter
Williger said.
Busby, the leagues fifth hitter
last season with .312 mark.
said in Corpus Christi, Tex, that
he's hot about his contract now
but may. sign in a few days after
he cools off. Jim was offered a
$4,000 raise but feels his salary
should be in line with other top
players on the club.
Number Of Signings
Offset Early Holdouts
NEW YORK, Jan. IA R.-
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