Salt Lake Tribune | 1913-08-31 | Page 24 | Commercialism Shows [Illegible] in Organized Baseball [Illegible]

rrJMf. Commercialism Shows Em In Organized Basebaltw, By W. J. MACBETH. NEW YORK, Aug. 30. Organized baseball seems to bo ou the verge of losing its last vestige of sport for sport's eake. The commercial end of tho enterprise overshadows over-shadows all else. Tho magnates are out for tho money and make no bones of the fact. Tho lust for gold is as deeply deep-ly rooted in tho minor loaRues as in the major organizations. The two bifr circuits depend upon patronage for financial gains. Becauso of this it is necessary for them to got the very best talent to display before tho public. Thousands upon thousands of dollars are expended every season by each club in the National and Amer-can Amer-can leagues for tho sole purpose of fortifying for the future. Every club ownor has several highly paid scouts beating all about the country in search of likely looking "bush''' timber. Some have as many as six sleuths under salary. Besides these, there is a grand army of amateur sharps who do business on a commission basis. This policy of near extravagance is all well enough for first division aggregations; the end more than justifies the means. But it is a serious drain upon the pockotbook of the unfortunate holdors of second division franchises. Becauso of their weakness, second division di-vision clubs in the major leagues call for the greatest expenditures. This makes thoir lot all the more severe. The money is put up on a gamble, because be-cause a club away down in the race is lucky to make interest on investment. The "leading teams, which might well afford to speculate in talent, have not the same crying need to do so. But those leaders usually string along in a sort of "dog in the manger" fashion, and often corral moat promising talent which they cannot possibly use, just to keep it awa' from some lowly rival that might utilize it to the disadvantage disad-vantage of the strong. Frank Chance could not get any assistance as-sistance from his colleagues, many of whom had bench wavuiors who would have been of tho greatest assistance to Now York. It took him a couple of months to get Shortstop Pcckinpaugn from Cleveland. Birmingham had no use for this player. He wished to turn him back to Toledo, the farm of the Naps. When Chance's outfield was performing in a most pitiful manner Connie Hack was carrying six gardeners, garden-ers, any of them superior to the best the Peerless leader could show. There was a time when the nm.'fJ leagues, by juggling the market, could maintain "a self-supporting 'recruiting institution. Undesirable talent snatched from tho "brush" could often be turned back at a profit. But that time is past. The minors former "prey have become tho close-fisted bargain drivers. "If you desire our good men you must pay dearly enough for the castofffi," The minor leagues depend to a very great extent upou the sale of players for self maintenance, and can not be blamed for getting back at the bur fel-(lows fel-(lows on every possible occasion. iMa.ior league magnates, who display cold indifference in-difference among themselves, deserve no pity when minor league promoters put on tho screws. Tho major leagues themselves are responsible for most of the present-day commercialism of tho game. Always has their attitude been the most exacting exact-ing and the most grasping. As tins sport has gradually become moro ;uui moro of a show business, tho methods of tho show havo attached themselves. The power of publicity has appealed to the club owners, who now take every means of boosting thoir own game through press agout stuff. Evar smectite smec-tite big league waofc fc was, have maintained tt; l&'Bfi that fiKht'estaMlEhdJfc. nates, in anv aonoatH never failed 'to mnK inunoraiion of a star. Kk There were- "minwE? $10,000 in the biglnmK;; when an athlete mammr shaken hand3 with HadHg ing half the sum. MB pitted salaries today, HK.. were known, tvoeIo iHip' in the vrash of straigtfnH't aro instances where tkWl had to too lit mail d4Bd with' the big rnoner. Ty Cohb oi thoTksrtiBI-the thoTksrtiBI-the Ingest paid iM"HN Bonuses will bring hiinnHv to fully $15,000. HeaiH? contented with half tbflV, nates themselves had wjHf" public and the p!&je jBLl publicity. Cobb ttu u position. He fcce K management might u vjHT park as to allow hiait iP once great Tiger, b"Hi tobaggan. In kindred iHlla-'a1, have injured their CIB; ing in stage money, 'J Brush set the AsMo f leged $11,000 for There followed aaoHffMJ of extravnptnee FJJHJ Dreyfus-s wben Bf. 500 for Marty OToolkBL haps, did not cost JW his reputed sala FW figures made good the cpuntry-and I0Other clubs 'flM&Ht erS that formerly; f est figures soon ie. Jm company's gfJBs chases. For 8JJ!W smiled P1tieIr.ffliJBi gradually, beean to 'W this mania .ftW fwoTr three league talent lcngues are Pggj Ba t sf ill they are PjJfjfX double and treble "V ConSeyVshed M prize .but not gu Several 'i roll when BJfi.a!jM Boston ing him .y0jS &i baa iV, plavors and wg Gil!il5-.,s FaiofSBP in for hint. tt2K e'eltffit2iiJS8BI whew sf (!5w bankrupt f ftfSF pause SiSMI