OCR Text |
Show SALARY INCREASE BROUGHT TROUBLE j Roger Bresnahan's troubles as manager man-ager of the Cardinals staited last talli j when he signed a new contract. The I news that Roger had been given a big 1 boost in salary, with a percentage of j the club profits, started all the play- crs on a strike for more money. Steel I I and Harmon held out until the day before be-fore the season opened. Mowrcy also was a holdout and missed the training train-ing trip I co Magce Is another play-ei play-ei who kicked for more money and at one time threatened to jump the team unless his salarj was increased. The spring training was a joke Rog- i er jumped from West Baden to Jackson, Jack-son, Tenn , and from the latter place to Jackson, Miss. Then he brouglit ' the team home curing a blizzard and tho squad was idle for one entiie week ' before the spring series opened with he Browns. The club beat the Browns but obtained a poor start in the Na- , tional league championship vace. at one stage losing 15 out of 16 games. While ihe team was losing, Mrs. Brltton decided to remove B A. Stein-Inger, Stein-Inger, then president of the club." Roger suggested that Steinjnger be permitted to serve .out his term Then trouble broke out in earnest between Mrs. Brltton and Bresnahan. In tho middle of the campaign the fiery leader of the Cards had a run-in run-in with Mike Mowrey and fined the third sacker $25 for not chasing an infield fly. Hauser tried to make the play; Roger thought Mowrey should have caught the ball. Everybody Every-body In the grand stand blamed Rube Geyer for not going after the fly. Mowrey was out of the game for two weeks. Bresnahan Is a torrlflc fighter on the ball field and a hard loser. Notwithstanding Not-withstanding the friction between him and Mrs. Brltton, he set his heart on winning the fall series from the Browns. It had been common gossip for weeks that Roger's job was In jeopardy. jeop-ardy. The Browns rooters ligured that Bresnahan would not try very hard against the Browns, but he fooled fool-ed everybody by taking off his coat and working overtime to beat Hedges' pets. During the last Sunday game with the Browns Jack Bliss was coaching coach-ing at first base. One of the Cards pulled a liner down tho right foul line. The batsman was racine toward tlrst base, when Bliss waved him back. "Foul ball!" yelled Coacher Bliss. "Who told you to umpire the game?" growled Bresnahan as he rushed rush-ed up to Bliss. "Why, It's as plain as the nose on your race that it was a foul ball," said Bliss, -and I didn't see any use in allowing tho batsman to waste energy en-ergy running out a foul ball." "Well, there Is an umpire up there paid to all those plavs." bellowed Bresnahan. "You let him decide 'cm. and attend fo your own business." This incident illustrates Bresnahan's jjfry l;,ltfEByiiM,y-' jtr t' i "VIM idea of claiming everything in sight. I Roger is never beaten until the last I man is out. He is a disciple of the McGraw school. "Muggsy's" pupils go on the theory that results alone count on the ball field. Roger's hot temper got him in many a jam on the ball field. Last year he had a jawing match with Umpire Klem over in Cincinnati. The urn-piro urn-piro "lost his head" und took a punch at Rresnahan. No one doubts Rogers Rog-ers gameness, but he had sense enough not to fight with Klem on the field. President Lynch fined Klem S50 for slugging the St. Louis manager. man-ager. The first time George Stovall wont to the bat in the hpring series between be-tween the Cards and tho Browns Roger greeted him thusly: "Stick it right over the middle of the pan for this big Cleveland discard. dis-card. He couldn't hit a signboard with a gun loaded with buckshot " "Is that so?" growled Stovall. "Well, I'll be hitting big league pitchers when you are paying your way Into the park Put that in your pipe and smoke it." "Why, you aren't mad, are you, George?" replied Roger with a grin. "I was only 'kidding' you." "Well, if you meant it as a joke, I can Josh, too." replied Stovall as ho swung on the ball and slammed It against the fence. |