Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 245, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 October 1911 — ERRORS OF MANAGERS [ARTICLE]

ERRORS OF MANAGERS

Often Turn Down Players Who Later Become Stars. ——i—. Ward Miller, Secured by Cubs for ♦3OO, Now Held at >IO,OOO by Montreal Club—Hitting Above JOO Mark. Some of the men who buy and sell ball players certainly do have some bad half hours. What would you think if you bad purchased a ball player for |3OO, had sold him for >1,6u0 and then, wanted him back ano was asked >7,000' and several players? Wouldn’t you feel like swearing? ; A couple of years ago a fellow named Ward Miller became the property of the Chicago team—was drafted from a small minor league and cost >3OO. Manager Chance looked him over and figured he wasn’t quite right. He asked for a waiver, and the Pirates refused to allow him to go. That was in the days when you had to sell a man for whom you asked waivers—no pulling back. Miller went to the/ Pirates, Clarke looked him over. After ♦'While he decided Miller wouldn’t do, and the latter went to Cincinnati on a trade that made Blaine Durbin, the former Cub pitcher, a Pirate. Clark Griffith looked over Miller and backed the' judgment of Chance and Clarke. He figured Miller would not do in the majors, and he went to the Eastern league. Well, this year Miller struck his stride. He is hitting over .300 for the Montreal club and running the bases like a wild man. George Huff, the Cub scout, went to look him over. Huff wired President Murphy that Miller could be secured for >7,000 and two players. “Stick around until tomorrow; maybe they will come down,” was Murphy’s answer by wire to his scout. The next day the Chb president received an answer. It read like this: “Price has gone up—now they want >10,000.” and the telegram was signed Huff. “Catch the first train or they’ll boost the price to >20,000,” were the instructions of President Murphy. Don’t you suppose the Cub magnate fpels like bottling himself when he thinks of the time when he had this fellow at a cost of >300? And these same baseball men will give you a warm time if you attempt to convince them that O’Toole, the St Paul pitcher, cost Barney Dreyfuss >22,500 in real money. Here’s one that President Comiskey of the Sox tells on Joe Cantillon. Joe, it will be remembered, was formerly the manager of the Washington team in the American league and then went to Minneapolis to boss that team. “Joe had heard that somebody had offered Lennon >12,000 for O’Toole,” said President Comiskey. “So the next time that oJe saw Lennon he opened on him: T understand that you have been offered >12,000 for O’Toole,’ said Joe. ‘Yes,’ was Lennon’s reply. ‘Wall, I guess I’m the biggest fool of all,’ said Joe. in the first place I didn’t know there was anybody in baseball so Crazy as to offer that much money for any ball player. And, in the next place, I would have sworn there was nobody in baseball crazy enough to have turned down, such an offer, once he had it.’ ” Which shows you that the fans were not the only ones to gasp at the price. Even practical baseball men had a difficult time believing that any magnate would separate himself from that amount of money for a ball player.