Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1916 — RUPPERT'S HOT REPLY [ARTICLE]

RUPPERT'S HOT REPLY

Answer to Minor Leagues Who Protest Recall of Players. * Action Not Taken Until Every Other Means Had Failed —President Comiskey of Chicago White Sox Would Not Assist. Colonel Rupert of the New York American League club, when asked to reply to the criticisms emanating from minor league cities upon the recall- of players belonging to the New Yorks from the lower leagues, said: “The unprecedented number of accidents to the New York team which injured their six best players, namely. Baker, Magee, Maisel, Gilhooley, High and Cullop, coupled with the illness of Fisher and Geaeon, and the defection of Caldwell, put the team in such a crippled condition that there was no' alternative but to recall three of the New York pluyers loaned to the minor leagues, viz., Aragon, Shocker anflj Miller. The recall of these players was done only as a last resort. We bought Oldring to fill Gilhooley’s place. Mr. Huston and myself went to Chicago to meet Connie Mack to try to buy, borrow or steal Strunk, but Mr. Mack would listen to no proposition of any kind, and perhaps properly so. “We tried to get one of Comiskey’s extra outfielders, but he would not consider a cash purchase, and we could not spare any player in a trade that would be acceptable to him. We made overtures for ’f'obin, but -St. Louis needed that outfielder. We exhausted every effort to get big league pi ayers and In desperation decided that we could do nothing else but bring In our players from the minors. But we tried to make it as easy as it was in our power to do so, for the clubs from which the players were taken. But bear in mind that we had a perfect contract right to recall these players. The optional agreement under which these players were sent to the minors provided that they may be returned to us upon short notice, and thatr we maydn tura-reeaH the-players upon five days’ notice. The several minor league clubs were fully aware of what they were agreeing to bechuse every one of them objected to the recall clause and finally acquiesced in it when we would have it no other way. We called Mr. Johnson’s attention to this clause in our optional agreements. “The minors have repeatedly taken advantage of their right to return to us our players this year. In one instance they have returned a player with an utter disregard for our interests, and in another case have returned a player on account of their own peculiar financial conditions. Louisville returned Carroll Browh, Columbus sent us back Don Brown, Toronto left Layton flat on our hands, Doc Cook was shunted back by Oakland, and Cy Pieh devolved upon us from Newark. -It is a poor rule tBST won’t work both ways. “We can’t see how the minors can object to our exercising our contractual rights when they so ruthlessly take advantage of their rights. But even had we no right to recall the players we feel that the minor leagues should help us out in our dire necessity, for we certainly—distributed among them last year a big sum pf money wliibh must have helped out not a little in the darkest year baseball has possibly ever seen.”