Doubtless the publicity which this contention must produce will be very annoying to the young pitcher, and it may have a disastrous effect upon his standing as a college athlete; for the college man who is known to compete for money in baseball or any other sport becomes rated as a professional and is barred from college games. Nevertheless, more sympathy would be felt for the man had he not played the management of one Northern League team against another to his own advantage in the matter of salary. Should exposure and disbarment from amateur sports follow, there are some who must feel that he has only himself to blame.
Locke made no effort to hide his annoyance. “I doubted if Riley would carry it this far,” he said warmly.
“Why not?” questioned Hutchinson unemotionally. “You couldn’t expect him to hold back on account of what might happen to you at college. Any bush-league manager will give a college player every protection possible under ordinary circumstances, but there is nothing ordinary about this case, and you’ve certainly put yourself in bad by the course you have pursued. If I had a claim on a coveted player, similar to that which Riley professes to hold on you, I’d surely push it to the limit.”
“I don’t know whether or not I have made the statement to you personally,” said Lefty grimly, “but I will tell you now that Mike Riley has no claim whatever upon me.”
“How about the letter he says you wrote him last December, in response to his offer?”
“If such a letter was written him, it was a declination of the offer, and therefore put an end to negotiations. A man can’t be bound to a manager by any rule simply because he writes refusing the offer.”
“Not unless that refusal is, on its face, a suggestion or a proposition that a higher offer might be considered. In the latter case, negotiations would still be pending. Do you assert that your letter to Riley gave him to understand distinctly that you would not take any offer from him into consideration, Hazelton?”
“I have not said that I ever wrote Riley a letter, or ever received one from him; and while I am in Kingsbridge I prefer to be called Locke, not Hazelton.”
“Oh,” said Hutchinson, “of course we’ll humor you in that whim, although you must know that your real identity cannot be kept secret after this. I don’t suppose you’ll deny that Hazelton is your proper name?”
“I have said that I prefer to be called Locke.”