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1904 Winter Meetings!
Once again, Prescott's Whiskey Row saw plenty of business as owners and team officials from the 16 Arizona League franchises held their winter meetings. It was a festive affair, and in between all of the drinking and carrying on (and a few arrests by local marshals) some baseball business did get discussed...
• League officials exercised the roll-over year on Phinieus Victory's five-year contract as AZ League commissioner. He's now 45 and will be the commish until at least 50 (the 1909 season)... "He may be a bit dogmatic in some of his views but he's a great man and a great leader for our league," one owner said...
• The rules committee discussed doing away with the designated hitter in the Southern League. No action was taken. Most owners seem to like things the way they are...
• A proposal to make the schedule 148 games was discussed. The Commish, Phinieus Victory, vehemently opposed any changes to the number of games in a season. "We started with a 162-game schedule, and we shouldn't touch it. That way we can compare records and such across the years and decades." Owners were convinced though they agreed the season tended to drag on, especially for teams at the back of the standings...
• Victory authorized the formation of a Hall of Fame committee in order to honor the Arizona League's "very finest" players. "Let's make it darn tough to get in to, so it truly is a special honor to be in the Hall," the Commish said. "Maybe we should create a 'Player of Distinction' honor as well so those who do great things, but maybe aren't Hall of Fame worthy, can get recognition." He was thinking of guys like Cy Young, whose pitching numbers from his time before the Arizona League, don't count in his career stats. "He is one of the best pitchers of our time, but his AZ League numbers don't reflect that because he came here at the end of his career.
Victory also urged the committee to create a "Ring of Honor" for those who aren't players but who still contribute in major ways the league.
• Lake Havasu officials said they were in "talks" with a couple of cities about moving their franchise there in a couple of years. They wouldn't comment on what cities, only to say the location is south of Havasu and closer to Phoenix.
This, of course, had the Winter Meetings buzzing because it would likely force a reorganization of the league. If Lake Havasu moved South, it would form an unbalanced league (9 teams in the South, 7 in the North). Since everyone was in agreement that expansion was a very bad idea, one Southern team would have to move North. The most likely -- Prescott, which is geographically a Northern team any way. The only problem: Northern owners are opposed to bringing this emerging power into their league. Time will tell...
"I can tell you this, we either have to fold or move," the Lake Havasu owners said. "The proposed Parker Dam project is still only in the talking stages, and it could be decades before that thing is finished. There just aren't many people live here or plan to move here any time soon."
"What about Kingman?" the Flagstaff owner asked in an open session.
"Kingman?!? Kingman?!? Are you serious?" The Lake Havasu officials weren't happy. "I'll die before I move my baseball team to that god-forsaken place..." That got everyone talking again...
• The following players made their retirements from the AZ League official at the Winter Meetings:
Lave Cross retires ...
Patsy Donovan retires ...
Brickyard Kennedy retires ...
Malachi Kittridge retires ...
Al Maul retires ...
Morgan Murphy retires ...
Fred Tenney retires ...
Gus Weyhing retires ...
JER: Crazy Schmit retires ...
LAK: Jud Smith retires ...
SED: Cupid Childs retires ...
PAY: John Mcpherson retires ...
TUC: Frank Kitson retires ...
NOG: Bob Wood retires ...
NOG: Heinie Smith retires ...
TOM: Tom Daly retires ...
(If anyone wants more info on any of these guys, let me know...)
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