====== March 16, 1901 ====== ---- ===== News ===== • //Sporting Life// reprinted a story originally published in the //Chicago Journal// that included what purported to be 1901 salaries owed by the Athletics to several players • To wit: third baseman [[Lave Cross]] ($3,000), outfielder Elmer Flick ($3,000), second baseman [[Nap Lajoie]] ($3,500), catcher Ed McFarland ($2,800), left-handed pitcher Win Mercer ($3,000), and right-handed pitcher Vic Willis ($2,700) • By the time of the reprint both Flick and McFarland had said they would be returning to the Phillies • Catcher [[Harry Smith]], a recent Athletics signee, was likely to be the subject of a lawsuit by the Pirates, who claimed they held his rights following a trade with Milwaukee • Athletics manager [[Connie Mack]] said it was nothing to do with him and that the Pirates should take up the matter with Milwaukee ---- ===== Transactions ===== • The team signed right-handed pitcher [[Chick Fraser]] • Fraser had played for the Phillies and presumably that team still believed had a reserve on him • According to some sources the signing was performed by American League president Ban Johnson, not the team ---- [[march-14-1901|< Mar 14, 1901]] [[1901_calendar|Back to Calendar]] [[march-18-1901|Mar 18, 1901 >]]