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| This transaction ignited a fire between the Coast League and major league baseball. The "peace agreement" or "hands off" policy that existed between the two was broken and a controversy resulted." It was no great sin to jump a contract in those days," Griffith has said (an ironic statement when discussing Chase, as we'll see.) "Chase reported to my team right away." In actuality, the acquisition of Chase was a battle between many warring factions. Chase bristled at the thought of being sold without his consent and initially refused to report to the Yankees. It seems Los Angeles owner Morley tried his best to get Chase to stay, possibly "deluding him into thinking that L.A. could legally retain him," as was reported in the Sporting News. Pitcher Doc Newton, who played with Chase on the Yankees, reported that Morley tried this tactic with him, and failed. After much dispute between the Pacific Coast League, Chase, and the Yankees management, a contract was finally signed. Chase accepted $200 advance money and joined Griffith's team on March 28, 1905, during spring training in Jackson, Mississippi. The value of his first major-league contract was reported to be $2,500. Upon seeing Chase practice, Griffith recalled: "Right away we knew we had come up with the fanciest first baseman we ever saw. We'd never seen the like of him, especially on bunts. Those were the days of bunting in baseball, you know, and Chase would start creeping in toward the plate with the pitcher's wind up, daring the hitter to lay one down or knock it past him. I've seen him go all the way to the third base foul line from first, and throw batters out on bunts...He had a little old-fashioned, round mitt, not much bigger than a pancake, but he could get ground balls or pick throws out of the dirt like no other man who ever lived." Griffith saw Chase as the successor to John Ganzel, the team's original first baseman and the player who hit the first home run in the Yankees' storied history. Ganzel wasn't happy on the team. Perhaps he had heard about Chase and sensed that his job was lost. |
