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SPORTING TIMES — December 12, 1911
By Arthur H. Leland
A QUIET MARKET, BROKEN BY A LONE TRADE
December 12th, 1911 — The winter months have brought with them an unusually still and uneventful player market, leaving club offices and hotel lobbies alike devoid of the usual murmur of rumor and negotiation. Not since the turn of the century has an off-season passed with so little movement, and seasoned observers are remarking on the near-total absence of even speculative talk.
Thus far, the lone transaction to stir the dust came on November 29th, involving the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Athletics. In a straightforward exchange of reserve men, the Pirates sent 29-year-old right-hander George Suggs eastward to Philadelphia, receiving in return the Athletics’ 23-year-old first baseman Ben Taylor. Both men spent the past season largely in supporting roles, and the deal appears designed more to balance depth than to reshape either club’s fortunes.
Whether this modest swap is the first pebble of a coming landslide or simply the only motion we shall see all winter remains to be told. For now, the market slumbers on, waiting for some club to rouse it from its unusually deep and curious quiet.
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