Some excellent points made here ! Has evolved into a very interesting thread. Making no judgment one way or another (on the documents in question) my BIG question would be this , By 1918 it has been well documented that Ruth himself wanted to PLAY MORE and PITCH LESS , not counting the periodicals of the day or information contained in numerous biographies ...a simple wiki search confirms this
"In the years 1915–1917, Ruth had been used in just 44 games in which he had not pitched. After the 1917 season, in which he hit .325, albeit with limited at bats, teammate Harry Hooper suggested that Ruth might be more valuable in the lineup as an everyday player.
In 1918, he began playing in the outfield more and pitching less, making 75 hitting-only appearances.
Ruth himself wanted to hit more and pitch less"
So with the above in mind , why would Ruth sign an agreement to the contrary ?? basically stating that he would "pitch more" ?? which would obviously be required to win 30 games. It was not an "on the spot" decision either as the idea was floated throughout 1917 of converting him to a full time player with Babe Ruth himself pushing hardest for the transition ...Just my two cents but like "Casey" used to say "You can look it up"
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