 Nicol returned to minor league baseball , joining the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Western League . After spending just one month with the team , he moved within the league to the Milwaukee Brewers , where he played for five seasons and was utilized exclusively as an outfielder from 1896 onwards . In 1896 , he was at the centre of controversy when the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him and promised the Brewers that they would return him should they not be in need of his services . However , he was instantly outrighted to the Detroit Tigers , with the Phillies ' president acknowledging that they were assisting and collaborating with the Tigers , who had requested the transaction . The case went to an arbitral tribunal , which ruled in favour of the Brewers . 
