Evening star., 1926-01-18

In picking these three teams L nave
taken players from the old and the
modern school. There is little differ
ence between the three line-ups. The
first team is chosen chiefly on rec
ordS. Each man named was an out
standing PLAYER at his position, the
best the game has brought out TO
late.
You may not agree with me on sew
eral of my selections. That is nat
nral. They are. as | have said. my
''crsonal opinion, and il we all agreed.
then base ball would soon perish. The
differences of opinion make the game
interesting: at least, they keep the
,.Ope going strong.
On my second and third teams you
will find some players. particularly on
The third. that in your opinion should
have been placed higher. l want to
explain these placingS.
Stars OH Second Team.
On the second team you will find
such men as SiSler. Eddie Collins,
Youngs. Ruth. and on the third are
HornSby. F'risch and Shocker, all
players whose careers have not ended.
Ten years from now some of them
viii probably he placed on the first
team, for u players true standing
cannot he determined until he has
passed from base ball. | have con-
Sidered only the work done to date
and tried to judge accordingly. Horns
by, for instance. may establish the
greatest batting record in history and
prove himself unquestionablyt the best
of all second saCkers. F'riSch may
Surpass all infielders in the record
books If George Sisters eyes become
as good as they We're in 1929, he may
supplant Hal Chase as the best first
baseman of all time. | think Sisler
would have done this already had he
retained full use of his eyes. He was
A better hitter than Chase and ap-
preached him in fielding. Experience
might have made him the supreme
leader of the position. Ruth's true
place also cannot be definitely deter
mined until after he retires.
The first team has batting power.
1t includes the most gifted hitters in
history. 1t has the best pair of catch
crs the game has produced and four
pitchers who, in my opinion, stand
ahead of the entire field.
For aEgressiveness, sheer fighting
ability and the desire to win. you
can not Surpass the second team.
Take the four infielders that I have
mentioned. While in their prime
they would furnish the best combi
ration of all time. Not alone were
standpoint OF mechanical ability. but
hey We're four Of the most intelli-
GENT. They We're all strategists.
They had speed of limb and speed
of thought. The catCherS were two
Of the Craftiest and most resource
fuI. The pitchers of the second team,
on their good days. were just as
effective as those of the first. but
lacked their consistency. Johnson at
oES- ,l,a,
Walsh at his best. Alexander in top
form was the equal of Waddell and
Brown and McGinnity at times hit
the stride of MathewSon and RuSie.
The only trouble with my second
team is that a good left-hander
might make trouble for the com
bna ton OF the first seven men
named Bobby Wallace was the only
i'iGht-handed batter. Sisler. McGraw.
Collins KELLEY. Youngs and Ruth all
bat left handed.
Third Team Well Balanced.
! would have no such trouble with
nay third team. Anson batted right
handed and 50 did Lange. Hornsby
bats right-handed. Frisch and
Weaver are numbered in the turn
about division of batsmen. standing
at either side of the plate.
Ilt III 81 lcdlll IL DdIdlICSu dS "
hitters. The entire infield and
Bresnahan batted right handed. The
three outffelders batted left-handed,
but what hitters they were,
My second team would be supreme
In base running. Sisler. Collins,
Wallace. McGraw, Youngs and Ruth
are six of the best in history. They
had speed and intelligence.
The third team also has some good
base runners. Frisch, Weaver. Lange
and Hamilton were corkers. Every
man on the third team was an ex-
cellent hitter.
1t would be possible for any Of
these three teams to beat the other
TWO in n series. they are that closely
matched. As for myself. I would
gratefully take any team of the three
enter it in either major league and
settle back and enjoy the season. I
would not have to worry a minute
The race would be over by August
20. 1t would be my idea of glori-
Gus and plutocratic existence.
,CopyEi.ht, 1920