The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-11-06


 sociatior.
 Unquestionably the International circuit and the American Associa- tion clubs will enlarge their active player limits, adding to their per- sonnel from lower circuits that have gone out of business because of serv- ice demands. Yet, there's hardly 0 manager in either minor circuit who does not hope that the majors will vote to increase their player limits. They know, full well, that If a major league increase is not adopted, they never will be sure of keeping, for any length of time, the players optioned to them by the major league clubs.
 Opinoon Varies
 Major league owners are divided in their opinions on the desirability of a player limit increase. Some of them even lean backwards and seek a downward revision in which the limit will be 20 men instead of 25.
 President Horace Stoneham of the New York Giants has come out for an increase to 27 He will spend the next couple of weeks trying to bring Branch Hickey, new head of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to his side And Rickey's vocie will bear more weight now than if he still were a mere maneuverer of men with the St. Louis Cadrinals.
 However the two Philadelphia teams the Phils and the Athletics bossed by Gerry Nugent and Connie Mack, respectively-are on the other side of the fence. They advocate smaller squads. Their attitude is understandable, because smaller squads would reduce the level of competition and make the Quaker clubs more serious competitors in their respective circuits.
 Nugent has been reported as be- lieving that the number of players should be limited to 20. And there is an entirely unconfirmed rumor that President Ed Barrow of the New York Yankees, shares the same belief.
 Both factions use wartime emer- gencies" as the basis of their cam- paigning. Stoneham of the Giants says: we should be allowed to carry more than 25 players because a club can lose four or five valuable men in a few days. Hence replacements should be readily available. If they aren't, minor league clubs will auto matically suffer because we would have to draft new men from them on short notice-which would react to their distinct disadvantage.
 Naturally, if we carry bulkier squads, we would not have to call on the minors suddenly and cften. Thus the competition in the minors, at least, would remain on a fairly even keel"
 Stoneham added that the 27- player limit would not be made mandatory to each major league club, but should be left to their needs and discretion.
 Quick Recall
 Meanwhile. there's little doubt that if the 27-player rule is not adopted most major league clubs that option players to the minor outfits will insist upon a 24-hour recall clause being tagged on every man optioned out. Commissioner Landis always has fought against this quick recall. and thus far. has succeeded in keeping the majors in hand in this respect.
 The recent draft meetings at Chi cago accentuated the difficulty of getting major league talent. At those meetings, representatives of Il of the l6 clubs spent nearly $780, 900 on players. calling approximately 30 men by draft. The accent defi- niteiy was on players of the aged side, with family men and former major leaguers drawing the biggest play.
 Fifteen of the players chosen had a shot at the big leagues in the past, but they are getting another chance because of the shortage oi surviving talent.