Evening star., 1947-02-27
|Griff Denies Opposing Pension, Blasts MacPhaiI
hyaH Bucks Big Odds
In Fight 10 Regain
Second Base Job
BY d Staff eerr..pend.a. Of The Star

~ SIon NoFfeSPouoea4 OF tne S4of
ORLANDO, Fla, Feb. 27.-George
Myatt, who has enough silver In
his knee to start q .jewelry depart
|ment, once again Is bucking sizable
odds in an effort to win regular
JOB with the Mats.
Hard luck guy Of the club, Jabber-
ing George is hoping hen get a
chance to prove he can give WASH
ington adequate protection at sec
ond base.
'I know I can do it." says Myatt.
With all due respect to Gerry
Priddy. I'm not such a bad second
basemsn myself. don't mean to
detract anything from Priddy. He's
|a whale Of Q second baseman, but
I believe I can give this club q
good Job. too.
II hope Priddy plays shortstop and
I play second base because I know
we'd work well together. We get
along awfully well, well enough to
criticize each other bitterly one
minute and forget 1t the next.
Priddy and I are pretty much alike
In spirit. We both like to win and
we'll think UP ways Of doing It,"
Must Vie With Lyons.
Holler guy Of the Mats, Myatt Is
competing with another peppery
personality In Eddie Lyons, who
also would relish being in the Mats
lineup at second base. Like Lyons,
who missed most of last season with
Chattanooga g due to torn cartilege,
Myatt is trying comeback after
a season in which he was sidelined
due to injury.
+ Operating in Lyons favor Is the
fact he's q right-handed hitter on
q club loaded with left-handers.
The Mats bosses will be inclined
to string along with Lyons in the
event the scrap between George and
Eddie is fairly even. His right
handed hitting and his youth win
stand in Lyons favor.
All that is no consolation to
Myatt, who is wearying of the Cards
being stacked against him. Last
year he was tossed into third
base battle with Sherry Robertson
and Myatt never saw much service.
Sherry had the inside track from
the start and George sat by waiting
for opportunity to knock.
It knocked on the opening day
Of the season and Myatt fell down
the steps rushing to answer the
door. He was named to replace
Robertson in the opening game Of
ithe campaign, but he never played
that game. He tumbled down the
dugout steps an hour before game
time and was assisted to the club
house, victim Of a broken ankle.
George In Fine Trim.
Myatt participated in only Is
games with the Mats last year, due
to that fractured ankle and re-
currence of an old injury. A broken
neecap, received in q collision at
second base eight years ago at Jer-
sey City, acted up again. So George
submitted to surgery for removal
Iof bone chips.
He's At now and he has been
here for weeks. He's the most ad-
vanced Of the Mats, for he was an
instructor at Joe Strips Baseball
School and has been working out
VIRTUALLY all winter.
Myatt;s competition isn't limited
to Lyons. Hard luck also will be
aligned against him, for If Priddy
doesn't make the grade at short
stop Gerry automatically will re-
vert to second base. That will mean
Myatt again will decorate the
bench.
The Mats most valuable perform
er in 1945, when he batted zoe
to provide the impetus which nearly
lifted Washington to a pennant
Myatt is confident of comeback
He has Q battle on his hands, but
he's respected as q fighter.