OCR Text |
Show 'UmpV Prefers Yanhof 1927 ST. PETERSBURG. Fla.. Jan. 17 The 1927 New York Yankees, In the opinion of George Plpgras, wno was one or of them, were a better all-around team than the 1939 world champions. cham-pions. 7 u r t hermore, he said today he believed only two of the 1939 team could have displaced dis-placed any of the 1927 regulars. "Maybe I'm pre udlced because be-cause I played on the team." said Plpgras, now an Ptpcnu American league umpire, "but I think the 1927 Yankees were better than last year's club." Plpgras listed Joe DIMagglo and Bill Dickey as "the only players of the 1939 team I think could replace re-place players on the 1927 club." "Dickey Is the best catcher In baseball," he declared, "and Dl-Magglo's Dl-Magglo's hitting gives him an edge over Earl Combs, who played center cen-ter field for the "27 team. "I don't think the 1939 team had as much all-around pitching class as we did with Hoyt, Pennock, Dutch Reuther, Urban Shocker, Wiley Moore and myself. Moore was the best relief pitcher I ever saw and Pennock was one of the greatest southpaws." Hurts Arm la 1SS1 Plpgras' hurling career ended In 1931 when he broke the elbow of his pitching arm. Since then, he said he had enjoyed making a close study of baseball players, especially pitchers, from his "ringside seat" as an umpire. Among his observations, he enumerated enu-merated these: Bobby Feller has more "stuff" than any other pitcher pitch-er In the American league; Bobby Doe rr of the Boston Red Sox la as good. If not a better second baseman base-man than the highly regarded Joe Gordon of the Yankees; and that with a little pitching, the Red Sox might unseat the Yankees next year. Praam Oreve "Feller was better last year than the year before and should be better bet-ter this year than last," he de- dared. "He's gained a lot of control con-trol and Is nearly as fast as Grove was In his prime." |