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Show FEWER PLAYERS FAVORED BY EBBETS Policy of Some Managers to Carry Car-ry Extra Players Not Wise. Present Conditions in Baseball . Make Such Movement Imperative if Game Is to Be Kept Alive-Cut Alive-Cut Down Limit. ( President Ebbets of the Brooklyn club favors a cutting of the player limit in the National league to 16 or 18 men. He says present conditions In baseball make such a movement imperative imper-ative if the game is to be kept alive. "Twenty years ago National league teams carried 14, 15 or 16 players and still provided the public with good sport," said Ebbets. "If I am not In error, the Brooklyns, when they won the pennant in 1900, were composed of 14 men three pitchers, two catchers, five lnflelders and three outfielders. The schedule that year called for 136 games. The practice of carrying as many as 32 players, nowadays, is absurd. ab-surd. There are too many pitchers, extra fielders and pinch hitters. Some teams are able to put In left-handed hitters hit-ters against right-handed pitchers and the reverse whenever they feel like It. "Clubs that are keeping six infield-ers infield-ers or outfielders, together with eight or nine pitchers, are not willing to aid clubs that are. short of material. But if the player limit is reduced to 16 or 18 men, at least 30 capable players will be available. I do not mean that the weak clubs should get players for nothing. They should be made to pay a fair price. But under present conditions, condi-tions, Which have become alarming because be-cause of the many players already taken In the selective draft, the National Na-tional league must act quickly. Cut down the player limit and make the pennant race more evenly balanced. That is a common-sense move, and I believe that other club owners in our league will agree with me." |