The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 29

tir THE PALM BEACH POST WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 1991 5C- Expos top Charlotte in 10; St. Lucie wins NOTEBOOK Florida State League make a hard slide and keep us out of a double play. I saw the catcher jump up, and I had a feeling I could get under him. I then caught a glimpse of the ball on the ground. It was a good feeling.

Real good." WPB 4, Charlotte 3 St. Lucie 2, Sarasota 1 PORT ST. LUCIE Left-; hander Gregg Langbehn held Sara-! sota to three hits over 8 innings! to lead the Mets (10-5) over the! White Sox (7-10). St. Lucie got two of its four hits in the fifth inning when right field-! er James Morrisette and first base-! man James Harris hit solo home; runs.

St. Lucie 2, Sarasota 1 Guerrero Bichette CHARLOTTE WEST PALM BEACH It I III ll III Morrow cf 5 0 11 Mayo If 3 0 10 Hulse dh 4 0 10 Barry rf 4 0 0 0 Marshall lb 4 0 I 0 McDonald lb 5 2 11 Newkirk prlb 0 I 0 0 Lake 4 0 0 0 Oliva 3b 4 13 1 Greene 3b 4 0 10 Greer rf 4 0 I 0 Woods dh 4 13 0 Shave ss 4 0 2 1 Krause 2b 3 0 0 0 Powell If 4 0 0 0 Cramer dh 0 0 0 1 Niethammer 4 110 Davison ss 4 0 0 0 Gamer 2b 2 0 I 0 Hirsch 3 0 10 Rickerpr 0 0 0 0 Laker 1110 Totals 35 311 3 Totals 35 4 2 Charlotte Oil 000 001 0 3 WPB OOP 200 001 1 4 Cardinals put iGuerrero on disabled list ST. LUCIE M. ll bl had broke in to fool me, as if it was a bunt. He never got back to third base, and the shortstop who had covered third, was on his way back to his position.

They both had their backs turned. I guess I caught them by surprise." As was most of the 1,146 fans that remained. Including Expos manager Felipe Alou. "That was just smart, heads-up baserunning," Alou said. "Right away, he contributed.

He did well in Double A (batting .286 with one homer). He's got a great attitude and he looks so much better." He looked even better covered in dirt 90 feet later. After Laker's steal, the Rangers intentionally walked Jeff Barry to load the bases. Then, Charlotte went to five infielders. Chad McDonald followed with a hard-hit ground ball to Shave at shortstop.

The throw home was slightly high, and Laker upended the catcher to knock the ball loose and give the Expos the win. "I knew that ball was hit hard and my chances at home were not good," Laker said. "I just wanted to By SCOTT TOLLEY Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH Tim Laker woke up Tuesday a Class AA catcher. He went to bed Tuesday night a Class A hero. Laker was sent down Tuesday from Class AA Harrisburg, and didn't arrive at Municipal Stadium until 7:30 p.m.

Three hours later, Laker scored on a bases-loaded ground ball in the bottom of the 10th inning, jarring the ball loose from the catcher to give the West Palm Beach Expos a 4-3 win over the Charlotte Rangers in a Florida State League game. "I had no idea I was going to play," Laker said. "I got in town at 6:45 and didn't get to the field until 7:30. I just came in the dugout to say 'Hi' to the guys. And they said, 'Put a uniform I was psyched.

I was pumped." No more than the Expos (9-6). West Palm Beach had to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the fourth inning, weather a 30-minute lightningrain delay in the fifth, and come back from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth. 0 0, 0 0 Diaz 2b Henderson ss Pride cf Mornsette rf Butter field 3b Hoffner dh J. Harris lb Cameron If Carroll SARASOTA Hams cf Castleberry 2b D.Lemmons 2b Tatanan ph Lukachyk ph Cepicky lb Bradisn dh Hairston ph Wolak It Coleman 3b Manning Tejada ss Totals But Laker wasn't part of any of that. He put a whole night into one inning.

Inserted in the top of the 10th, Laker led off the bottom of the inning with a hard-hit ground ball to shortstop that bounced over Jon Shave's shoulder for a single. Eric Bickhardt (4-2), who had entered the game for Charlotte (9-8) with two outs in the ninth, balked to move Laker to second. Then came the pivotal play in the game. After the Rangers intentionally walked Todd Mayo, Bickhardt tried to pick off Laker at second. On the pickoff attempt, third baseman Jose Oliva charged home as if it was a bunt.

Before he got back, Laker was on third. "They had a pickoff play on and I saw it coming all the time," Laker said. "When I get back to second, I look up and see the third baseman None out when winning run scored. Oliva. Powell, Gamer.

McDonald. DP Charlotte 1, West Palm Beach 1 LOB Charlotte 3, West Palm Beach 8. 2B Morrow, Woods, Oliva. SB Hulse, Laker. SF Cramer.

IP ER BB SO 28 2 4 000 000 001 1, OOP 020 OQ 2, Sarasota St. Lucie Stevens. LOB Sarasota 5, St. Lucie 3. 2B-J Bradish.

HR Morrisette (4). Harns (4). SB Wolatf (13). SF Cepicky. IP ER BB SOT Charlotte Buckley Maidonado Quero Bickhardt 1,4 2 WPB Thoden Kilgo Tuss Polasek Davis W.l-O 8 Vi Vi 3 4 1 Sarasota Stevens L.4-7 8 4 2 2 1 5J 1115 i St.

Lucie Langbehn W.5-9 VasquezS.14 Vt 2:05. A 2.394. Bickhardt pitched to four batters In the 10th. WP Polasek. Balk Bickhardt.

2:58. A 1,146. Palm Beach Post Wire Services ST. LOUIS The St. Louis Cardinals put first baseman Pedro Guerrero on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.

He suffered a hairline fracture in his right leg when he collided with catcher Tom Pagnozzi Sunday. Guerrero collided with Pagnozzi while catching a foul ball in the ninth inning of the 8-7 Cardinals' 12-inning victory over the Chicago Cubs. He remained in the game and drove in the tying runs in both the ninth and the 12th inning and scored the winning run. Initially, X-rays were negative, but team physician Stan London said a more detailed examination Monday indicated a fracture of the large bone inches below the knee. London said the average recovery time for such a fracture is four to six weeks.

NATIONAL LEAGUE ATLANTA BRAVES Tom Glavlne recalls his disappointment at hearing from Rogie Vachon, general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, only once after being selected during the fourth round of the 1984 NHL draft. Glavine was a high school hockey and baseball star in Low- aV Attendance, participation raise concerns for officials elLMass. "I could be playing on a wing with Wayne Gretzky right now," he said. "No, the more I think about it, Gretzky would be my wing." CHICAGO CUBS Injured starter Danny Jackson has walked 22 batters and struck out only 10. CINCINNATI REDS When lefthander Norm Charlton comes off the disabled list, he will return to Cincinnati Reds bullpen rather than the starting pi pq r2 -3.

7J saMr It rotation. Manager Lou Pinlella said the 1984 FILE PHOTO move is aimed at reducing wear and tear -on Charlton's ailing pitching shoulder, i The Reds, with starters Jose Rijo and Scott Scudder also on the disabled list, anticipate that Charlton could come off the list in two more weeks. HOUSTON ASTROS Except for power numbers and strikeouts, Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell are having remarkably similar years: Biggio is hitting .315, with a .378 on-base percentage, has 86 hits in 274 at-bats, has scored 39 runs and has 1 1 doubles. Bagwell is at .299, with a .387 on-base percentage, has 82 hits in 273 AB, 38 runs and 14 doubles. Bagwell has eight home runs and 36 RBI to Biggio's 3-19, but he's also struck out 7 1 times to Biggio's 34.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS Juan Samuel says he and leadoff hitter Brett Butler have begun a game within a game. Without input from coaches they steal, bunt and hit-and-run. "He is on 1 base all the time," said Samuel, who bats second. "We have our own signs. We know each other real well.

We know ft's our job to get things going." MONTREAL EXPOS Are 7-2 in 1 extra-inning games. NEW YORK METS Dwight Goo- South African Zola Budd, whose last name is now Pieterse, (front left) competed for Britain in the 1984 Olympics. Still only 25, Pie-terse has pronounced herself fit for the '92 Olympics. Not all S. Africans happy with ruling Aaron Baylor Brown What They're Saying Commissioner Fay Vincent: 'There is still a presumption that baseball is a white man's game, but I believe blacks still follow it.

We've got to translate that Into Atlanta Braves Executive Hank Aaron: 'If not for the support of black fans in the majors, people like me, a Jackie Robinson, a Larry Doby, would have fallen on our faces. Most black people now look at baseball as a white man's sport. That's no surprise to Baltimore Orioles first baseman Randy Milligan: 'If you go and look at the (inner) cities, you don't see the kids playing baseball. Out on the streets, the kids are playing basketball. They want to be football or basketball stars, not baseball players.

Baseball has become really a suburban Milwaukee Brewers coach Don Baylor: 'Most teams aren't doing much to attract black fans. They say they are, but I don't see much proof of One club official, who asked to remain anonymous, on a 1990 report on attendance done for Major League Baseball: Several teams admitted they were 'concerned that if they got more minorities to come to the games, they'd have fewer white people. I read it to mean that some of these teams are saying, 'We're already breaking attendance records, why mess with That's very AL President Bobby Brown: 'In a lot of cities there is just no space available to play baseball. And most schools put their money into basketball and football. If you're decent in one of those sports, it's difficult to play baseball Baltimore Orioles Player Personnel Director Doug Melvin: 'In a lot of (inner) cities, the competition is not very good.

And there is definitely a fear of going into some of those places because of the drug scene. I've heard guys say, 'Geez, I just hate to go into that Washington consultant Clifford Alexander: 'Baseball has been remiss in not marketing effectively to various black and Latino communities. I went with my late father and my son to a game at Yankee Stadium a couple of years ago and I did not see a black face in the place where I was sitting, and yet there were hundreds of thousands of blacks and Latinos within screaming distance of that den's strikeouts-to-walks ratio is excel BLACKS AND BASEBALLfrom 1C Commissioner Fay Vincent says "is of great concern to us. "The black and Hispanic population of this country is growing so much, no business can afford not to pay attention," Vincent said. "There is still a presumption that baseball is a white man's game, but I believe blacks still follow it.

We've got to translate that into attendance." At the All-Star Game Tuesday night in Toronto, seven of the 16 scheduled starters (excluding pitchers) were black. Last year, Vincent commissioned the Anderson School of Management at UCLA to report on all 26 teams' efforts to attract minorities to the ballpark. That study, primarily researched by graduate students, has not been released and only recently has been circulated among major league executives. A major league spokesman said the report was never intended to be made public. One club official who asked to remain anonymous and has seen the report said several teams admitted they were "concerned that if they got more minorities to come to the games, they'd have fewer white people.

I read it to mean that some of these teams are saying, 'We're already breaking attendance records, why mess with That's very disturbing." "I have not seen the report, but I have heard some teams told them they were not interested in the black market," said Hank Aaron, who started his career in the Negro leagues, became baseball's all-time home-run leader and is now a vice president of the Atlanta Braves and an outspoken critic of the sport's minority-hiring practices. "If not for the support of black fans in the majors, people like me, a Jackie Robinson, a Larry Doby, would have fallen on our faces," Aaron said. "Unfortunately, most black people now look at baseball as a white man's sport. That's no surprise to me. But we're losing black Americans on the field and off the field." Black participation in baseball has dwindled over the years, particularly in cities where basketball and football have become the sports of choice.

Said Orioles first baseman Randy Milligan: "If you go and look at the cities, you don't see the kids playing baseball. Out on the streets, the kids are playing basketball. They want to be football or basketball stars, not baseball players. Baseball has become really a suburban game. "You have to look at who are the role models for the young black kids who want to be athletes.

It's Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, not Eric Davis or Darryl Strawberry or Kevin Mitchell." Interest waning in big-city schools In Washington's predominantly black public high schools, for example, it's becoming more difficult every year to field baseball teams. This season, all 13 District of Columbia high schools started with teams, but two had to fold because they couldn't find enough players. At a third, the football coach said he threatened his players with extra wind sprints and longer practices in the fall if they didn't come out for his baseball team. With so many city governments in debt, often the first budget cuts are funds to build new parks and maintain baseball fields and equipment. "In a lot of cities there is just no space available to play baseball," American League President Bobby Brown said.

"And most schools put their money into basketball and football. If you're decent in one of those sports, it's difficult to play baseball too. They've lengthened their seasons so much, and the training period is now almost year-round." Because far more college scholarships are available for football and basketball, black athletes gravitate to those sports. Many Division I schools do not even offer full baseball scholarships. Orioles pitcher Ben McDonald received only partial aid when he played for Louisiana State.

Because inner-city high-school baseball programs have deteriorated over the years, college coaches already on tight budgets rarely recruit there. lent at 101-32, but he's given up 130 hits 1 1 home runs in 127 innings pitched. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES May call up third baseman Dave Holllns from Class AAA Scranton-Wilkes-Barre club, so that manager Jim Fregosl can move Charlie Hayes from third to shortstop in place of Dickie Thon. Hayes played the final four innings Sunday at short against the Mets. Hayes handled three chances cleanly.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES Are 18-9 against left-handers and 30-22 against right-handers. SAN DIEGO PADRES Tony Gwynn leads the league in total bases with 161. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS Will Clark rejected a request from the commissioner's staff to participate in Monday's Home Run Derby at Toronto. "I've got my reasons," Clark said. "Don't need to explain them to anybody." AMERICAN LEAGUE "Now there is a multiracial group that is committed to provide equal access end opportunity to athletes of all races.

Today's decision will have a great impact on South African sports and life." The possibility of South Africa competing in the Winter Games in Albertville, France, has not been ruled out. But Mbaye, who also heads the IOC's Apartheid and Olympism Commission, and other officials said the chances were remote because those Games are only seven months away. However, the Apartheid and Olympism Commission recommended that the decision should be reviewed in the event that South Africa goes back on its reform policies. Sam Ramsamy, president of the South African National Olympic Committee, said his main priority is to ensure unity in South African sports rather than prepare for the 1992 Games. "We will consult with the IOC, with our members in South Africa and we will take a position at the appropriate moment in consultation with the African national Olympic committees.

"Barcelona is not our objective right now. Our immediate objective is unity and non-racialism." Tuesday's historic decision marks a breakthrough in South Africa's efforts for international respectability after decades of boycotts and sanctions in both sports and politics. "This is the culmination of a 20-year process to ensure fairness in sports," said Andrew Young, the former U.N. ambassador who is a member of the Apartheid and Olympism Commission. OLYMPICSfrom 1C of the council.

He said Tuesday night that the reasons remained for South Africa's expulsion from the IOC the denial of political rights. "It is extremely sad people are forgetting," he said, adding that the South African Council of Sport would meet later this month to decide what steps to take. South Africa was expelled from the IOC in 1970 because of its policy apartheid, or racial segregation, and was shunned by most of the rest of the sporting world since then. But South Africa fulfilled the IOC's main condition for reinstatement in June when parliament repealed the last legal pillars of apartheid. The South Africans have also largely complied with the IOC's demand to unite the country's racially separate sports federations into single non-racial entities.

The other three IOC conditions for recognition were respect of the Olympic Charter, establishment of relations between South African national federations and the international federations, and normalization of ties with sports bodies in Africa. South Africa last competed in the Olympics in 1960, when it fielded an all-white team for the Rome Games. The IOC will send out invitations for the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona on July 25, and South Africa is virtually assured of being on the list. "There is no doubt" that South Africa will be invited to compete in Barcelona, IOC Vice President Keba Myabe said. Other than at historically black colleges, there are no blacks coaching college baseball teams.

At this! year's College World Series in Omaha, there was! a total of 13 black players on the eight teams no school with more than two. Some major league scouts simply will not work ir the inner city. "In a lot of cities, the competition is not' very good," said Doug Melvin, Orioles player person-! nel director. "They don't play baseball like they used; to, and you're talking about kids who are real raw athletes. And there is definitely a fear of going! into some of those places because of the drug scene I've heard guys say, 'Geez, I just hate to go into that; Growth evident except in club offices In 1987, Major League Baseball hired Alexander Associates, a Washington consulting firm headed by! former Secretary of the Army Clifford Alexander, to; implement and monitor the equal-opportunity efforts of each of the 26 teams.

At that time, minorities comprised about 2 percent! of the teams' front-office staff. By the start of the 1991; season, that had increased to 15 percent, and Major League Baseball's central-office staff had 21 percent! minority employment, including National League! President Bill White. "We have come a long way and we have a long way to go," Alexander said. "It's a disappointment to me! that at the general-manager and farm-director there are no minorities employed by the clubs. There has not been any blatant resistance.

When you1 have meetings and attend sessions with teams and see nothing has changed, that is resistance, and has happened. I won't say where, but we're starting toj get through to them how important this is." BALTIMORE ORIOLES Cal Ripken Jr. was the only Oriole playing in the All-Star Game, but the Astros' Pete Har-nisch, the Dodgers' Mike Morgan and Eddie Murray and the Expos' Dennis Martinez, all former Orioles, also were there. BOSTON RED SOX Have played the fewest artificial-turf games 1 1 in the league, winning six. CALIFORNIA ANGELS Are 1 0-2 on artificial turf.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX Are 20-10 in one-run games and 10-4 in extra "Innings. CLEVELAND INDIANS Have lost 10 straight road games. They're 1-12 on "artificial turf. DETROIT TIGERS Skeeter Barnes has the AL's longest current streak at 10 games. KANSAS CITY ROYALS Free 1 agent Kirk Gibson is hitting .235 and has '-missed 12 games with a rib cage injury.

Mike Boddicker, also a free agent, is 7-7 tith a 3.64 ERA. MILWAUKEE BREWERS Jupiter's 'Dante Bichette leads the team in stolen bases with 10. MINNESOTA TWINS Allan Anderson, who was 16-9 with a 2.45 ERA in 1988 and 17-10, 3.80 in 1989, is continuing to struggle as he did last year, -rvhen he dropped to 7-18, 4.53. He "heads into the second half at 4-7, 4.50, having allowed 109 hits 96 innings including 17 home runs, which ties him n.far the major league lead. Soviet wins again at Tour de France; LeMond 2nd Tour de France Results NEW YORK YANKEES Pascual 'perez is likely to return as early as Monday in Seattle.

He has felt no pain in the strained muscle behind his pitching Mike Witt could be ready by later next week. Tim Leary has lost his in the rotation probably to Perez. The Yankees play their next 10 games against AL West teams, against they are 1 5-27 overall and just 4-'-16 away from Yankee Stadium. VT" OAKLAND ATHLETICS Pitcher -Dave Stewart has allowed 68 runs 67 of them earned SEATTLE MARINERS Signed 1 draft pick Shawn Estes and assigned the 18-year-old left-hander to the rookie league team in Bellingham. TEXAS RANGERS Have five play Kelly moved to 14 seconds behind Sorensen, with Abdoujaparov moving up two places to fifth, 23 seconds behind.

Kelly was second to Abdoujaparov in Sunday's stage and also has won bonus seconds in intermediate sprints. Bonus seconds are awarded to placers in intermediate sprints along the way, as well as the top three in the stage finish. Today's ride shortens to 92 miles as the cyclists move close to the Belgian border to Valenciennes. "Things will change, because we will go much faster since it is a shorter Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle of France. Florida pair help set national senior records TOOELE, Utah Florida's; John Lieswyn and Jeanne Golay led men's and women's foursomes! to national team time trial records) on the final day of the U.S.

Senior! National Cycling Championships. Lieswyn of Gainesville teamed' with three others to complete 100-kilometer (62 mile) desert! course in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 49.18 seconds. They broke the pre-! vious mark of 2:00:28.33 set! Sept. 24, 1988 in Moriarty, N.M. Golay of Hollywood paced her! quartet to a 50-kilometer (31-mile)! winning time of 1:00:05.08.

The vious record was 1:09:37.72. man Jean-Paul) Van Poppel." The riders set a leisurely pace from the mustard country of Dijon to champagne territory before the final climb, where two of LeMond's top rivals, Italian Gianni Bugno and 1988 winner Pedro Delgado of Spain, attempted attacks. However, LeMond, staying near the head of the pack to keep an eye on who goes ahead, accelerated. "It was not a quiet day for me," LeMond said. "I suffered a bit in the final kilometer of the first climb when Bugno attacked.

But it's fun." The overall standings tightened as Kelly and Abdoujaparov gained bonus seconds. Erik Breukink of the Netherlands was third, two seconds behind LeMond. The Associated Press REIMS, France Soviet sprint specialist Djamolidine Abdouja-parov won his second Tour de France stage in three days Tuesday, capturing this year's longest leg with another late burst of speed. Rolf Sorensen of Denmark held the overall lead, with three-time winner Greg LeMond of the United States 10 seconds behind. The fourth stage of the 23-day event covered 178 miles, mostly over flat terrain from Dijon to Reims.

Abdoujaparov beat Ireland's Sean Kelly and Germany Olaf Lud-wig, who came in second and third. "I think I'm the best sprinter at the moment," Abdoujaparov said. TUESDAY'S FOURTH-STAGE RESULTS A 177.32 mile leg from Dijon to Relmi, with rider, country, team, leader's time: I. Djamolidine Abdoujaparov. Soviet Union, 7 hours, 49 minutes, 14 seconds; 2.

Olaf Ludwig, Germany; 3. Sean Kelly, Ireland; 4. Jan Shur, Ger-many; 5. Uwe Raab; 6. Johan Museeuw.

Belgium; 7. Phil Anderson, Australia; 8. Laurent Jalabert, France; 9. Andreas Kappes. Germany; 10.

Remig Stumpf. Germany. Overall standings After four stages I. Rolf Sorensen. Denmark, 16 hours, 21 minutes, 21 seconds; 2.

Greg LeMond, Wayzata, 10 seconds behind; 3. Enk Breukmk, Netherlands, :12 behind; 4. Sean Kelly. Ireland. 14 behind; 5.

Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Soviet Union. behind; 6. Rudy Dhaenens, Belgium, :33 behind; 7. Bruno Cornillet, France, :50 behind; 8. Raul Alcala, Mexico, 1:02 behind; 9.

Michel Vermote. Belgium, 1:12 behind; 10. Rolf Jaer-rnann, Switzerland 1:18 behind. ers hitting over .300: catcher Ivan Rodrl- first baseman Rafael second baseman Julio Franco (.318) and outfielders Ruben Sierra (.325) and Juan Gonzalez TORONTO BLUE JAYS Go into the second half of the season leading the AL in ERA at 3.20. They also lead the majors in shutouts (10) and saves (32).

Toronto also is 16-7 in one-run games. "I managed to win twice in front of others such as Kelly and (Dutch.