Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 61

the and the the Torre July 11, 1989 PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS Page 61 BY TED SILARY Freiling's Career Has Taken Turn for the Better the aftermath of being released, Howie Freiling has gained a new lease on his baseball life. Freiling, the former Northeast High (Class of 1984) and University of North Carolina star, is leading the Jackson (Miss.) Mets of the Double A Texas League in batting (.299) and runs batted in (38). In April, he was cut then offered a rookie league-level coaching job by the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I appreciated that, but I still wanted to play," said Freiling, a lefthanded-hitting first baseman. "The minor league instructors said to call teams I'd done well against and see if they could use me.

The Mets were one. Joe Mcllvaine president, baseball signed me, then said he'd think for a couple days whether to send me to Port St. Lucie Al or Jackson. It turned out to be Jackson. I was like, 'Hey, He gave me their Double A maximum salary, too." season, while playing for Class.

A Vero Beach, Freiling suffered a broken left wrist when hit by a pitch. A plate and five screws were inserted to help the wrist mend, then they were removed in October. has been the best year of my life, baseballwise," Freiling said. "I've learned what pro ball demands, what's involved. My concentration is better than ever.

My slumps have been short-lived. "I'm getting cautiously excited making the major leagues). But people have no idea how hard it is. You have to be an absolute stud or get an incredible break." In Jackson, Freiling and two teammates. are sharing a "really nice" three-bedroom, apartment.

Cost: $400. "Jackson's definitely a Southern town, but it's also a city," Freiling said. "It has tie-ups on the expressway. When you go downtown, you can't find parking. Sounds like home, right? The only bad thing is the ballpark.

It's old. The locker room's as big as my living room." HOLY COW, CHIP Caray Ill will open next fall on media outlets not near you. Chip Caray, 24, son of Skip (Atlanta Braves and Hawks broadcaster) and grandson of Harry (Chicago Cubs); was hired yesterday to do play-byplay for the Orlando Magic. The NBA expansion team believes that- the Carays are broadcasting's first threegeneration family: Caray had been working for a station in Greensboro, N.C. Since he had no play-by-play tapes to present Magic management, he did back-to-back games in the predraft Orlando Classic.

"This feels great," Caray said. "I never dreamed it would happen this quick, to be doing what my dad and granddad do. "I feel confident about what I can do. I had a feeling if I got the chance, I could make them want to hire me. I'll learn on the job.

The players will learn on the job. We'll all be doing that down here." A BIG CHANCE Take a chance on this one: Who threw the first pitch, at the site of tonight's All-Star Game, Anaheim Stadium? Answer: Dean Chance. It happened on April 9, 1966, when the California Angels played an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants. "Sure, I remember," Chance said. Lanier was the first batter.

I told him to get ready, that he better be swinging because the first pitch in: 1stadium) history was going to be right down the pipe. "He didn't believe me. But it was: He didn't even see it. Striker: 14 In Search of a Few Good Lefties From John Rossi, who signs in as Professor of Baseball at La Salle University: his column of June 21, Bill Contin remarked about Phillies Nick Leyva using an all lefthanded lineup that "even in the wildest manipulations of the Gene Mauch Era, I can't remember an all lefthanded lineup "That set off a memory. I seem to remember just such an all lefthand- ed lineup used by a h.

around 1962 or 1963, with Billy Klaus at shortstop against Don Drysdale or some other hard-throwing righthander. A I right or am I dreaming? "Either way, it should be worth a large Buck The Bartender T-shirt. My old one is wearing out." By now, The Professor should have his new T-shirt, which was a lot easier doing than getting to an answer. Let's go at this one step at a time: Billy Klaus played with the Phillies in 1962 (102 games) and 1963 (11, games), so let's zero in on 1962. At any point in this so-far mythical game, the outfield could have been Callison, Wes Covington and Tony Gonzalez, all southpaw swingers.

The catcher might have been another lefty, Clay Dalrymple. First baseman? Frank Torre or John Herrnstein. Put Klaus at short. If the pitcher was Dennis Bennett, that helped. So now we need a second trzemski.

"The pitch was 6 or 8 inches outside and Yaz turned around and griped a little bit." said. "Runge said, 'What's matter with these guys? They know strike my "Marichal could thread a needle, so I just moved outside never got behind home plate." HOME, SWEETPEA HOME Boxer Pernell "Sweetpea" Whit- Pernell Whitaker: faces Ramirez The 6-3 Chance, the 1964 American League Cy Young Award winner, weighed about 200 pounds as a player. Now? "You want an honest answer on my usual one? I'll tell you the truth: 277." THE RUNGE ZONE As for Joe Torre, what he remembers. most about the 1967 All-Star Game at Anaheim Stadium was the location and size of the plate. Low and outside.

And huge. Torre, then an Atlanta Brave and now a California Angels broadcaster, was the National. League's starting. catcher: The plate umpire was the AL's Ed Runge.Early, Torre said, Juan Marichal threw a called strike past Carl Yas- aker, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, yesterday invited every resident of his hometown, Norfolk, to come watch, his 20 grudge fight against Jose Luis Ramirez at that city's Scope Arena. 1 Understandably, Whitaker declined to pick up the tab.

Tickets will cost as much as $100. Whitaker stared into TV cameras at a press conference and said, "Please come out and help me defeat Jose Luis Ramirez because I can't do it alone." Ramirez (101-7, 83 knockouts), a Mexican who lives in Paris, France, won a controversial split decision over Whitaker (18-1, 12 KOs) in March 1988 in Paris. This time, Whitaker will defend his International Boxing Federation lightweight title and will seek the World Boxing Council title, now vacant. QUOTEBOOK San Diego Padres manager Jack McKeon, on the state of country: "You can't smoke a cigar on an ad airplane, but you can burn the American flag. It's getting ridiculous." Compiled from staff and wire reports: tea BUCK THE BARTENDER baseman and a third baseman.

Any help? Buck went through the all-time Phillies roster in the media guide and could not find candidates for those two positions, even for an inning. That doesn't mean they weren't in there, it's just that Buck's eyesight got blurry along about the 0's. Now, here's what you can do and we're especially throwing this out to those trivia nuts at Mac's Deli in Avalon, Tom Rymal and John McCarthy. Rymal is a friend who says he knows more trivia than Buck ever dreamed of so, Tom, Buck is com: ing at you to find us lefthandedhitting second and third basemen who were with the Phillies in 1962. Now, for all of you who decide to join the hunt, put LEFTY on your letter.

As for the guys at Mac's Deli, they can send Buck the answer with a menu tossed in, because this is one bet we're sure of winning and the ante is a sandwich from their deli. BOB'S HUNTING Bob Kenney is an officer in the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association, and he is hard at work putting together a list of officers in the association's many years of existence. He also is hoping that old programs from the Sports Writers banquets might have some useful information. What Bob is asking you Buck-ites out there is that if you have banquet programs from 1966, 1952 and any year before 1943, he would love to hear from you, by mail or by phone. His numbers are, at home, (609) 461-4073, or at the Courier-Post, where he is the sports editor, (609) 486-2524.

If you would rather drop him a line, the address is 130 Webster Riverside, N.J., 08075. Buck would appreciate it, and so will Bob. PERSONAL Buck wants to thank Anonymous. He's the gentleman who sent. us.

a letter inquiring, about a long-ago baseball game played with dice. He asked us to leave his name out, so we dubbed him Anonymous. Several of you sent in the information that we thought would help him. Unfortunately, after some correspondence, he found out that. the game no longer is in existence.

Buck then received this note: just like me, it's an endangered species. Thanks for your help. Use this for whatever." This was a check for $25, and if it's OK with the bosses here, Buck -is turning the check over to Daily News sports staffer Bill Fleischman and asking him to apply it to the scholarship fund set up at Syracuse University in- memory of his daughter, Heather, who was killed in an auto. accident. BUCK'S ADDRESS Buck The Bartender, Daily News, Box 7788, Philadelphia, Pa.

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