The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 43

THE COURIER-NEWSThursday, Jun 2. 1988 0-5 BASEBALL TJ Martin awaits suspension Angels ignore skeptics, make Abbott 8th pick 0 ville pitcher Andy Benes the first player selected in the draft, and the Indians, picking second, selected shortstop Mark Lewis of Hamilton High School in Ohio. Benes was 16-3 with a 1.42 ERA and 187 strikeouts and 36 walks in 146 innings for Evansville. Lewis hit .598 with 13 HR and 63 RBI in 27 games. The Mets selected right-handed pitcher Dave Proctor, nephew of former pitcher Mike Torrez, as the 21st pick.

Proctor, who is 6-3, 195 pounds, was 8-2 with a 2.81 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 33 walks this season at Allen County Community College in Kansas. The Yankees, forced to yield their first three selections as compensation for signing free agents Jack Clark, Jose Cruz and John Cande-laria, did not pick until the fourth round 104th overall. Unlike most professional drafts, baseball releases only the first-round selections and may take up to one week to release the results of later rounds. John Valentin, Seton Hall shortstop who was a member of Team USA in 1987, was notified he was drafted by the Red Sox, though team officials refused to provide him with details. "You don't put the No.

1 pick on the line if there is any doubt," Angels spokesman Tim Mead said. By JOHN VALENTI Newsday NEW YORK Wherever he has played, Jim Abbott has drawn attention from curiosity seekers. He has also drawn skepticism from the critics who questioned whether a pitcher with one hand could be successful at the major-league level. That Abbott led Michigan to the NCAA Baseball Tournament each of the past two seasons, that he last year became the first U.S. pitcher in 25 years to defeat the national team of Cuba, that he won the Sullivan Award, presented annually to the top amateur athlete in the nation, didn't seem to matter to the skeptics.

Obviously, the California Angels saw something the skeptics didn't because yesterday they made Abbott their first-round pick eighth overall in the Amateur Draft, which concludes tomorrow at the Office of the Commissioner in Manhattan. Bob Fontaine, director of scouting for the Angels, said: "Jim is the pitcher we focused much of our attention on. He has proven he can compete on all levels of competition and win." Abbott, who was 9-3 with a 3.32 earned-run average this season, was one of 18 players taken from college teams and one of 14 pitchers selected in the opening round. As expected, the Padres made University of Evans- IF iia I Michigan pitcher Jim Abbott continues to overcome huge odds. Mets' pick to add to already strong pitching staff Associated Press photo the major league amateur draft.

It didn't matter to the young switch-hitting infielder that the Orioles lost 21 consecutive games to open this season. "I'm happy they are the team that drafted me. As far as I'm concerned, they're No. 1," said Rose, who was playing American Legion ball Wednesday when his mother, Karo-lyn, brought the news. Mrs.

Rose said she had heard of the selection through baseball acquaintances. gone to the Kentucky Derby or the Indy 500. County Community College, said he was surprised that Proctor was still available as the 21st pick. "We all thought he'd go higher, around 10th or 13th," McLean said. "I'm not sure what happened, but it allowed the Mets to get Dave." "Dave's got the world by the horns.

I think he's ready to go out and have a bright future in major league baseball," McLean said. Pete Rose II, son of Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose, has been selected by the Baltimore Orioles in By The Associated Press IOLA, Kan. Dave Proctor, a right-handed pitcher with an 8-2 re cord at Allen County Community Col- lege last season, was the first-round selection of the New York Mets yes- terday in the 1988 free-agent draft. Proctor, who had 88 strikeouts and gave up 45 hits in 72 innings as a sophomore, has signed to play at the University of Texas next season. His ERA was 2.53 in his second season in junior college ball.

By TOM VERDUCCI Newsday OAKLAND, Calif. New York Yankees Manager Billy Martin, while maintaining he does not deserve a suspension, indicated yesterday that he was expecting one. He talked not about the possibility of a suspension, but of appealing one. "IH first see about the length of a suspension," Martin said. "I want the fairness of the fact that I did not kick the umpire.

I want that real clear. If the suspension is just for kicking dirt or throwing dirt, then that's Dr. (Bobby) Brown's prerogative. "I still don't think I should be suspended. I don't deserve one." Brown, the American League president, is likely to reach a decision Thursday or Friday.

A representative for the league said yesterday that Brown "has all the facts" necessary to make a decision about the incident Brown attended the baseball owners' meeting yesterday in San Francisco. Martin faces the possibility of a fine and a suspension for kicking and throwing dirt on umpire Dale Scott Monday night. Crew chief Rich Garcia, who has refused to allow Scott to comment, said he included in his report to Brown that Martin kicked Scott while kicking dirt on him. Garcia called Martin's conduct "a serious offense." He said he would punish his 8-year-old daughter "for a long time" if she threw sand at someone. Said Martin, "What about my 18-year-old granddaughter in the stands watching her grandfather harassed, by the umpires?" Martin said he did not make contact with Scott at any time, and that Scott "lied" about that and about his call on a line drive hit to second baseman Bobby Meacham.

According to Martin, Scott first said he did not see the play, then changed his mind to say he saw the ball bounce. Martin has contended that Scott baited him into throwing dirt at him. "If anything, something should happen to the umpire for telling an untruth," Martin said. "It's a fact that they never do anything to them. They're in a wonderful situation.

Even when they do something wrong, they're right." What would sports be without argument? Get into the game. SPORTS FORUM Every Sunday in The Courier-News mmb- CUTLASS SUPREME Nothing blooming for Cincinnati in Rose return He was drafted out of Topeka High School two years ago by the Los Angeles Dodgers but chose to attend college. i "I'm pretty satisfied with the way it went," said the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Proctor. "The Mets had talked to me over the course of the year but really didn't think they'd get a chance at me. I think they're looking to me for more in the future, not going in right away." "They want to develop me, and the Mets have a tradition of good arms, and I'm hoping they can mold me into Tommy Helms, who handled the on-field chores during Rose's absence, and find themselves five games under .500.

Many observers picked them to challenge for the N.L. West title after three straight second-place finishes. "I love the mood in the clubhouse," Rose said. "I wish they could bring it out onto the field. They're not having fun on the field.

They're not winning." The past 30 days haven't been a joy ride for him, either. The punishment was baseball's most severe since commissioner Happy Chandler suspended Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher for the entire 1947 season. had told me I couldn't come to the ballpark," he said. "Maybe I could've Bring The Whole Family And Celebrate Fantastic Savings With Us! Now our lightweight gas trimmer one," Proctor said. He said his uncle, former major league pitcher Mike Torrez, will help him negotiate with the Mets.

Torrez finished his career in 1984 after two seasons with the Mets. He previously pitched for St. Louis, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles and Oakland A's. "Mike and I spent a lot of time together and he's always told me how good New York is to pitch in," Proctor said Wednesday. Val McLean, head coach at Allen "When you open the baseball record books and see 4,256 hits, they'll remember that," Rose said.

"This is just another record. I'm used to records. Me and Frank Sinatra." It seems ironic the major leagues' all-time hit leader would be benched for hitting even if it was provoked by a poke in the eye by Pallone, as Rose charged. Being able to make out the lineup cards and watch every pitch from a few hundred feet away kept Rose up to date on his struggling, injury-riddled ballclub. But he didn't like his role.

"Maybe I'd feel differently if they lighter. Regularly 18995 NOW only 15995 Model TC1000 16cc engine und METUCHEN Metuchen Power Mower 212 Main Street MIDDLESEX Middlesex Power Equip. 643 Bound Brook Road By CARRIE MUSKAT Gannett News Service 0 'II o'i CHICAGO Pete Rose was blooming once again in the Cincinnati 1 Reds dugout yesterday, but his team continued to wilt. 1 3 i Having served a 30-day suspension I and paid a $10,000 fine for shoving umpire Dave Pallone, he resumed his managerial duties against the Chica-Jrgft Cubs. -However, the view from the dugout was no different than what he has sgen in recent days as the Cubs beat the Reds 6-3, their fifth straight loss.

only time he appeared on the I field during the game was prior to the Chicago's seventh inning when he talked to home plate umpire Bruce i Froemming after inserting Dave Concepcion at shortstop. The crowd of 20,250 responded with a mixture of jeering and cheering. vThe Reds were 12-15 under coach TENNIS Continued from Page D-1 said after losing on Saturday, "I don't know if this is my last French. I love this tournament, and I wouldn't want it to end on a note like this." But the rise of such gifted teen-age players as Graf, Sabatini, Zvereva and now possibly Sanchez and Nicole Provis hasn't left Evert much light on the rail. After her Nautilus-aided comeback in the mid-1980s, rather like her former fiancee, Jimmy Connors, Evert has settled in as a worthy challenger, although not usually a serious contender for a major title unless the tournament is played on her favorite surface, clay.

It remains to be seen if Navrati-lova's early slide at Paris was an isolated incident or part of an erosion that began last year when Graf supplanted her as No. 1. Last year was strangely indecisive. Though Graf won the war, Navratilova won the most important battles, halting Graf at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open.

Having lost in the semis at the Australian Open and the fourth round in Paris, Navratilova will have to repeat that summer double just to tread water. Navratilova assessed her loss to Zvereva as "particularly disgusting," spanked herself for taking Zvereva lightly, and sternly lectured against writing an obituary to the Evert-Navratilova Era: "The era isn't over yet. The era is over when I say it's over, not when you say it's over." But reality suggests Navratilova'g words are a friend's faithful bluster. Even If she were to remain in the killer elite of women's tennis, without her idol Evert as her rival Navratilova will find the company lacking. For when Evert leaves, Navratilova's heart surely will go with her.

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