Daily News from New York, New York • 80

DAILY NEWSNYDailyNews.com A's Williams dies at 82 80 Friday, July 8, 2011 Manager was winner all the way Sox took the St. Louis Cardinals to seven games in the World Series but fell short of the world championship. His Oakland A's teams won three straight pennants, from 1971-73 and won the World Series in 1972 and 1973. His San Diego Padres team in 1984 won the NL pennant before falling to the Detroit Tigers. His San Diego.

"The city and the Padres owe him a lot. I think a lot of fans bought right into it like the players did, like in '82, when he first took over, then '84 when we went to the World Series. I think the fans realized that his style of play, the way he wanted us to play, could be successful if we bought in, and we did. He and Lou Piniella are the only managers to lead four dif- really knew what he was doing. Williams pleaded guilty to indecent exposure charges in Fort Myers, in 2000.

"What happened to me down in Fort Myers when I was arrested evidently hurt me quite a bit," he told the New York Times. "What came out on that in the papers was not true. I was not masturbating on the balcony. I'm going to issue a statement about it so the explanation goes across the country." In Oakland under owner Charles O. Fin-ley, Williams managed Reggie Jackson, Bert Campaneris, Joe Rudi and Sal Bando with pitchers Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers and Ken Holtzman.

"When you think of the '7 0s, you think of the Dick Williams and A's doing their thing," Blue said to the San Francisco Chronicle. "He was the one who taught us winning baseball." With The Associated Press BYROGER RUBIN DAILYNEWS SPORTS WRITER DICK WILLIAMS, the Hall of Fame manager who piloted the Boston Red Sox to their 1967 "Impossible Dream" pennant and the 1972 and 1973 Oakland A's to consecutive World Series titles, died yesterday athishomein Las Vegas. Hewas82. Long struggling with health issues, Williams is reported to have died from an aortic aneurysm. The Yankees last night acknowledged him with a moment of silence as his likeness filledthe scoreboard.

A 13-year big leaguer, Williams found his place as manager. The Red Sox were a ninth-place team in 1966, and Williams led them to the pennant in 1967. With Williams leading from the dugout and with Carl Yastrzemski excelling on the field, the Red teams won at least 90 games in nick Williams seven seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in ferentteams to 90-win seasons. "Well, he wasn't like they are today.

He could raise some hell," said baseball lifer Don Zimmer, who played with Williams in 2008 by the veterans committee. "I owe Dick a lot," said Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, who played for Williams in Brooklyninthe 1950s. "Greatmanager. He Braves put broom to rocky Colorado ATLANTA The Braves' youngest stars are some of the biggest reasons Atlanta is putting pressure on Philadelphia in the NL East. Rookie Craig Kimbrel, only 23, took the major league lead with his 27th save, and two 21-year-old sluggers, Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward, hit home fun." Colorado, which has lost five straight, left with more injury woes.

Already playing without regulars Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, the Rockies saw outfielder Charlie Blackmon break a bone in his left foot while running the bases in the third inning. Blackmon will return to Colorado, where doctors will determine if surgery is necessary. runs as Atlantabeat Colorado, 6-3, yesterdayto complete its first four-game sweep ofthe Rockies in 18 years. Freeman hit four homers and drove in seven runs in the series. His third-inning homer was the highlight of a five-run inning that knocked Juan Nicasio (3-2) out of the game.

Nicasio gave up six straight hits in the inning. "Pitching has kept us in it all year long," Freeman said. "Finally we gave the pitchers some breathing room in this series." Tim Hudson (8-6) pitched 1 innings, giving up five hits and three runs, to win his third straight decision. Heyward and Freeman each had three hits for Atlanta, which scored four or more runs in every game of its 6-1 home stand. The Braves outscored the Rockies 15-4 in the final two games ofthe series.

MARLINS 5, ASTROS 0: Mike Stanton Freeman, the rookie first baseman, is hitting .279 with 13 homers and 42 RBI. One of his biggest rivals in the race for NL Rookie ofthe Year is Kimbrel, who passed Boston's Jonathan Papelbon for the most saves by a rookie before the All-Star break since 1969. Papelbon had 26 saves before the break in 2006. The Braves have won nine of 10 and 14 of 17 as they head into aseries with NL East-leading Philadelphia. "It's going to be a good series, no question about that," said Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez.

"It's going to be Astros' Jason Michaels fails to make diving grab on ball hit by Marlins' Emilio Bonifacio in second inning. Photo by AP homered and Brad Hand allowed two hits over seven innings for his first victory in the major leagues as host Florida beat Houston. Logan Morrison drove in two runs and Emilio Bonifacio had three hits for the Marlins. Hand (1-3), a 21-year-old rookie lefthander, had his longest outing and held the Astros without a hit until one out in the fifth when Clint Barmes singled to center. Hand lowered his ERA to 2.

7 7 in five starts. FAN FALLS CHASING TOSSED BALL: A man fell out ofthe stands in Arlington, Tex. reaching for a baseball thatthe Rangers' Josh Hamilton had tossed his way during Texas' game last night. He dropped about 20 feet to the ground. The fan landed out of sight from the field, behind the 14-foot-high wall that has a video board that shows replays and scores from other games.

The Rangers said the fan was taken to a Fort Worth hospital after getting medical attention from ballpark staff. They did not identify the man or release details on his condition. PEOPLE PICK VICTORINO, KONERKO: Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino and White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko have been elected to the All-Star team by online fan voting. Victorino also was elected in baseball's "final vote" in 2009, when he got a record 15.9 million votes. This year, he received 9.2 million and beat out Andre Ethier of the Dodgers, Todd Helton ofthe Rockies, Mike Morse ofthe Nationals and Ian Kennedy ofthe Diamondbacks.

Konerko beat Detroit's Victor Martinez, Kansas City's Alex Gordon, Baltimore's Adam Jones and Tampa Bay's Ben Zobrist, receiving 8.4 million votes. AP NEW YORK. NEW JERSEY, LONG ISLAND WWil-Kfcfc STATEN ISLAND OFF TOWING! with this coupon.