The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 11

CThc (Charlotte (Observer Tuesday July 14 1992 SECTION San Diego familiar for many all-stars Associated Press SAN DIEGO Tony Gwynn sauntered into the National League clubhouse and gazed upon a familiar sight "They clean my locker" Gwynn said in surprise Monday motioning toward the cubicle that was a jumble of shoes and bats Gwynn the only San Diego Padres player at home for the 63rd All-Star Game tonight (TV coverage begins at 8 pm CBS WBTV channel 3 in Charlotte) ing all of June with a broken finger "You can look at it that weird that five Padres made the all-star team and only in third place" said Gwynn who will make his eighth all-star appearance "Or you can look at it that three of us were voted in and two made the club having good years and they deserve to be there" McGriff and Santiago were also voted into the starting lineup Sheffield and Fernandez were named recent years They are outfielder Bip Roberts of Cincinnati first baseman John Kruk of Philadelphia Carlos Baerga of Cleveland outfielder Joe Carter and second baseman Roberto Alomar of Toronto and brother Sandy Alomar Jr of Cleveland Ozzie Smith also began his career in San Diego before being traded to St Louis in 1982 McGriff and Fernandez came to Please see Starspage 5B as reserves Fernandez Gwynn Sheffield and McGriff are the top four in San lineup average took a recent dip to 297 the rest are hitting well above 300 Tom Glavine (13-3) of the Atlanta Braves will be the starting pitcher for the National League for the second straight year Kevin Brown (14-4) of the Texas Rangers will start for the AL all-stars The game also features six players the Padres traded away in More coverage A guide4B Rosters statistics4B Notebook4B He and his fellow "Four Tops" Fred McGriff Gary Sheffield and Tony Fernandez will add an extra performance to their regular tour be joined by teammate Benito Santiago voted the starting NL catcher despite miss jgi vV I Vf ii the hero AA stars finish rally By STAN OLSON Staff Writer FORT MILL SC Someday many of them may be playing in the Major League All-Star Game but not yet Monday night the best players in Class AA baseball were at Knights Castle playing in the second annual Double-A All-Star Game And when it was done after almost three hours and a bushel of player substitutions the American minor-leaguers defeated the prospects 4-3 But Charlotte Knights catcher Matt Walbeck did his darnedest to make the outcome different With the game on the line with two outs one run in and a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth Walbeck came to the plate as the potential winning run picture was he said through a perspiration-soaked grin think home run was in Including He looked for a pitch he could pull and got it ripping a single to right field Walbeck stood on first with his heart thudding and the crowd roaring the rally still alive "Grady Little (the NL manager) told me before the inning that I might get a chance to win Walbeck said "When it happened he looked at me and said it But it to be for the National League Mike Lieberthal popped to second to end it It hardly put a damper on day though "I feel really good getting a hit like that at home was the capper" he said "Now maybe I can get some sleep I was too wound up to sleep last night" Walbeck who was one for three earned some attention during his first at-bat as well Morganna the so-called Bandit" bounded onto the field and laid a big smooch on him as he stood in the box leading off the sixth was a little bit of he said "I guess all eyes were on me It was a bit strange really looking out at the Knights Castle scoreboard above center field and seeing and where you normally see or above Charlotte on the electronic linescore And it got stranger still since the game pitted Southern Leaguers against Southern Leaguers and so Please see Class AApage 5B Baseball fans collapse under weight of vote Fay Vincent seems like a tough baseball commissioner He stood up to the Chicago Cubs who are still whining about being transferred to the National League West and he stood up to George Steinbrenner whom he caught crawling reptile-like back to the New York Yankees If Vincent is really tough stand up to the fans who elected Wade Boggs the American League starting third baseman in All-Star Game Vincent suspend the fans In fact he should encourage them to continue to watch Major League Baseball But he should make them pay attention The all-star selection process is a joke Announcers at major league ballparks remind fans to vote for players from the home team Then ushers walk down the steps with piles of ballots and hand between 1 0 and 1 00 to the fan at the end of each aisle Sometimes the fan takes one ballot and passes the rest to the fan next to him Sometimes he does not Sometimes he punches the holes in all 10 or 100 ballots himself Boston fans did not elect Boggs though Fenway Park is not that big Boggs was elected to a starting berth in the All-Star Game for the same reason John Wayne received an Academy Award for his legendary performance in "True called a lifetime achievement award Going into the season Boggs had a lifetime average of 345 an achievement This season hitting 263 not At third base should be Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners or Robin Ventura of the Chicago White Sox give Martinez the edge Dean Palmer of the Texas Rangers and Kevin Seitzer of the Milwaukee Brewers also have had seasons as good or better than Boggs Boggs is not the only mistake the voters made merely the most famous Fans voted Sandy Alomar of the Cleveland Indians who is hitting a harmless 241 the American League catcher and Benito Santiago who is fine when healthy but is healthy only on special occasions the starting catcher in the National League Why? Because Alomar and Santiago are somewhat famous and most catchers Because a few years ago when both played in the San Diego system they were deemed great up-and-coming and got a lot of publicity Because being well-known is sometimes enough the same advantage an incumbent enjoys in politics A guy is kind of famous and since he be kind of famous unless there was a good reason people vote for him So fans ignore statistics common sense and the left and right sides of their brains and vote for Alomar and Santiago even though Mickey Tettleton of the Detroit Tigers and Darren Daul-ton of the Philadelphia Phillies are having sensational seasons This is a free country Fans can vote for anybody they want But if Fay Vincent I track each and every voter down And the ones who voted more than once for Alomar or Santiago I ban from baseball No more ball games no more box scores no more Tim McCarver SportsCenter and Baseball Tonight These fans are beyond rehabilitation In the past few years it has become popular for fans to complain about their lack of power They have even formed organiza tions to get up stand up for their rights Their contention is that without them professional sports would not exist So give them power Major League Baseball did And the fans blew it All-Star Game is not a joke Except for the World Series and spring exhibitions the only time all year that teams from the two leagues go head-to-head I love seeing the American Roger Clemens pitch against the best hitters in the National League 1 love seeing the National Tom Glavine pitch against the best hitters in the American League With Boggs Alomar and Santiago in the starting lineups I get to Neither will you MARK SLUDERStaff All-star swing: Marcos Armas a first baseman for the the Class AA all-star game Monday at Knights Castle in Huntsville Stars of the Southern League connects for a Fort Mill SC The American League the visiting team second-inning home run for the American League team in won 4-3 Wharton sharing joys of Olympics Wise decisions could lead to shot at Hornets Observer News Services PHILADELPHIA In 1988 after he made the US Olympic swimming team David Wharton was immediately whisked off to a training camp and then to the Games in Seoul South Korea There were no breaks to savor qualifying for the team no trips home to suburban Warminster Pa to visit with longtime friends and fans no time even to see his family Four years later Wharton is an Olympian again but this time thanks to an adjusted schedule that separated the US trials and the Games by 4 months he has been able to come home and share the fun nice to actually get to enjoy being an he said recently after a training session at John estate in Newtown Square Pa Before practice Wharton 23 had spent about two hours at the offices of Eagle-106 radio drawing the name of a lottery contestant who will travel free to Barcelona Spain and then rapping with the disc jockeys on air "I thought that was great because I listen to them all the time on my way to practice when doing land exercises" Wharton said Apparently he missed the point of the radio gig: that he a two-time Olympian a 1988 silver medalist a former world-record holder was the celebrity This would not surprise anyone who has trained with raced against or simply talked to Wharton Of the 40 Olympic swimmers who convened last Thursday in Tampa he may have been the most unassuming Of the four Olympians who have trained together under Dick Shoulberg since last year "he is the says David Berkoff a backstroker who won two medals in 1988 "and when swimming fast he gets even quieter just no In Barcelona where the swimmers will compete July 26-31 Wharton is entered in the 400 individual medley and the 200 butterfly He qualified second in both events at the US trials in March behind US record holder Eric Namesnik in the medley and Please see Whartonpage 6B By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer Most of the players suiting up tonight for the Teal-White scrimmage at Winthrop Coliseum will be nowhere near Charlotte when the Hornets open training camp in October Still fans with an eye to next season can get something out of the game at 7:30 With the help of Hornets director of player personnel Dave Tward-zik a guide to what to watch at the scrimmage Tom recovery: He has been a Hornet since mid-February but has yet to play a game for the team because of a groin pull that troubled him throughout last season Is he healthy? Hammonds says "like brand new" Keep an eye on movement Is he explosive? Is he running at top speed? He expects to compete for the starting small forward job next season His condition and how that will affect his defense could say a lot about whether he gives Johnny Newman and Dell Curry competition Elliot maturity: He has a challenge on his hands holding off second-round pick Tony Bennett and anyone else the Hornets bring in to compete for the backup point guard spot Perry says he is over the anxiety he displayed last season as a rookie Twardzik is impressed with the decisions Perry has made in practices this week Please see Hometspage 3B Associated Press The flame still bums: Wang Jianping (left) and Yen Chih-Hsin share an embrace Monday outside Seville Spain while continuing the relay of the Olympic torch to Barcelona A.