The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 35

THURSDAY, July 11, 1981 Th8unC3. fSpirit's Thomas not doubting his choice of baseball By MARC STEIN Sun Sports Writer feu Jul -ft yJ 4 I 44 Si ents has begun to set Thomas apart from twin brother Kelvin, who plays for Erie (N.Y.), an independent team in the Single-A New York-Penn League. They were taken by Seattle in the 1988 draft; Kelvin In the sixth round, Delvln in the 18th. In each of their first three pro seasons, they played on the same team, with virtually identical statistics. When at Smiley High School in Houston, Delvin was the quarterback and vice president.

Kelvin, a wide receiver, was president. Last season, Delvin hit .194 in 84 games at Single-A Peninsula of the Carolina League. Kelvin? He hit .194 in 104 games with the Pilots. "In school we made similar grades," said Delvin Thomas, like Kelvin a member of the Honor Society at Smiley. "On tests, we would score one or two points apart.

There's not much difference between us." Both had signed with Arkansas for football. Both opted for baseball when drafted by the Mariners. Life in Hog Heaven was sacrificed for a shot at the Kingdome. "At first I was undecided about where I was going," Thomas said. "I came up with baseball.

It's a risk you have to take. I still like football. I figure I have another way out, If baseball doesn't work out." The phone continues to ring in the offseason, calls from football coaches not easily discouraged. His baseball stock is far from low, though. Thomas' improvement has been steady, and at .250 with a team-leading seven home runs, he is progressing.

On defense, especially, Thomas is gaining confidence. Jones has used the Houston native as an infielder and outfielder, and in seven different lineup spots. Thomas' versatility appears limitless. "I feel it's for the better," Thomas said of his many roles. "A lot of teams need that.

I feel confident at all of the positions, as long as (I'm) not catching." The novelty of a player with many tal And they are similarly pursued in the winter neither remains bound to the RaT zorbacks by coaches hoping to bring one or both back into football. "Every time I start seeing it highlighted on ESPN, it makes me think," vin Thomas said. "They still call my mother at work, going through her to get to us." Thomas refuses to rule out a return to football. He knows, four months from his 22nd birthday, that he has time for decisions. Jones, who in 1986 was Bo Jackson's" first professional manager, is well-ac quainted with such choices.

"I would not hesitate to classify Delvin as one of the top 10 athletes in the Cal League," Jones said. "He's capable of hitting .300 in this league, and that's what our-goal is." Spirit note In its 10 games before Wednesday all victories Modesto scored 03 runs and allowed 38. Ex-San Diego Padres right-hander Eric Show, who began season with Oakland, will start tonight for Modesto against the Spirit at 7:05 agaonst San Bernardino righthander Marco Garcia. MODESTO As fall and football approaches, Delvln Thomas, the almost-Arkansaa quarterback, wears no pads. Gloves and double-knits only.

For Thomas, pigskins are to be watched on TV. He continues to throw baseballs instead, from a variety of spots. Bakersfleld, Stockton and Visalia. Second base, left field and first. "What Delvin has shown the Seattle Mariners the last two years is that he can play a lot of positions," said Spirit manager Tommy Jones.

"I think he's got a chance to be a utility player in the major leagues." Until that possibility passes, Thomas is a baseball player. From the time he signed with the Mariners in 1988, relinquishing a football scholarship to Arkansas, Thomas a wishbone quarterback who dreamed of college football Saturdays had a new fantasy. pelvln Thomas Passed up football scholarship Seethe Modesto rolls over Spirit again, 7-2 By MARC STEIN (Sun Sports Writer eight losses in nine games. San Bernardino (9-13), meanwhile, was beaten for the ninth time in 11 days, unable to make use of two solo home runs and more from Stephens. In the fifth, after the A's had taken a 3-1 lead, Stephens, in right field, threw out Marcos Armas at the plate.

Stephens was the next to bat, and began the sixth with his second homer. Earlier, he had led off the fourth with a homer to right. When he arrived from Reno in mid-June, Stephens was hitting. 318, fourth-best in the league. In his first 17 games for the Spirit, he was at .186.

Other than a three-hit game on his birthday last week, Stephens had been largely unproductive before this. Still, the Spirit played from behind, as everyone has against Modesto for the past two weeks. The A's (14-9) had Spirit starter Mike Hampton in trouble throughout the left-hander's 5 'a innings. Eric Booker gave the A's a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout in the third, and scored Modesto's second run after a leadolf double in the fifth. Hampton walked two of the first three hitters he faced in the sixth.

He was replaced by Dave McDonald, who allowed a two-run triple to Booker that made it 5-2. Adding to Modesto's near-perfect night was another multi-hit performance from catcher Henry Mercedes, whose RBI single in the seventh gave the A's a four-run lead. 1 Mercedes was 3-for-4, extending his hitting streak to nine games. Had his second-inning groundout gone for a single, Mer-cedes would have tied a Cal League record with 10 consecutive hits. The all-star catcher had produced hits in six straight at-bats before his first Wednesday.

MODESTO Even the mam-imoth contributions of Brian Stephens, whose luck seemingly had been left in Reno, couldn't present another night of disappointment. Despite Stephens' big Wednesday, the Spirit again fell the California League's hottest team, losing to the Modesto A's, 1-2, in front of 2,214 at John Thurman Field. It was the 11th consecutive Ivictory for Modesto, which began the second half with Faria wins scratch main event at EMS The Sun Public Auction Sunday July 14, 1991 a.m. Inspection days are July 12 13 100's of Cars, Trucks Vans BANK REPOS FLEETS DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES MAJOR CONTRACTORS OTHERS the fifth-place finisher with Doug Bowers of Bellflower crossing in sixth, Faria in seventh and Brent Werner of Hesperia rounding out the finishers with an eighth-place finish. John Kelly won the five-lap second-division main and Chris Johnson was the five-lap quad main winner.

Craig Dempster and Peter Lewis combined to win sidecar main. ond. Scott Brant of Riverside came in third and Don Odom of Redondo Beach crossed in fourth place. In the eight-lap handicap main, Jessee Finch of Costa Mesa was the winner with John Aden of Hesperia coming in second, Josh Larsen of Costa Mesa third and Brant fourth. Tony Bienert of Hesperia was DEVORE Mike Faria of Colton won the four-lap scratch main event Wednesday night in speedway motorcycle racing at the Inland Motor Speedway in front of an estimated 2,100 fans.

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