Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 41

DETROIT FREE PRESS Tucdav. 1 '7(5 't I Softball City: Paradise -j J- For the Slowpitch Player BY CURT SYIA'FSTER Fret Press Sports Writer They're nut finished with Softball City yet, so understand, you have to put up with some inconveniences. For instance, they don't have the blacktop surface on all of the driveways. So you might get your spikes dusty walking to the diamonds. They haven't wired the 12 electric scoreboards (one on each field) to the 24 dugouts and they haven't put the finishing touches on the three concession stands that serve the players and fans.

And, don't forget, they don't have a dome over the top, either. SO THE GUVS who play slowpitch at Softball! City get along as best they can with 12 contoured playing fields (including four with the newest mercury vapor lights), 300-foot fences, grass infields, sprinkling and drainage systems in the sodded nuU'ield, in-ground dugouts, rest rooms and drinking fountains within 30 feet of each field, parking at every diamond and security men to make sure there are no fenderbenders. Even without the finishing touches, the facilities at the three-week old Softball City complex inside the State Fair-gounds are probahly the finest in the state. Very possibly they are the finest in the United States. Within the next couple of weeks in lime for the grand opening June 19 they will have all of the roads black-topped, they will have the scoreboards wired directly (o the dugouts and the concession stands will be pumping out the hot dogs and cold drinks.

In addition, there will be a pro shop dealing only in softball equipment; there will be a carpeted, air-conditioned prex for tournament; and, before the summer is over, a roaming to satisfy the vanity of teams and individual players alike. About the only thing they won't have is a dome. As Dave Robinson, one of the Softball City owners, put it: "We've given an amateur sport as close to a professional facility as they'll ever get." FOR THE GUVS playing for the corner bar team or in the office after-work league, it's like putting on the spikes and going in to play shortstop at Yankee Stadium. "You see ordinary 'guys I don't mean the real good players making unbeliveable plays, leaving their feet and diving, making great plays," says Tod Allendorf, the vice-president in charge of sales and promotion. "It's inspired 'em." So far, Robinson and his partner John Byrd, co-owners of Spartan Steel Sales, have put roughly three-quarters of a Please turn to Page 6D, Column I c-vV r-ree rress tiiotq oy tmo rumtn Tmo of the 12 diamonds tit SoflbaSl City, where the slowpitch player is king 54 Bird for 6 1 Tigers Win FJ GR Lea Spoils Is Just Out of This World enny nappy as minor gue BY JIM HAWKINS Free Press Sports Writer Maybe there is something to be said for talking to the baseball, after all.

As usual, Mark Fidrych staged a filibuster on the mound Monday evening, talking up a siorm until his Tiger teammates could rally twice and come from behind to bump the Milwaukee Brewers, 5-4, on Tom Veryzer's two-out, llth-inning single. Twice it appeared as if the Tigers were doomed and twice they battled back so that all Fidrych's antics would not be in vain. Down, 3-1, with three outs to go, the Tigers rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the ninth and send the game into extra innings. Then, after Milwaukee had moved in front again with a run in the top of the 11th, the Tigers refused to surrender, making Fidrych a winner for the second time this season, instead. Fidrych, who has comnleted everything he has started so far, went all the way, distributing 11 hits.

NEVERTHELESS, the flaky rookie righthander looked like a gener when base hits by Jimmy Rosario and Robin Yount, with a walk to Gorman Thomas resulted in a run for the Brewers in the top of the 11th. After all, the Tigers hadn't done anything but fail in overtime all year. Not this time, though. Substitute third baseman Chuck Scrivener led off the door-die last of the 11th with a j- ptJ single and Jerrv Manual soon singled, too, sending Scrivener make difference this to third. summer, manager Ralph He then slid across the plate Honk says.

The story is on Ron LeFlore's sacrifice fly rj to right although Milwaukee on 1 u' catcher Darrell Porter defi- MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UP1) Denny Mc-Lain, a giant of a pitcher who came to be known as the "bad boy" of the major leagues, says he has adapted well to the life of a minor league executive. "But," he adds sheepishly, "nobody's perfect." "I'm happy to be in my present position," McLain said, his shirt smudged with dirt from a tussle with the infield tarp on a rainy day. "Had I knowh it was this much fun and this great a challenge, I probably would have left much sooner." RUBBING THE RIGHT arm which put him in the record books in 1968 as the first 30-game winner since 1934, McLain said he honestly likes his job as general manager of the Memphis Blues a farm club for the Flouston Astros and has no regrets about the brevity of his reign as one of baseball's most talented and tempermcntal pitching stars. "I felt I was finished as a pitcher at the age of 27," McLain said with little trace of bitterness, "but I think it was worth it for that fleeting moment of glory." However fleeting, McLain's glory went far beyond many pitcher's dreams.

As a 24-year-old veteran, McLain won the Cy Young Award and was picked as the unanimous choice of the baseball writers for the American League's Most Valuable Player in when his Tigers won the World Series. rom there, McLain went on to a 24-9 record in 1969 and then to the beginning of the end for his professional baseball career. First came a suspension for his alleged dealings with a bookmaking operation and then a steady loss of his pitching powers. "MENTALLY, I DIDN'T want to play anymore," McLain said, characterizing his last season with the Tigers in 1970 as the "longest year of my life." "I couldn't pitch, hit, run, slide or even walk," McLain said. "But the fans were great." In those days of adoring crowds and big league contracts, McLain once told a reporter all he wanted from life was $100,000 a year, palaces and a yacht.

Ha ve his goals changed? "Those things still don't sound that bad to me," McLain said. "I'm not as sure about the palaces and I can't swim a lick but nobody would turn down a chance for more money. "No matter what I've done, I've always done, it very competitively," McLain said, denouncing the maxim that "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." "I don't believe that Little League stuff," McLain said. "I believe it's win, win, win." People are always asking me: "Why do you write sports for a living? Don't you ever want to do anything serious with your life?" i Good question. Here are some reasons why I write sports for a living: Pitcher Bill Lee of the Red Sox is just back from the hospital where the doctors have ministered to his left shoulder, injured in a free-for-all against the Yankees.

A teammate asks him: "What'd they tell you in the hospital?" "They didn't tell me much," says Lee. "They just said I should take two aspirins and some matzo ball soup." Johnny Sample, the former NFL defensive back who served a year in the penitentiary for cashing stolen checks, is talking about one of his old cellmates, Jeb Stuart Magruder. "Some people didn't like says Sample. "They thought he was snooty. But we got along fine.

We played tennis and he and I prayed every day. "He talked a lot of Watergate how much money was floating around in those days from Nixon and Mitchell on down. He said people would be walking around with $100,000 in cash in grocery bags." Dick Bosnian, a former major league pitcher, is sitting at dinner and talking about the time he roomed with Frank Howard on the Washington Senators. "We had an ideal arrangement," says Bosman. "I did the cooking and Frank did the eating.

I'd cook up two dozen eggs and after we'd 'each take our portion, Frank would take the platter and eat the rest. "I would't say he's a glutton, but I once saw him eat one of those big barrels of fried chicken, drink a case of beer, eat a half-gallon of ice cream and wash it down with a gallon of milk. I'm not sure if he got any hits that night." Longhairs Can't Walk on Water Joe Frazier, manager of the Mets, walks to the mound to talk to Tom Seaver, who is getting raked over by the Phillies. "Are you sick?" Frazier asks. "No," Seaver replies.

"Well," Frazier says, "the ball's not getting to the plate fast enough." Bobby Knight, the basketball coach, is sitting in his office talking to a young recruit. He is asking the youngster about his long hair. "Christ had long hair and that's why I have long hair," the youngster says. Denny McLain Please turn to Page 7D, Col. 1 A gift for Dad from is like a hug and then some.

No One Seems To Agree with A.J.'s Protests Knight gels out of his chair and tells the youngster to follow him. He leads him into the swimming pool. "Okay," says Knight, "let's see you walk across that." The owners of the San Diego Breakers of the International Volleyball Association are sitting around a table thinking of new ways to stimulate season ticket sales. "Why don't we give all our season ticket holders a 10 percent discount," says one club official. "Good idea," says another club official.

"How many season ticket holders do we have?" BY CHARLIE VINCENT Free Press Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS A.J. Foyt's Monday was no better than his Sunday. Less than 24 hours after rain cut short his hopes of running down Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford, Foyt was notified he had been fined $250 because a wrench, left attached to his car, fell to the track following an early pit stop. And, adding insult to injury, absolutely no one agreed with his charge that Rutherford had taken a short cut to victory, making up time under the yellow flag. No one agreed with Foyt's contention that the race should have been resumed ear Bobby Knight lier, either.

"Eight," says the first official. Vitas Gerulaitas, the tennis player, thinks that everyone should live in Argentina. "You wouldn'd believe it down there," says Gerulaitas. A check of the timing charts Mizcrak, Balukas Pool CliaiiiDS by race officials failed to confirm Foyt's complaint against Rutherford and A.J. did not follow up with, an official protest.

THE RACE had been delayed almost 2'2 hours when chief steward Tom Binford ordered the drivers back to ill Mit Iff Iff 1 llllf IH plilitvli Ifiiiii '-V-. -l KiiL iyw -fv vv y- w. I Steve Mizerak of Edison, N. J. and 16-year-old Jean Balukas of Brooklyn, N.

Y. won championships Monday night in the Billiard News National Open at the Livonia Cushion 'n' Cue. Mizerak outpointed veteran Irving Crane of Rochester, N. Y. to gain the top prize of $1,500 to Crane's $1,000, while 16-year-old Mark Beilfuss of Grand Rapids, who had the tournament high run of 126 balls, took third place and $600.

Miss Balukas set a women's Billiard Congress of America record by running 43 balls en route to first-place money of $1,000. Geri Titcomb of Cincinnati took second and $600. "You can have a dinner party for four and it won't cost you five dollars. The country is suffocating in cattle. Thick, delicious steaks for a dollar.

"We'd go out and order three different steaks, a filet, a rib and a strip. There was no way we could eat all that, but at those prices, you couldn't afford not to try anything." Your Battery Need a Charge? The baseball writer approaches Tug McGraw, the Philadelphia relief pitcher, who is sitting in front of his locker. The writer is from New York and he wonders if McGraw is still bitter over being traded by the Mets. McGraw looks up at the writer and says: "My shoulder is okay, but I've still got a scar where the Mets stuck the knife in my back." A reader calls up the Chicago Tribune sports department. He asks: "How come they call the pitcher and catcher a battery?" Nobody knows the answer, but Harry Sheer the great brain of the Tribune digs into the matter and comes up with the answer.

Sheer says: "It started in 1869 and was derived from telegraphic terminology a combination of transmitter (pitcher) and a receiver (catcher)." David Goldberg, 11, strikes out seven and walks eight in his first Little League game in a year. It's not a bad performance for a kid whose arm was all but severed in a motorcycle accident last June. "Golly, look at them scars," says one of David's teammates. "Did you get those in the accident?" "Naw," says David. "I got bit by a shark." Edgar Hayes says: "Did you hear the one about the guy who went to see a spiritualist?" You say: "No." And, of course, that's a mistake.

"Well, this guy goes to see his spiritualist and asks him if there are any golf courses in heaven. The spiritualists says he's got to check on it and says to come back tomorrow. "The guy goes back the next day and the spiritualist says, 'I've got good news and bad The guy says, 'Okay, give me the good news. "The spiritualist says, 'There are many great golf courses in heaven, all lush and green, with the finest equipment and the most lavish "The guy says, 'Okay, now give me the bad And the piritualist says, 'you tee off Sunday morning at their cars at 4:02 p.m. (Detroit time).

But six minutes later the rain resumed and the 1976 Memorial Day race went into the record books as the shortest ever 255 miles (102 laps). Gordon Johncock, who finished third, felt "they could have started the race sooner, but they wouldn't have gotten much in." "You can't blame anyone," said Mario Andretti, who started 19th but had moved up to seventh by the time the rains came. "The people did what they had to do." Roger Penske, owner of the cars driven by Andretti and Tom Sneva, agreed. "The people at Indianapolis do an excellent job," he said. "You've got to get everything together before you can restart the race.

You never know bow fast the track is going to dry or are there any wet spots in turn three or turn four. "I'm just sorry we didn't get the job done for the first 250 miles. I have no complaints with the track. You've got to hand it to Rutherford and his crew." Sneva, who finished sixth, Please turn to Page 7D, Col. 4 Arrow lines up some nifty colors in multistripes of bluenavy, tanbrown, greyblack, bluerust, melonblue, or greenbrown all on frosty white backgrounds.

The shirt's a short-sleeve summer number with spread collar and a single pocket, in easy-care Dacroncotton. Collar sizes 1412 to 17, at a comfortable 11.50. Fathers Day, by the way, is June 20 Mail and phone orders: 961-3060. Uniroyal Loses In Milwaukee MILWAUKEE Uniroyal of East Detroit bowed to Transport Oil of Milwaukee, 22-21, Monday in the title game of the Schlitz National Invitational Slowpitch Softball Tournament. Uniroyal finished second with a 4-1 record.

Snyder's of Redford had its 42-game winning streak snapped Saturday, losing to Minneapolis, 17-11. HUGHES HATCHER MOST HUGHES HATCHER STORES OPEN EVENINGS. 0.