Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 55

111 CI I) IT Baseball DETROIT FREE PRESSWEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1986 5D aMwirfrrrirtm W)M Jttll mi mu in, It all started 50 years ago or Joltin9 Joe "Where did Joe play that day?" Chapman asked, a rhetorical question. Told DiMaggio played left field first season, we drove together from San Francisco to St. Petersburg, Joe, me and Tony Lazzeri. In Joe's rookie season, we lived together at the Mayflower Hotel. I don't remember much about his first game except that Joe got three hits.

Me? I didn't do much in any game. in his debut as a Yankee, hapman asked. "And who played center?" "Why, you did." "That's right," Chapman said proudly. "You can win a lot of bets, with that imp But I took one look at Now the cheers of New York fans are not handed out to every fellow. In fact they have subsided almost to a whisper since Babe Ruth packed his duds and went through the gates.

But yesterday they rolled in happy volume across the field and back again for a rookie only a kid stepping up to fill the vacant shoes of Big Boy Ruth. It wasn't an easy spot, you may be sure. The Yankees had been playing bang-up baseball for weeks and are in rare form, while this kid from out West had been sitting on the bench with a burned foot Joe and said to myself, 'Chapman, you're not going to be a center fielder Crosetti had tripled and Rolfe walked. Joe grounded to the pitcher and you could almost hear that kid cussing his luck as he beat it for first. (The day is May 1936 50 years ago last Saturday.

A kid from California is making his debut for a team from New York. It is the start of a wondrous marriage and Don Hallman of the New York Daily News, covering that day, seemed to sense it. This is the story he filed that day, updated with recollections from the principals five decades later.) By DON HALLMAN New York Dally NEW YORK This is the story of Joseph DiMaggio, a kid of 21 from San Francisco, though it might be proper to mention that the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 14-5, at the Stadium yesterday. The game was pestered by rain and bad pitching it wasn't much of a game anyway but the 25,400 fans didn't give a whoop.

They had come out to see Joe DiMaggio make his first start for the Yanks. "I remember that game vividly," DiMag said. "You don't forget days like that. I hit a little dribbler my first time up, but I wound up with three hits in six limes at hat, and I felt pretty good about it. "They didn't have loudspeakers in those days," DiMaggio recalled.

"They had a little guy named Carl who had this big megaphone and. he would go down the left field line and read the starling lineups, then he'd go down the right field line and do the same, then he'd go behind the plate and do it again. The day before my first game, after he read the starting lineup, he announced, 'Joe DiMaggio will make his debut I wasn't nervous about it. I felt pretty confident." much longer. The sixth was something else againt It was here the fans decided Joe was OK and gave him the hand they had reserved for fellows like Ruth and Gehrig.

Rolfe doubled and Joe planted a triple up against the center field boards that blow would have gone for a homer in a lot of parks. Then Gehrig singled, so did Chapman. Joe had already checked in with his third run by that time. Now, Joe needed just one more hand from Lady Luck in this sixth inning and the old girl obliged. Right after he had tripled, the clouds tilted enough to stop the game.

The rain threatened to wash that triple right off the records and Joe needed it it was his first in the major leagues. But after 17 minutes, the rain stopped and Joe's three-bagger was safe. Earl Caldwell, who had taken Knott's place in the first, hadn't been going well, so Hogsett took over in the seventh. DiMaggio flied out, but the stands cheered him anyway. Just one more paragraph about the kid.

He came to bat in the eighth with two down, so it really didn't matter but he singled for 3 out of 6, and that's pretty good for a rookie. He came up in the second inning, too, and his luck held. Rolfe had singled and Joe dropped an easy fly in center only for some reason it dropped too fast, just a little faster than Pepper could run. It went for a single Joe fanned in the fourth, but the Yanks scored twomore runs anyway on Gehrig's single'and Chapman's triple. 1 "I didn't make the opening day lineup, Joe D.

said Friday. "I had a burned instep. It happened during spring training. They had just begun using diathermy treatment and 1 had a sore foot and Earl (Doc) Painter, a wonderful guy and our trainer, had this new diathermy machine. He was like a kid with a new toy with it.

So he was using the diathermy machine on my foot and then he left to work on Charley Ruffing's arm and Doc told me to let him know if it got too hot. 7 can stand the heat, I told him. "When he took the bandages off, there was this big bubble on my instep. It had gotten so hot, it blistered. Doc Painter was not to blame, but they sent me home to New York and I went to Jake Ruppert's doctor, but I couldn't play for a couple of weeks." He needed luck, and he got it that he went along on his own merits.

Take that time in the first inning when Joe stepped to the plate to start his major league career. "Do 1 remember Joe's first game?" asked Chapman, now 77 and living in Birmingham, Ala. "How many hits did 1 get?" AP Photo '7 first saw Joe in an exhibition game one fall in Northern California, said Frank Crosetti, now 75 and living in Seattle. "He made a heck of a and I remember thinking what a good looking young player he was. Before his Ben, by the way, got a double, two triples and a single before he was forced out in the sixth with a wrenched foot.

The legendary Joe DiMaggio still looks like a million in pinstripes just as he did 50 years ago. Sounds' King turns into a real tiger The standings "It has been a three-step process," Baker said "When I first got here I was just a batting practice hitter. And nobody cares about a five clock hitter, was having trouble following the ball. i I Mark r.icGcc farm report Florida State League (Slngle-A) American Association (Trlple-A) By MARK McGEE Nashville Banner Sports Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. Eric King, the Dr.

Jekyll-Mr. Hyde of the Nashville Sounds, has been at his sinister best this season. The mild-mannered King, 22, turns into a fire-balling monster whenever he stands on the pitcher's mound. "Eric is intense on the mound," Nashville catcher Dwight Lowry said. "He changes as soon as the "Now I've started seeing pitches under game conditions and I finally have my swing back.

It's just EASTERN DIVISION Pet. GB WESTERN DIVISION Pet. GB like spring training ail over again. Pitcher Brian Denman bounced back from a 13- Tampa (Reds) 15 9 .625 St. Pete (Cardinals) 15 10 .600 14 Clearwater (Phillies) 12 13 .480 314 Ft.

Myers (Royals) 10 16 .385 6 Louisville (Cardinals) 12 7 .632 Indianapolis (Expos) 10 11 .476 3 Nashville (Tigers) 10 11 .476 3 Buffalo (White Sox) 8 11 .421 4 day layoff and beat Louisville. Denman had fluid drained from his left knee. He says he is fully recovered. Pet. GB CENTRAL DIVISION Pet.

GB EASTERN DIVISION Reliever Bill Scherrer, a resident of Tonawanda, N.Y., was honored in pregame ceremonies in Buffalo Winter Haven (Red Sox)1 5 10 .600 Osceola (Astros) 13 12 .520 2 Lakeland (Tigers) 11 13 .458 314 Daytona Beach (Rang.) 6 19 .240 9 this week. The hospitality didn't last too long as the Bisons tagged Scherrer for a lOth-inning home run and won, b-5. it was the first extra-inning game for Denver (Reds) 15 8 .652 Okla. City (Rangers) 11 11 .500 314 Iowa (Cubs) 9 12 .429 5 Omaha (Royals) 8 12 .400 514 Eastern League (Double-A) Pet. GB the bounds this season batter steps in the box.

He gets kind of aggravated when he gives up a hit. That's the way it should be. "When you have as good a stuff as he's got, it definitely helps your confidence. He has a 90 mile-per-hour fastball, plus he also has good control. That's a tough combination to beat." One of King's best performances of the season was a complete-game victory against the American Home runs have been scarce for Nashville.

Dwight Lowry's home run at Buffalo Sunday was the first in South Atlantic League (Slngle-A) NORTHERN DIVISION Pet. GB Glens Falls (Tigers) 12 New Britain (Red Sox) 12 League and held opponents to a .197 batting average. His top strikeout performance was 12 against Beaumont last season. "I just go out every game and go right after hitters," King said. "I don't like to give up any hits.

I really don't feel like I have to. I take it personally." Rated as one of the top prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization, King was included in the trade that brought pitcher Dave LaPoint and catcher Matt Nokes to the Detroit Tigers. King's inclusion in the deal raised more than a few eye- brows. "San Francisco never really told me I was a prospect," King said. "I just read in several newspapers and magazines that they considered me to be one of their top prospects.

"I think Detroit sees me as a young pitcher with a major league future. They just don't Want to rush me." King is the American Association pitcher of the week. He was 2-0 with 15 strikeouts, one earned run and six hits in 17 innings last week. Notebook: It's the fourth week of the season, but for shortstop Doug Baker it's been spring training revisited. Baker, who batted only four times for the Tigers, feels he is back in the hitting groove since being sent to Nashville.

7 .632 8 .600 8 .579 9 .571 9 .550 11 Vermont (Reds) Pittsfield (Cubs 12 11 14 1 1 1Vi 314 6 614 5 .800 -9 .654 314 14 .440 9 15 .400 10 16 .385 10 Ashevilie (Astros) 20 Greensboro (Red Sox) 17 Spartanburg (Phillies) 11 Gastonia (Tigers) 10 Sumter (Braves) 10 Eric King Reading (Phillies) Nashua (Pirates) Albany (Yankees) Waterbury (Indians) 10 12 .455 7 14 .333 6 14 .300 15 games for the Sounds. Nashville manager Leon Roberts has been preaching the virtues of aggressive hitting to the Sounds. "I've told them they have to be more aggressive from the first strike," Roberts said. "We've been taking too many base hit-type pitches. We're waiting too long in the count to get ready." Gene Roof has been activated as a player-coach for the Sounds, but they are still one player under the maximum roster limit of 23.

Frank Franchi, director of player development for the Tigers, says he is looking outside the organization for a new addition to the Nashville roster rather than promote a player from Double-A Glens Falls. "Glens Falls is off to a very good start," Franchi said. "I'd like to find another veteran player to put in here. There are several good ones available." The statistics Association Eastern Division-leading Louisville Red-birds. He struck out nine and held the Redbirds, the league leaders in hitting, to four hits.

"Louisville was batting .301 as a team," Lowry sid. "They knew Eric was throwing his fastball most of the time and they still had trouble with him. "That tells you something about his fastball. They just never could catch up with him." King (3-2) has struck out 31 batters in 33 innings. In 1985, despite a season-shortening injury, he was 5-3 with Shreveport of the Double-A Texas Nashville Sounds Lakeland Tigers BATTING AB RH Bl HRSBAvg.

BATTING AB Bl HRSBAvg. 2 .278 0 .193 0 .190 1 .245 0 .275 7 .306 3 .247 0 .228 0 .330 1 .182 2 .269 2 .233 Doug Baker 6 18 3 4 1 0 1 .222 B.Anderson 24 90 20 25 7 0 P. Chavez 19 62 9 19 5 0 8 .306 S. Eager 1 36 4 7 4 0 R. Cusack 12 30 4 4 1 0 1 .133 K.Hoskinson 8 21 2 4 2 0 Scottie Earl 19 66 6 12 2 0 5 .182 Tim Leiper 24 102 12 25 15 1 Bruce Fields 16 53 4 15 6 0 4 .283 Allen Liebert 13 40 4 11 2 0 Grubb 1 5 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Tony Long 17 49 10 15 4 0 R.

Hobbs 17 41 7 9 5 0 2 .220 P. Martinez 22 73 12 18 5 0 D. Lowry 11 32 4 10 4 1 0 .313 Jeff Mlnick 18 57 5 13 12 1 Matt Nokes 20 67 8 17 9 0 2 .254 C. Morgan 24 94 16 31 19 2 Rivera 21 79 8 24 6 0 1 .304 L. Prioleau 20 66 4 12 4 0 Gene Roof 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 000 D.

Rowland 24 93 14 25 10 0 G. Springer 13 39 3 11 5 0 3 .282 D. Strange 24 90 13 21 16 2 Relief pitcher John Hiller, whose career was Interrupted by a heart attack, was one of the best and most popular of the Tigers In the 60s and 70s. After a brief absence from baseball, he's back in a Tigers uniform as a minor league coach. Here's a look at him then and now: Tim Tolman 21 73 8 21 9 1 1 .288 PITCHING W-L IP BBSOERA Sv PITCHING W-L IP BBSOERA Sv 9 4.26 20 4.34 13 3.52 7 9.93 19 5.13 13 3.44 19 6.55 7 5.27 12 2.29 12 0.50 13 4.15 1311 2711 21 10 13 8 29 20 3211 2417 1112 1918 10 6 716 12.2 29.0 23.0 7.2 26.1 34.0 22.0 13.2 19.2 18.0 13.0 Jeff Agar 0-1 Bill Cooper 2-1 K.

GohmannO-0 Mark Lee 0-0 Chip Mellugh2-2 D. Minnema 1-1 R. Poissant 1-3 ArtRaubolt 1-2 J. Slavik 1-1 John Smoltz 3-0 Mike York 0-2 9 4 8 1.74 1512 8 3.26 21 5 9 1.69 6 3 6 1.93 2230 18 3.29 2313 31 2.41 15 5 10 2.81 10 7 17 0.47 16 6 4 2.25 13 3 13 4.73 10.1 19.1 21.1 9.1 27.1 33.2 16.0 19.0 16.0 13.1 F. Breining 0-0 Jeff Conner 1-1 B.

Denman 2-1 M. Hen'man 0-0 Bryan Kelly 1-0 Eric King 3-2 J. Lazorko 1-0 John Pacella2-0 J. Robinson 0-3 Bill Scherrer 0-1 Gastonia Tigers BATTING AB RH Bl HRSBAvg. Glens Falls Tigers BATTING AB RH Bl HRSBAvg.

CD -v J2 0 .175 2 .157 0 .214 0 .171 8 .295 Willie Darkis 14 50 Paul Felix 1136 11 2 1 8 6 2 .160 .194 .175 .270 .305 .254 .277 .286 told me I'd better go back out on the field if they were ever going to play the game. "Then I started doing the one thing I didn't want to do. I started to cry, and for a moment I thought, 'Maybe I ought to come Nine years earlier, Hiller, a lefthander, began the ultimate comeback after suffering a heart attack. Against the advice of some doctors, he returned to the diamond in 1972 and set an American League saves record the following season. "Just coming back was my biggest thrill of all," Hiller said.

"Dick Allen (of the White Sox) was the first batter I faced. I got two strikes on him, and then he hit a home run. I thought to myself, 'Welcome After he retired, Hiller sold insurance, ran a hobby farm, was a pop salesman and operated a country store over the next five years. But he longed to wear a uniform again, a dream that came true when the Tigers promoted Billy Muffett to pitching coach for the parent club before the 1985 season. Hiller applied for the vacant position and was hired last September.

"It's a lot of travel," Hiller said of his new duties. "I'll get home (to Iron Mountain) maybe once this summer, but I get to travel with my wife. This is where I belong." Reid Creager PLAYING CAREER: Pitched -from 1965-70, 1972-80 (all with Detroit). ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Pitched in 545 games with 125 saves, both club records. His 17 relief victories in 1974 and 38 saves in 1973 are single-season Detroit records.

Despite suffering a heart attack in January 1971, missing all of 1971 season and half of 72, he saved 38 games in 1973, then the American League record. CURRENT OCCUPATION: Roving minor league pitching instructor for Tigers. MEMORIES: The third inning had just ended in an otherwise typical game at Tiger Stadium on May 30, 1 980, when the 22, 1 63 fans received an unexpected surprise and a cherished memory: Hiller's retirement was announced, allowing fans to give him one last tribute. They responded with a long, standing ovation, acknowledging the end of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. "I remember standing outside the dugout in street clothes, trying to take it all in," Hiller, 43, said Tuesday from Buffalo, N.Y., where he was on assignment with the Tigers' Triple-A Nashville affiliate.

"Then the fans called me back for a curtain call, and Sparky (Anderson) M. Freeman 19 57 R. Guzman 19 74 9 10 12 0 12 11 4 0 15 18 14 1 5 6 4 0 13 23 16 2 23 18 6 0 7 13 6 0 10 14 11 3 2 4 10 4 5 2 0 9 15 10 3 10 0 0 14 27 21 2 19 17 11 2 1 10 5 0 D. Blastimck19 57 K. Bradshaw25 70 Rick Daily 25 84 Roger Dean 10 35 Blane Fox 19 78 M.

Gellinger 22 71 R. Jackson 15 47 R. Luciani 13 49 T. Mitchell 3 7 F. Pena 11 30 R.

Sarmiento15 55 R. Solano 7 5 B. Thomson 22 78 Ed Waylock 25 87 Tom White 15 50 1 .571 0 .167 2 .328 5 8 5 7 9 10 11 20 7 18 10 21 3 2 10 15 13 20 12 19 0 1 16 19 17 59 17 64 3 6 19 67 J. Hermann S. Lusader F.

Masters Craig Mills .273 .000 .346 .195 .200 0 .333 0 .224 1 .328 0 .322 1 .250 5 .247 Rey Palacios18 61 Benny Ruiz 18 59 Max Soto 3 4 Walewander19 77 PITCHING W-L IP BBSOERA Sv 21 16 11 17.1 PITCHING W-L IP BBSOERA Sv 11.0 1216 14 1610 12 12.1 0-0 0-2 0-3 0-0 4-0 R. Burduan R. Carter Bill Cooper R. Friesen Ken Hill 17.2 13 19 5 1 1 0 0 00 3 3.29 1 1.32 1 0.2 18.2 18.0 1516 17 1711 19 15 15 17 2.81 2 2.08 0 7.270 4.090 7.300 13.500 2.410 8.001 8.270 3.600 4.430 10.801 7.641 3.600 5.960 13.2 17 13.2 9 16.0 16 26.0 25 10.1 20 14.2 15 18.1 14 20 2 24 21 13 25.0 1312 26 Ricky Barlow1-1 John Duffy 1-1 Paul Gibson 3-0 M. Gorman 0-0 Don Heinkel 2-2 A.

Laboz'ta 1-0 M. Madden 2-1 Ramon PenaO-0 S. Searcy 2-1 9 12.190 3 5.52 0 1916 22 22.1 K. Nicholson 2-1 R. Nosek 2-3 Patehaude 1-0 Kevin Rltz 0-1 Schedeneck 0-1 S.

Schultz 0-2 G. Wetherell 1-0 Ken Williams0-2 6 7 3 11 2.95 1 Free Press File Pholo 2811 12 62 17.2 20.0 22.2 516 11 2.66 0 )12 7 18.260 2Q.1 16 11.1 30 John Hiller's career was a portrait of skill and courage. 1417 23 1822 17 C. Weissman0-2.