Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 45

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 1992DETROIT FREE PRESS 9E tf NedSkeldon Stadium TOLEDO I Maunee I Mthnyayjex' Lt" y1 I win t' Michigan 1 Mamee Gql I ftl SI rjl XJf -To Samia-Pt Huron I Hwy. 22 LONDON, I I ONTARIO Labatt Park -5 I 2 Riverside L. Dundas Hwy. 2 East Springbank Stanley TT" IlliP' London Port Huron jarna J22j I MICHIGAN It' 'tiwJ "TJwyT 401 To Windsor-Detroit I Detroit Free Press TOLEDO MUD HENS Triple-A LAST YEAR: 74-70, Fifth in International League, 1 1 games behind. MANAGER: Joe Sparks, second year.

STADIUM: Ned Skeldon Stadium, 10,025 seats. TICKETS: $5 box, $4 reserved, $3 general admission. Discount for children 14-under and seniors. NEAREST AIRPORT: Toledo Express. CALL: 419-893-9483.

WRITE: 2901 Key Street, Maumee, Ohio, 43537. CATHY MORRIS Detroit Free Press To reach London, Ontario, from Detroit, cross the border at Port Huron bridge or in downtown Detroit at the bridge or tunnel. LONDON TIGERS Double-A MARY SCHROEDERDetroit Free Press Lakeland manager John Lipon: "On this level, I'm handling all young ballplayers. They're enthusiastic and willing to learn, and that makes it a lot of fun working with them." LAST YEAR: 61-78, sixth in Eastern League, 25Vt games behind. 1992 SCHEDULE Home games shaded; all times Detroit times MANAGER: Mark DeJohn, first year.

STADIUM: Labatt Park, 5,400 seats. TICKETS: $8.50 box, $7.00 chair, $6.00 bench, $4.25 Hpni bleacher. Discount for children under 12 and seniors. Prices in Canadian dollars. NEAREST AIRPORT: London Airport CALL: 519-645-2255.

WRITE: 93 Wharncliffe Road North, London, Ontario, Canada, N6H 2A7. After 29 years, Lipon managing to have fun BASEBALL 1992 SCHEDULE Home games shaded; all times Detroit times April -AT SUN 5 MON6TUE7 I WED 8 I THU 9 FR1 10 SAT 11 Tide. Tide. Tide. 7:15 7:15 7:15 SUN 12 1 MON 13 1 TUE 14 I WED 15 THU 16 FR1 17 SAT 18 Rich.

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7:05 Har. 7:05 Har. 7:05 Can. 7:05 Har. 1:35 SUN 10 MON 11 TUE 12 WED 13 THU 14 FR1 15 SAT 16 Lakeland (Class A) Last year: The Tigers were 72-56, fourth in Florida State League, eight games behind.

Manager: John Lipon, fifth year. Stadium: Joker Marchant Stadium, 7,077 seats. Tickets: $3 box, $2 adult reserved, $1.50 senior citizens and under-14 grandstand. Nearest airport: Tampa International. Call: (813) 682-1401.

Write: P.O. Box 2785, Lakeland, Fla. 33806. Faystteville (Class A) Last year: The Generals were 58-79, 13th in the South Atlantic League, 31'2 games behind. Manager: Gerry Groninger, second year.

Stadium: Joseph P. Riddle Stadium, 3,500 seats. Tickets: $6 box, $5 reserved, $3 general admission. Nearest airport: Fayetteville MunicipalGrannis Field. Call: (919) 424-6500.

Write: P.O. Box 221, Fayetteville, N.C. 28302. Niagara Falls (Class A) Last yean The Rapids were 36-42, ninth in the New York-Penn League, 15Vz games back. Manager Larry Parrish, first year.

Stadium: Sal Maglie Stadium, 1,800 seats. Tickets: $3.25 general admission, $2.75 12-under and seniors. Nearest airport: Buffalo Airport. Call: 716-298-5400 Write: 1201 Hyde Park Niagara Falls, N.Y., 14305. Bristol (Rookie) Last year: The Tigers were 22-44, 10th in the Appalachian League, 22 games behind.

Manager: Mark Wagner, first year. Stadium: Randolph Field, 3,000 seats. Tickets: $2 adult, $1 children. Nearest airport: Tri-Cities. Call: (703)466-8310.

Write: P.O. Box 1434, Bristol, Va. 24201. Mayo Smith (below) summed up iif in the minors when he told Wayne Comer in 1967: "Wayne, I think you're going to hit .290 this year but you're going to be doing it in Montgomery, Ala." By Joe Cybulski Free Press Sports Writer After nine years in the major leagues and 29 years as a minor league manager, Johnny Lipon still gets nervous before the start of each season. The butterflies in his stomach and a little advice from Charlie Gehringer have kept the love affair with baseball burning as strong as ever for Lipon, who will be 70 in November.

"Back when I was 19 and going up to bat for the first time, I went up to Charlie and said, 'Mr. Gehringer, do you ever get Lipon said. "He said, 'Son, if you're not nervous, it's time to get out of the Lipon is beginning his fifth season as manager of Lakeland, the Tigers' Class A affiliate in the Florida State League. He has 2,106 victories in a career that began in 1959. His coaching influence has been felt in the major leagues from players such as Tommy John and Luis Tiant to, more recently, Bobby Bonilla and Milt Cuyler.

"I've had some good clubs and a lot of good players over the years," Lipon said. "I've been toiling from year to year, but the big thing is that I still feel good and enjoy the game." In 1968, he became a coach with the Cleveland Indians and was named interim manager with 59 games remaining in the 1971 season after Alvin Dark was fired. He was not rehired by Cleveland for the 1972 season and became manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, Detroit's top farm club. "I did have the ambition to become a major league manager," Lipon said. "That was probably my one big shot at it.

But all in all, I have no regrets." Lipon managed in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization from 1974 through 1985 before rejoining the Tigers in '86. Before managing, Lipon played shortstop for the Tigers in 1942, 1946 and 1948-52. He finished his career with brief stops in Boston, St. Louis and Cincinnati before retiring in 1954. His best season was in 1950, when he batted .293 with 27 doubles and two homers.

He also led the American League with 483 assists and 126 double plays. "It's basically the same game today as it was in my era," Lipon said. "We had fun back then, and I see players like Cecil Fielder and Alan Trammel! who have great fun now. Maybe the one difference is, most of the kids today want instant success. They get disappointed a lot quicker than we did." Helping Tigers prospects learn to control their emotions is one of Lipon's many duties.

"On this level, I'm handling all young ballplayers," he said. "They're enthusiastic and willing to learn, and that makes it a lot of fun working with them. "I try to teach them a little discipline. It's good training for everyday life. I also have to set curfews, so I'm pretty much like a father to them maybe even a grandfather in some cases." On the field, Lipon demands one Can.

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New Tide. Tidewater, Va (Mets). Britaia Com. (Boston); Rea Reading, Pa (Philadelphia). thing from his players hustle.

"Basically, it's a fun game," Lipon said. "The fans like to see the players hustling all the time, like a Pete Rose. When the players don't hustle, that gets me upset. "Win or lose, if we're not hustling, we'll have a team meeting after a game. If you stress that to them on this level, the Tigers will eventually get good, hustling players." One such example is Scott Livingstone, a Tigers third baseman who has fond memories of his time with Lipon.

"I played for him when I first signed out of college, in '88 in Lakeland," he said. "He was the first manager I played for, and I really enjoyed it. He had kind of an easy-going atmosphere, and he made it easy to come in and play, especially because I joined them in the middle of the season. "The atmosphere he creates is laid-back, but still, he gets his point across as far as what he wants you to do and what he doesn't want you to do. And people don't take it for granted just because he's so many years ahead of them.

They still respect him and honor what he says and do what he says. "When you start in pro ball, you're anticipating all these new things, and he says, 'Listen, just go out and do what you've been doing and relax and have fun. Livingstone's current manager, Sparky Anderson, also benefited from that approach. Lipon said Anderson was one of the hardest-working players he ever managed (Triple-A Toronto, 1961). "He was a good, little, aggressive player," Lipon said.

"He reminded me of Eddie Stanky. He was so aggressive and intelligent, and he did the little things to help you win." Joe McDonald, the Tigers' director of minor league operations, knows that the Tigers have something special in Lipon. "He's an enigma," McDonald said. "I don't know anyone else in baseball who is managing with such productivity and enthusiasm. He gains the respect of his players, but at the same time they are totally relaxed.

"He has the ability to convey the fundamentals, yet do it in a spirit where the players respond to what he's saying. The players respect him." Sometime this August, in what has become an annual summer ritual, McDonald will travel to Lakeland and ask Lipon if he'll be coming back next season. "I don't know; this might be my last season," Lipon said. "But I've been saying that for 10 years." Free Press sports writer John Lowe contributed..