Page 12 THE BATTALION _
^ TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1978 ^ _
It’s rough on the way up, ask Metzger
Houston Astro shortstop Roger Metzger backs
up teammate Julio Gonzalez on a close play at
second base when the Astros played Texas
A&M at Olsen Field last week. Metzger, a
native of San Antonio, was very impressed
with Olsen Field and with Aggie baseball.
Golfers take third place
By KEVIN PYLE
The Texas A&M golf team, paced
by sophomore Dave Ogrin, finished
in third place in the April Sound Sa
lute to College Golf at the April
Sound golf course.
Ogrin, from Waukeegan, Ill.,
shot a 143 with rounds of 69 and 74,
for a sixth place finish.
The tournament was won by the
University of Houston after they
beat Oregon in a sudden death
play-off. The teams had 565 totals in
the 36-hole event which was held
Saturday & Sunday. A&M had 588
for third followed by Rollins at 596.
Other teams in order of their
finish were TCU, Rice, Pan Ameri
can, Houston Baptist, Texas Tech
and Lamar.
The individual title was won by
Houston’s John Stark.
Bennett and Dennard
return to spring drills
By RENEE’ PEVOTO
Senior members of the Aggie
football squad bid farewell to their
shoulder pads on Kyle Field De
cember 3. Mark Dennard and Phil
Bennett have returned in coaching
shorts.
Dennard and Bennett are helping
coach the annual spring training
with practices Tuesday through
Saturday from about 4:30 to 6:30
p. m.
Dennard is assisting under Coach
Dan LaGrasta. He is working with
the offensive line, particularly cen
ters. Bennett, under Coach Paul
Register, shares his knowledge with
the defensive line, keying on defen
sive ends.
Neither of them is being paid for
the job since they are on schol
arship, but both agree it is “good
experience under a good staff.”
Dennard said, “We’re coaching a
lot younger guys sO they don’t re
sent the fact that we re trying to
help them. We don’t say too much
to the older guys.”
The players’ attitudes are
“super,” said Bennett. “I help them
if I can. I don’t try to correct them
every down, I just help in their
technique.”
These two said they are glad not
to be going through spring training
this year.
“It was so routine for the past
three years, I felt like I would still
have to go through it, but when
spring came, I didn’t have to. It’s
more pleasant to visit Kyle Field in
shorts and a T-shirt than to walk
through the tunnel in 30 pounds of
equipment,” said Dennard. Bennett
added, “It feels good not to always
have to be somewhere. My days
don’t seem to worry me as much.
After the past four years it feels bet
ter to be out on Kyle Field in coach
ing shorts than in pads.”
Dennard plans on finishing school
in the first summer session. He will
be getting his degree in business
administration. He is also waiting
for the professional football draft.
which will be in May. “Even if I’m
drafted I will finish school,” said
Dennard. He added that he will be
getting married on May 27.
Bennett is a P.E. major who will
graduate in May. “I want to stick
around here for a while after I
graduate. I hope to get a job coach
ing in college eventually.”
Individually for A&M it was
Ogrin at 143 followed by Biff Ale
xander with a 145 based on rounds
of 73-72. Next, Tim Carlton had
71-76 for a 147 and Doug Ward had
74-77 for a 151. Ward’s round on
Sunday would have been consid
erably better had he just parred the
last hole which was a par four but he
ended up with a horrendous 10.
Rounding out the scoring was Jay
Kent who had a 153 total on rounds
of 79-74.
The tournament was unique in
that it offered money in the form of
athletic scholarships for the top
three teams. Houston won $1000,
Oregon got $500 and A&M received
$200.
Coach Bob Ellis was fairly pleased
with his team’s performance saying
“We are on the right track”, but he
noted that he wasn’t very pleased in
the stroke difference of them and
the winner.
A&M’s next tournament will be in
the All-America Intercollegiate In
vitational in Houston at Atascocita
Country Club on April 12-15.
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NOCONA • CHRIS ROMERO • SHEYENNE
By DERRICK GRUBBS
A high school pitcher goes 15-0 his
senior year with a 0.80 ERA. He av
erages ten strikeouts per game
throwing ninety percent fastballs.
He has a curve ball that breaks a little
just before crossing the plate, but it’s
enough to fool the batters in his dis
trict because most of them don’t
even know what a real curve looks
like.
He is named all-state and
everyone tells him how good he is.
When a scout from a major league
club knocks on his door and tells him
how good he is — and waves a
hundred-dollar bill in his face just to
prove it — it can put the young
pitcher to dreaming.
So after probably not enough de
liberation, the young man signs the
pro contract and in doing so, often
signs his life away in the process.
Those that do make it to the big
leagues have beaten out several
others for a spot on a major league
roster but there are only 24 of those
to go around for each team.
The rest spend their summers rid
ing a bus from city to city, eating who
knows what who knows when and
sleeping in hotels where the air con
ditioning usually doesn’t work — if
there is air conditioning.
They play in parks where a ground
ball hit right at a fielder has a 50-50
chance — it will either hit him on
the chest or the face, depending on
just how bad the field really is.
Not a pretty picture? Not to the
player who cannot use those same
dreams that he had the day he signed
and see that maybe, if he sticks with
it, he’ll get a shot at the “big club.”
Houston Astros shortstop Roger
Metzger leaned against the batting
cage at Olsen Field as his teammates
took batting practice prior to an ex
hibition game with the Texas Aggies
last Wednesday.
“You know,” he said through the
bulk of chewing tobacco in his left
cheek, “These college players don’t
know how good they have it. This
place doesn’t even compare with
eighty percent of the ball parks in the
minors.”
He quickly added that he realized
that most college parks are not as
lavish as Olsen Field, but the point
was still valid.
The seven-year veteran of the Na
tional League has twice led the
senior loop shortstops in seasonal
fielding percentage. He won a Gold
Glove in 1973 and was named the
Astros’ MVP that year. A broken
ankle kept him out of action for
nearly two months last season but he
was back in the starting lineup on
opening day again this year.
Metzger is a Texas product, hav
ing played his high school ball in San
Antonio and college ball at St. Ed
ward’s in Austin. While in college he
played at old Kyle Field when the
Aggies hosted St. Edward s in a
baseball game there over a decade
ago.
Metzger made his return trip to
College Station last week when the
Ags defeated the Astros 1-0 in the
exhibition.
After the game, Metzger said he
was impressed with the A&M pitch
ing staff, most of which he saw that
afternoon as the Aggies used six hur-
lers in the ten-inning contest.
“When I was in college, I didn’t
face many pitchers who could throw
sliders or curves like A&M’s pitchers
did,” Metzger said. “Those guys
really knew what they were doing
out there today. They didn’t seem
intimidated by us at all, and that’s a
tribute to their coaching. I know
Tom Chandler has always done an
outstanding job here.”
Metzger was posed with a ques
tion concerning college baseball and
its relationship to the pros. Consid
ering the somewhat discouraging
atmosphere surrounding the minor
leagues, it has been suggested that
the major league franchises sub
sidize the college programs and use
them as more or less of a “farm sys
tem.”
“It seems like the pros are trying
to shorten the playing life of a minor
leaguer by drafting him out of col
lege,” said Metzger. “I don’t believe
there is any way the colleges will take
the place of the current minor league
system. If a player gets a chance to
play at the college level I think it’s a
definite advantage. He gets those
three or four years to mature and still
faces some pretty good competition,
especially if his league plays a brand
of ball like the Southwest Confer
ence. Even at some of the small col
leges and junior colleges a young
player is given a chance to improve
his skills before thinking about turn
ing pro.”
The minor league system cur
rently has three levels, AAA, AAand
A with most teams adding a second A
team or a rookie league team for a
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total of tour or five farm teams.
Metzger referred to an article in
the April 8 issue of The Sporting
News where New York Yankees
owner George Steinbrenner
suggested that the minors eliminate
the AA level and contribute some of
the savings for each club to college
baseball programs, thus increasing
the number of baseball prospects
emerging from the nation’s colleges.
Chances are this, or any other like
development, will never see day
light due to the overall conservative
attitude of the major league owners.
“There are a lot of advantages and
“a cut
above”
disadvantages to such a change, J
Metzger. “Sure, the young!
player benefits from those yeanl
playing in college, but he also J
to be exposed to the pressures oil
professional game if he hasj
thoughts of becoming a majorU
ballplayer. Also, he needs tol
used to playing in front of tiie]
called ‘growling fan’ that has bet.
a traditional part of pro baseball
He will encounter .soine“gro\il_
fans” in college as well, butthert^™
still many other factors for a l
school player to consider
reaching for that pen.
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301 PATRICIA » NORTHGATE • 846-7401
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Meditation
Lecture April 11
Room 226 Library
7:30 p.m.
a. International Meditation Society
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