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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1979)
Page 10 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1979 The ageless, patient pro Yaz gets better with age United Press International NEW YORK — Hawk Harrelson was talking about the natural pro cess of aging, how hellish it is to grow old and how it eventually catches up with even the very best hitters, when he finally got around to 39-year-old Carl Yastrzemski. And that was where he stopped. “I’ve known the man since 1963, I see him every day and each day I find myself more astonished by his amazing grace than I was the day before,’’ said the Red Sox’ former outfielder-first baseman who now does their games on TV. “Remember the year he had in 1967? He was supposed to be at his peak then. And now look what he’s doing 12 years later! He’s a better hitter now than he ever was, “There’s no shame to it. I saw it happen with great hitters like Mic key Mantle, Al Kaline, Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard and Brooks Robinson, all of ‘em. Not with Yaz, though. He’s a much bet ter fastball hitter today than he ever was.” Almost every time he comes to bat for the Red Sox now, Yas trzemski either approaches a new record or breaks some old one. When he doubled down the right-field line his first time up in the second inning of Sunday’s loss at the hands of the Yankees at Yankee Stadium, for example, it marked the 1,009th extra-base hit of his 19-year career, tying him with Ernie Banks of the Cubs for 13th place on the all-time list. Yaz, hitting a cool .304, needs only 49 more hits to reach 3,000 and one more home run for 400. When he attains both those goals he will NATURALLY LIGHT LUNCH 1 Come to the Sbisa Dining Center Basement. The fresh crisp salad items are almost unlimit-^, ed and the superb sandwiches are made with big loaves of bread baked daily for this special purpose. If you are dieting you may also wish to try a bowl of natural freestone peaches. No sugar has been added to these beautiful peaches Quality First Open 10:45 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Mon.-Fri. become the first American Leaguer ever to achieve this unique quinella. Only Willie Mays, Stan Musial and Hank Aaron have ever done it be fore. When you talk to someone like Harrelson about Yastrzemski, he talks about his incredible grace. When you talk with Dwight Evans, its his tremendous competitiveness, and Mike Torrez dwells on his con sistency and his discipline. But the characteristic that im presses me most about Boston’s elder statesman is his restraint. His patience and his professionalism, no matter how intense the pressure is around him. “Experience probably has most to do with that,” said Yaz. “Talking with Ted Williams down through the years also has helped me in that regard. He always told me to be pa tient, not to give in to the pitcher to take a walk rather than go after a pitch I really didn’t want.” In Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Yankees, it was Yastrzemski’s ninth-inning homer off former teammate Luis Tiant that gave the Red Sox their winning margin. He hit a curveball for the game-winner. It was almost the identical pitch Tiant got Yaz to tap back to him on the mound his previous time up in the seventh inning. Yaz remembered the pitch Tiant got him out on. Tiant remembered it, too, and after he ran the count to one-and-one on him in the ninth, he came in with it again. Bye-bye. About 10 rows up in the lower right-field seats. A patient Yastrzemski had been waiting for that same pitch again, only this time he didn’t tap it back. In all the years he has been with the Red Sox, Yaz has been in many different pressure situations and had hundreds of different experiences. Of them all, though, he likes to call to mind one in particular in De troit during his rookie season in 1961. “I was only 19 years old, and tak ing Ted Williams’ place in left field, there was tremendous pressure put on me by the news media,” he thought back. “On this particular day, Frank Lary broke my bat on me twice and struck me out twice. I had gone for the collar, it was two months or so into the season and I was hitting .220 or something like that. “Sitting in front of my locker, I was thinking maybe it was too tough, maybe I wouldn’t make it in the big leagues. Mike Higgins, our manager then, spotted it. He must’ve known the way I felt, what I was thinking. He came over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. You’re my left fielder, this year, next year, the year after no matter what. SOUTHWOOD PLACE HAIR DESIGNERS Come out and get acquainted with us and GET A FREE Shampoo and Blow Dry with your hair cut $ 8 for men *10 for women Bonnie Couch Racheal Flores Rita Christy Dawn Marie Vorhies CALL TODAY 693-2383 1804 Brothers Blvd. — Southwood Valley The hot summer weather and the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations mean one thing to many Bryan-College Station citizens — softball. Men and women alike flock to local softball fields each summer to play in city Oiler rookies head for camp (jg United Press International SAN ANGELO — Coach Bum Phillips expected 54 rookies and free agents to complete physical exams and be fitted for uniforms today in preparation for the start of the Houston Oilers training camp. One rookie Phillips was not sure would attend the opening practice Wednesday morning was second- round draft choice Mike Stensrud of Iowa State. He has not signed a con tract and has failed to show up at the camp. Stensrud’s brother, Mai in camp trying to maketheOS l a free agent. Maynard saidMfifPERRYT still at home in Lake Mills imp on stm Neither Oilers officials n;mrt iteninp srud’s agent, Randy HeockAhing ino Houston, would say what wBces in re ing the negotiators apart w j 1£ tedly, the Oilers do not want 0 Stensrud a four-year mi,Tjjj,,,,. p an h ; sought. Krtageof The rookies and free age: L et j ^j] en game against Kansas CitysjK" , . players July 18, the samed., Li *^J lls veterans officially begin wo:i: t srects ang that wh lay toward frop. Near Humped or 1 Before 1 dieted, “se' Day students get their news from the Batt. :i< OLAAGCfi THE HERD TEQUILA Their heads still stand. Nine feet high. Eighteen tons strong. The Olmec civiliza tion in Mexico that miraculously carved them out of stone is now ancient his tory. But, from this same land in Mexico, an imposing Tequila is made. It’s made in Gold and in Silver and it’s made to taste sensually powerful, but mellow. Olmeca is made as a monument for all tequilas that follow. , >**• T"*~ - jsrz*. jL S*r* m * mws$Y t " i m % -m. .m | ; 70/^§Y5>\? i f I - V f\ .1 f !> ’ T, i *! 80 PROOF (^n) 80 PROOF A OBFRiATE FROM THE MEZCAL RIANT LA FABRICA LA MARTINENA TEOUSAJAUSCOMEXtCO REG.SSANti753908RE6 ES)CAUSWr 84119 750 ML (25.4 FL0Z.) Mic maj< wor Ol MFCA SILVf R AND OLMECA GOLD OLMECA TEQUILA CO LOS ANGELES. CALIF