TANK M^MARA
by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1981
Page 15
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United Press International
COCOA, Fla. — Bill Virdon is
no stranger in the outfield. He
played it more than 15 years,
though his biggest trouble was
that he was a center fielder in the
New' York Yankees’ chain right
around the time a kid named
Mickey Mantle was playing it for
them.
Once in a while, the Houston
Astros manager who did such a
magnificent job last year getting
them so close to the World Series,
likes to walk out to the outfield
before a ball game and talk with
some of his players while they’re
shagging flies.
He did that one day this spring
with his left-handed relief ace, Joe
Sambito, who had agreed to a nice
new five-year seven-figure con
tract a short time before.
Bill Virdon had something on
his mind. Typically, he used the
soft key approach although he
didn’t beat around the bush.
“You’re in a good position
financially, ’ he said to Sambito.
“You don’t have to worry about
having a blockbuster year or about
piling up big numbers. I think
you’re a very good pitcher with
thestufifyou have. I also think now
is the time to start thinking about
five years from now. You’re not
gonna have that good hard fast ball
all the time. You have to learn to
develop your off speed pitch. I
want you to work on it. Don’t be
afraid to take your lumps now and
then. "
And that’s what Joe Sambito is
doing this spring. Working on his
change-up, and if he gets it down
pat, look out. Virdon wants him to
have another pitch. Especially to
those right-handed hitters so they
won’t be able to sit on his fast ball.
Sambito never has had any arm
trouble and is always ready to
pitch. He is durable, dependable
and consistent. He never has got
ten that much publicity, but for
sheer ability supported by hard,
cold statistics, there aren’t too
many more effective pitchers in
the game.
Would you believe Sambito’s
lifetime earned run average of
2.50 is better than those of either
Steve Carlton or Tom Seaver, a
couple of three-time Cy Young
Award winners? It is. Or that it’s
lower than that of Sandy Koufax,
who wound up his career at 2.76?
Only one pitcher now in the ma
jors among those with at least 20
decisions owns a better lifetime
ERA than the Astros’ classy 28-
year-old southpaw and that’s
Bruce Sutter with his 2.40.
Sambito helped the Astros
plenty last year with his 17 saves,
2.20 ERA and 8-4 record. Maybe
you remember how he helped
them to the western division title
and in their five-game playoff with
the Phillies.
Virdon brought him in to pitch
to one batter. Bake McBride, in
Game 2 of the playoffs and Sambi
to struck him out with the bases
full. He also fanned Mike Schmidt
in a clutch situation in the fifth and
final contest but in between those
two appearances, he worked two
innings in Game 4 and wound up
the loser after Greg Luzinski dou
bled home two runs off him.
The playoff between the Astros
and Phillies easily was one of the
most dramatic in history providing
a different thrill every two mi
nutes.
Looking back at those playoffs
now, Sambito concedes the defeat
by the Phillies was hard to take but
it was not really the low point of
his five years with the Astros.
“The most disappointing loss I
ever had personally, the one that
stands out most, was a game in St.
Louis in 1979,’’ he says. “We had a
three-run lead with two out and I
had a full count on Roger Freed
with the bases full. I came in with
a high fast ball. Home run.
Goodbye.’’
Heeding the advice of Virdon
and pitching coach Mel Wright,
Sambito is experimenting with his
change-up whenever he can find
the right situation. He also plans
to use it occasionally once the sea
son starts but in a jam, he figures
to go with his fast ball.
“I’d hate to have to cost the
team one game,” he says. “We saw
what it meant last season.”
United Press International
PHILADELPHIA — Next
year’s finals of the NCAA Basket
ball Championships are not in Phi
ladelphia, but that doesn’t mean
Indiana won’t be heavily involved
in the chase for another national
title.
The Hoosiers won their fourth
NCAA crown Monday night at the
Spectrum with a 63-50 victory
over North Carolina. It was their
first title since 1976, when they
also captured the big prize on the
same court.
“My first thought would be,
really, when does the tournament
committee want to come back to
Philadelphia?” asked Indiana
Coach Bobby Knight.
Monday night’s contest nearly
was postponed because of the
assassination attempt on Presi
dent Reagan, but NCAA officials,
after much consultation, decided
to hold the contest when Reagan’s
condition improved.
The 1982 Final Four will meet
at the Louisiana Superdome in
New Orleans, and many expect
Indiana to be right in the thick of
things.
The Hoosiers return four star
ters from the 26-9 championship
team. That includes All-America
guard Isiah Thomas, named MVP
of the tournament after scoring 23
points in the finals, although NBA
scouts would like to see the 6-foot-
1 sophomore turn pro.
The other returning starters are
6-6 guard Randy Wittman, who
bombed away from the outside
against North Carolina for 16
points, 6-10 centerforward Land-
on Turner and 6-8 forward Ted
Kitchel. Another player to figure
prominently in Indiana’s plans is
6-3 reserve guard Jim Thomas,
who made the All-Tournament
team with his hustling all-around
play.
What may send shudders
throughout the Big Ten is Knight’s
opinion that the best days of the
current Hoosier team might be
ahead.
“We’ve undergone a matura
tion process through the course of
the year and through that have
developed more experience,” sid
Knight, whose team was 7-5 in
December before turning its sea-
sonaround. “This team has grown,
and developed. But I think they
haven’t finished maturing yet.
That should come some time next
year.
The only starter the Hoosiers
will lose is 6-9 center Ray Tolbert,
who is Knight’s choice for the Big
Ten’s Most Valuable Player. Tol
bert scored just five points but
pulled down a gamehigh 11 re
bounds against the Tar Heels.
Indiana’s five-game march
through the NCAA tournament
was devastating. Its smallest mar
gin of victory was 13 points and the
aggregate point spread over five
contests was a whopping 113
points, or nearly 23 a game.
As for North Carolina, which
finished 29-8, Coach Dean Smith
says farewell to two starters — Al
Wood, the silky 6-6 forward who
scored 57 points in the last two
games, and guard Mike Pepper.
But the Atlantic Coast Confer
ence team does return formidable
inside strength in 6-9 sophomore
James Worthy and 6-9 freshman
Sam Perkins, plus dependable
point guard Jimmy Black.
If the Tar Heels are fortunate
enough to advance some distance
in the NCAA tournament, howev
er, Smith figures he’ll see a famil
iar face.
“Bobby does such a great job
with Indiana,” he said.
The Corps of Cadets gets its news from
the Batt.
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