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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1987)
Tuesday, July 21, 1987TThe Battalion/Page 5 Sports l ’87 Aggies could be overachievers 's' inlet; iki said By Homer Jacobs Sports Editor ■ intetf r? Most college football experts sthatio agree that the 1987 Southwest Con- ln garei ference race will be a battle between "s Kert tie Arkansas e UniiBazorbacks and ■aity amHexas A&M, Bth the major- is verity of the so- iveniii; called afficionados picking Arkansas dp diet tl grab the conference crown, will rit: A&M is supposedly in a transition ito the year after losing quarterback Kevin ■array and other key starters like s establ! Bernstine, Roger Vick and oitldhn Johnny Holland. upponH Could it be a down year for the Texas; tf°*hme defending SWC champs? >g lihe wa y- Jn't wafl Granted the Aggies have a lot of yrung, untested talent that will take the field, but game by game those fl undoubt rograd prol® (1 sin: , jtedly And there are going to be plenty lasses J youngsters :reJ 1 profr llli of pleasant surprises on this year’s squad for Aggie fans to enjoy. For example, before the 1986 Cotton Bowl against Auburn, such players like Bernstine and kicker Scott Slater were hardly game break ers. Last fall, they became game sav ers. This season, look for players like strong safety Chet Brooks and line backer Dana Batiste to step to the forefront and grab superstar status. But what is going to make the 1987 season interesting for Aggie fans is the unpredictability of a young team and a schedule that may be unmatched in quality in college football this year. A good example of unpredictabil ity stirring interest came in the Ag gies’ 1985 march from mediocrity to a national power. No one expected A&M to beat SMU 19-17 on a 47-yard field goal by Eric Franklin, then sneak past Ar kansas 10-6 and finally trounce the nghorns 42-10 for an outright SWC title. That year marked the first time the Aggies had picked Cotton and gone to Dallas since 1968. That year started a new trend at A&M — win ning consistently. It was the best of times for all Ag gies, new and old. The Aggies then seemed to be on the brink of a na tional championship in ’86. But after Astros becoming frustrated with 'ojpoor hitting since All-Star break alkedi * HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s ^^■evin g ass anc j Bin Doran each , .Rented their frustrations in the UPMomestand finale against Philadel- , Hhia Sunday by slamming their hel- gfigiets to the turf. ^ s becoming an Astros ritual. ’ /PB -pj ie y\ stros i iac i B e uer luck hitting . Bte ground with their helmets than 7/Bitting baseballs with their bats in j IB 16 opening games of the second need ; Ialf()l'the season. iesaid V I The power outage has pushed ttmpers to the limit. Ull'lfl “1 can’t stand much more of this, llrn going to start breaking things,” ®I^Boran said. “You guys (media) come Tl here asking the same questions ■id we have to give the same an- gfvers. “I don’t know what the answer is. W ejust have to keep battling.” i lB The Astros, who surged from the WVBll-Stai break to win the National : ®\“^B ea gue Western Division title last -*^*ason, have not found such a magic formula in the opening series after waso t)]<>break this season. nlylorH ; birds rmfuli ve otto target 't eat life The Astros scored only six runs in losing three of four games to the Phillies. Sunday’s loss dropped the Astros below .500 for the first'time since June 8 and into third place. They completed the home stand that started before the All-Star break with a 3-8 record and opened a road trip at Montreal Monday night. Pitchers Nolan Ryan, 4-11, and Bob Knepper, 3-11, who follow Mike Scott in the rotation, have a combined 7-22 record. Glenn Davis, the team’s power hit ler, hasn’t hit a home run since July 2. In the 11-game home stand, Davis got six hits and drove in one run, leaving 16 other baserunners stranded. Ryan stepped in a hole on his ranch during the All-Star break and missed his first turn in the rotation with a sprained ankle. He pitched 2- l A innings Sunday but left with a hip injury. The Astros were thwarted Sunday by Bruce Ruffin, who brought a 6-7 record and 4.37 earned run average into the game. Ruffin’s sinker pitch resulted in 20 ground ball outs. “We can’t keep getting beat by guys who have a nigh ERA and bad records,” Manager Hal Lanier said. The Astros hitting would be even worse without rookies Ken Caminiti and Gerald Young in the lineup. Caminiti, called up from Class AA after the All-Star break, has been in volved in five of the six runs. Young drove in the winning run, scoring Caminiti, in Thursday night’s vic tory. Young is anxious to stick with the major league club and not return to Class AAA at Tucson. “I can’t let myself get too up or too down because whatever happens to day, I still have to come back tomor row and do my job,” Young said. Caminiti is hitting .500 on seven hits in 14 at bats with two home runs, a triple, double and three runs bat ted in in his brief stay with the As tros. Despite their travails, the Astros started the road trip trailing Cincin nati by only 314 games. I avails iliar reived Long still in baseball record book as Mattingly’s homer streak ends $ From the Associated Press The name Dale Long is still part of baseball history. ■ Long, while on a business trip, ||vatched on television Thursday night as All-Star Don Mattingly hit a home run for the sixth consecutive igaine, tying the American League Record. Mattingly broke the AL mark Fri- ay night and tied Long’s 31-year- old major league record of hitting a home run in eight straight games | Saturday. « Long saw the replays and read the stories, then called Mattingly to offer Txmgratulations. I® On Sunday night at Texas, the ^ew York Yankees first baseman [ried to break Long’s mark and add bnother footnote to his increasing i|jist of honors. But all he could man- IBkge was a single and double as the (angers’ Greg Harris and Jeff Rus sell combined to stop the streak. The Yankees lost 20-3. Mattingly was the AL MVP in ■1985 and the runner-up lasv season, ■dis 238 hits in 1986 1 „ ine Yan kees’ all-time record for one season and his 53 doubles broke Lou Geh rig’s club record of 52, set in 1927. Long said after Sunday’s game that he was proud to share his re cord with Mattingly. “If I had to pinpoint one person playing baseball to oreak my record, it would have been Don Mattingly,” Long said. “He told me on the phone (before the game) he’d sacri fice a home run for a Yankee win. That’s my type of player.” Long spent 12 years playing for 15 clubs in 12 leagues before he made the headlines in 1956 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Long recalled that after he had homered in five straight games the word was out that he was on to some thing special. “I had been feeling loose,” Long said. “... The next day (May 25, 1956) against Curt Simmons of the Phillies I hit my sixth.” Long said he made a deliberate at tempt to break the record on May 26. In the eighth inning he hit an 0-2 pitch off the Phillies’ Ben Flowers to set the record and become a hero, at least for a day. Long appeared on the “Ed Sulli van Show,” got a raise from the Pi rates and a Pittsburgh bread and milk company hired him to plug their products. There was even a Dale Long T-Shirt. He made eight straight games with a fourth-inning homer against Brooklyn’s Carl Erskine on May 28 and won the game 3-2 for the Pi rates. “When I hit it, I didn’t think it was going,” Long recalled. “The ball just cleared the right-field wall in Forbes Field.” The 32,221 fans at Forbes Field made Long come out for a curtain call, something reserved for truly great moments 30 years ago. The next morning, Long awoke at 4 a.m. to appear on the “Today Show.” That night Brooklyn’s hard- throwing Don Newcombe stopped the streak. “The newspaper fellows wrote af terward that Newcombe overpow ered me,” Long said. “But the fact is I was tired. I was so beat up I couldn’t get m- bat around. You can i do th^t . J face Newcombe and expect to hit a homer.” upset losses to LSU and Arkansas, A&M had to settle for justa Cotton Bowl berth without a shot at a na tional title. The season was a case of expecta tion being overpowered by reality. The Aggies were 9-3, but the season ended on a sour note with the poor performance by Murray in the Cot ton Bowl, resulting in a 28-12 loss to Ohio State. But the 1987 campaign could be a case of lower expectations giving way to higher achievement. With a favorable home schedule, including battles with Louisiana State, Wash ington, Arkansas and Texas at Kyle Field, A&M could sneak up on ev erybody. This season is probably the last time for at least the next three or four years that A&M will not be picked to win the SWC in football, with its stockpile of talent waiting in the wings. In any case, the year will be a memorable one, win or lose. Strawberry accepts new batting niche NEW YORK (AP) — The lineup change was handled quietly but its significance could not be ignored. Darryl Strawberry bats cleanup for the New York Mets now. Strawberry, fined twice and , benched once this season by Man ager Davey Johnson, inherited the No. 4 slot in the lineup Sunday when catcher Gary Carter, who usually bats fourth, was rested as usual in a day game after a night game. But Johnson said Strawberry would stay put, even when Carter plays. “You’ll see more of this lineup,” Johnson said. “The middle of the lineup hasn’t produced. Darryl is getting on base more than any of those guys and has been the most consistent driving in runs. He’s hit ting left-handed pitching better, even better than Carter, and de serves to be in the responsibility spot.” That’s fine with Strawberry, who has yearned for the niche for some time. “I’m glad Davey is giving me this opportunity,” he said. “It tells me that Davey wants me to bat in more situations with runners on base. That’s what I want, too.” Johnson and Strawberry haven’t always seen eye to eye this season. The manager fined the right fielder $1,500 in spring training for missing one day’s work and arriving late for another. Then Strawberry was fined $250 for being late to the ball park two straight days in Chicago last month. Johnson kept Strawberry on the bench for two days. When first place St. Louis played a three-game series in New York at the end of the month, Strawberry appeared at a recording studio in Manhattan but then begged off play ing two of the games because he said he was sick. Teammates Wally Back- man and Lee Mazzilli publicly ques tioned his dedication to the team, creating a tense situation in the club house. Now, though, Johnson has pinned the Mets’ second half hopes on the lanky right fielder. “For us to make a run (streak), we need big production from Darryl,” the manager said. “It’ll be a big lift for me,” said Strawberry. “It’ll be nice seeing those ducks out there on base, know ing 1 have a cha ,ce to drive them in.” * y l Mont Cali Battalion Classified 845-2611 Low-Impact Exercise is designed to give your joints the break they need. These classes will give you a good workout without most of the stress of a normal aerobic class. $12/student, $14/nonstudent. __ M/W, 5-6pm JL> July 20, 22. 27. 29. Autr 3. 5, 10, 12 M/W, 6-7pm JD July 20. 22. 27. 29. Aug 3. 5, 10, 12 Aerobics Aerobics will raise your heartbeat for sustained periods of time to improve both your cardiovascular fitness level and your overall muscle tone. Isn’t it time you did something good for yourself! Each of these classes is a bargain for just $12/student. $14/nonstudent. Intermediate Aerobic Exercise _ T/Th, 6-7pm Jr July 21.23. 28. 30. Aug 4. 6. 11. 13 Beginning Aerobic Exercise H J L M/W, 7-8pm July 20. 22. 27. 29. Aug 3. 5. 10. 12 T/Th. 5-6pm duly 21. 23, 28. 30, Aug 4. 6, 11. 13 T/Th. 7-8pm July 21.23. 28. 30. Aug 4. 6. 11. 13 ■7^52 845 -1031 Mattingly not upset home run streak over MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Don Mattingly took the end of the streak in stride. “I’m not disappointed it’s over,” the New York Yankees first baseman said Sunday night after failing to hit a homer for the first time in nine games. “I knew it was over tonight one way or the other.” Mattingly had homered in eight consecutive games to tie the major league record set in 1956 by Pittsburgh’s Dale Long. But in a 20-3 loss to Texas Sunday night, he singled and doubled in four at-bats. “I think they wanted to see me hit a long ball,” Mattingly said. “If I was a ran, I would have wanted to see it.” Mattingly, who doubled off Jeff Russell in his final at-bat, car ried a .342 average into Monday night’s game against the Minne sota Twins. He was named the AL’s Player of the Week Monday. “Russell showed me some thing,” Mattingly said. “He came in right after me. He didn’t lay one in, but he came in with his best stuff.” After the game, Mattingly ap peared more concerned with the Yankees’ loss than his failure to break Long’s record. “I just want to help the club,” said Mattingly, the American League’s MVP in 1985 and run ner-up for the award last season. “It doesn’t help them if I try for homers. ... You do what you can, but you do it for the club.” Long said he was proud to share the record with Mattingly. “I can live with him,” Long said. “He’s an automatic .330 hit ter lifetime. He’s going to be one of the game’s all-time greats.” In the first inning of Sunday’s game, Mattingly grounded out to first base. He singled in the third and lined out to first baseman Mike Stanley in the fifth. Mattingly’s record-tying streak started on July 8 against Minne sota when he nit two home runs. On July 9, he homered against the Chicago White Sox’s Rich Dotson and the following day he hit a grand slam off Chicago’s Joel McKeon. He hit solo home runs off Chi cago on July 11 and 12. After the AlT-Star break, Mattingly hit two homers against Texas on July 16, including his fourth grand slam of the season. On Friday, he es tablished an AL record when he homered in his seventh consec utive game, connecting against Texas’ Paul Kilgus. Six other American Leaguers had homered in six straight games. Reggie Jackson was the last, with Baltimore in 1976. Lopez 11th woman to earn rights for LPGA Hall of Fame NEW YORK (AP) — Nancy Lo pez, only the 1 1th woman to be in ducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame, never thought the day would come. “My goal that first year was to win one tournament,” Lopez said Mon day, hours before she was to be for mally inducted into the Hall of Fame. “I always set goals, and I never set this as my goal. I said ‘No body could ever do that.’ ” The 30-year-old Lopez won her 35th tournament with a victory in the Sarasota Classic on Feb. 8, re quiring her only to wait until July to mark her 10th anniversary on the tour. The LPGA Hall of Fame requires victories in 30 official events, includ ing two different major champion ships, 35 victories and one major or 40 victories and 10 years on the tour. “It’s tough. It’s fair now that I’m in,” she said jokingly. “That’s a lot of tournaments with the competition the way it is.” Lopez, the second-youngest player ever to be inducted next to Mickey Wright, who made it in 1964 at age 29, joins an exclusive club that includes Babe Didriksen Zaharias, Patty Berg and Kathy Whitworth. Lopez began her career in 1977, playing in two events and finishing in the top five both times. In 1978, she gained national attention win ning nine events, including an LPGA record five consecutive tour naments. She won eight more events in 1979, but many consider her best year the 1985 season, when she won five tournaments, won the Player of the Year for the third time, set an LPGA record with a 70.73 stroke av erage to win the Vare Trophy for the third time, won the Mazda- LPGA point series, and set a career earnings mark with $416,472. Faldo's victory celebrated by the man and his country MUIRFIELD, Scotland (AP) — A wave of sporting patriotism swept across the country Monday in the wake of Nick Faldo’s last-gasp vic tory in the British Open golf championship. Faldo’s one-stroke defeat of America’s Paul Azinger after shoot ing 18 successive pars was Britain’s second success in three years at the world’s oldest golf tournament. Sandy Lyle won the event in 1985. Banner headlines were splashed across the front pages of the coun try’s national newspapers. The story also dominated the sports pages, which lavished praise on the new champion while sympa- tl iz : 0 vU' „.zinger. rr ’ American led the tournament from early on the second day before bogeying the final two holes in Sunday’s final round. Faldo was a model of consistency as the tournament reached its cli max. His par-71 final round gave him a 5-under-par total of 279, one stroke ahead of Azinger, and Aus tralia’s Rodger Davis. As he reflected on headlines such as “Fabulous Faldo” and “Great Nick,” the 30-year-old Briton said the most pleasing aspect was that he has an automatic right to play in all four “majors” every year. Faldo, whose victory earned him $120,000, said the money was not as important as being able to beat the wind-swept golf course under pres sure. ALL PROVISIONAL STUDENTS must attend a meeting Thursday, August 6 224 MSC 4-5 p.m. mandatory K YESTERDAYS Daily Drink & Lunch Specials Billiards & Darts Near Luby s / House dress code 846-2625 Call Battalion Classified 845-2611