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The Battalion
SPORTS 7
Thursday, March 8,1990
Sports Editor Richard Tijerina 845-2688
Alan
Lehmann
Senior Sports Writer
More money for
baseball players
not a new idea
as there ever a time when the
only kind of green that baseball players
cared about was the infield grass?
I doubt it.
But like most Americans, I’d like to
think that once upon a time, the major
leagues were made up of men who loved
to play more than they lusted for pay.
The sad fact is that baseball players
are as human as the rest of us, and
they’ve always sought bigger paychecks.
Greed seems to be a recent trend
because players finally have gained the
clout to seek (and receive) seemingly
outrageous salaries.
Don’t feel sorry for the owners. Only
within the last decade have salaries
caught up with revenue increases.
Until the early 1920s, baseball players
were less educated than today’s players,
and were easily pushed around by
owners. As a result, players barely made
enough money to survive.
There is little data available on
average player salaries of the time, but
the biggest stars in the game were paid
relatively small salaries.
Christy Mathewson and Walter
Johnson earned $8,000 and $10,000 a
year, respectively, at the height of their
fame. Ty Cobb held out for a raise in
1912, and got a little over $11,000.
That seems like a tiny sum now, but
considering the averge worker made
roughly $500 per year, $10,000 was a
healthy sum.
The low salaries can be attributed to
tight-fisted owners, the lack of mass
media and a an abundance of smaller
baseball leagues.
Charles Comiskey, who owned the
Chicago White Sox, was one of the most
noted skin-flint owuaers. He allegedly
payed his players so little that they
accepted money from gamblers to
“throw” the 1919 World Series.
The resulting scandal rocked the
baseball world in 1920 and attendance
suffered. Pro baseball, already on shaky
ground, was looked upon as a shady
sport and fans openly wondered how
many other games were fixed.
But in 1920, America’s perception of
baseball changed. Babe Ruth, formerly a
Boston Red Sox pitcher, was traded to
the New York Yankees.
Ruth was converted to an outfielder so
that the Yanks could take advantage of
his power hitting. In 1920 he hit 54
home runs — more than any team in the
major leagues.
No longer was baseball a game of
dominating pitchers and slap hitters.
See Lehmann/Page 8
Ags Milton, Harris honored by AP
FROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS
Two members of the Texas A&M men’s
basketball team were awarded 1989-90 As
sociated Press All-Southwest Conference
honors Wednesday.
Milton was named to the first team, and
Harris was named as one of five top new
comers in the league.
They were the only two Aggies chosen by
AP.
Milton, widely respected as one of the
top point guards in the nation and the only
senior on AP’s first team, has shattered
A&M record books since transferring
from Central Florida Junior College in
1988.
He has recorded 205 assists this year,
breaking A&M’s single season record that
was set by Darryl McDonald in 1987-88.
Milton also broke the single game assist
record in the Aggies loss to Marshall Uni-
versirv last December, with 15 assists.
“Tony has had a great year,” assistant
coach Larry Cockrum said. “He’s always
been a very consistent player for us and he
deserves being all conference.”
Harris, A&M’s star forward who has
blocked over 100 shots this season, was
named to the AP’s newcomer’s team.
Harris too has shattered records since
transferring to A&M from Mississippi
County Community College last year.
“David has always done a great job, de
fensively,” Cockrum said. “He’s the only
player in the SWC other than (Houston’s)
Akeem Olajuwon to block 100 shots in a
single season.”
Fifty-nine of Harris’ 100 blocks came in
SWC play, breaking former A&M forward
Winston Crite’s single season record of 40.
In addition to Milton, senior guard Tra
vis Mays, the University of Texas gifted
gunner from Ocala., Fla., join two members
of the regular season champion Arkansas
Razorbacks in the AP’s SWC team.
Mays, who fought through the last
fourth of the season with an injured shoot
ing hand but still produced double digit
outings, received eight votes from league
coaches as the SWC Offensive Player of the
Year.
Photo by Mike C. Mulvey
Mays led the SWC with an average of
23.9 points per game.
Other members of the mythical first
team as picked by the nine coaches included
sophomores Todd Day and Lee Mayberry,
the one-two offensive punch of the ninth-
ranked Razorbacks and junior Carl Her
rera, the University of Houston’s scoring
machine from Guanare, Venezuela.
Day averages 19.4 points, Mayberry 15
Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack
A&M basketball players Tony Milton (left) and David Harris (above) were
awarded All-Southwest Conference honors Wednesday by the Associated
Press. The Aggies begin the SWC Tournament on Friday against Texas.
points, and Herrera averaged 16.1 points
per contest.
Milton also was second in assists, doling
out an average of 6.8 assisted hoops per
contest.
The second team was also deeply tal
ented and included Arkansas sophomore
center Oliver Miller, Houston’s junior
Craig Upchurch, junior guard Joey Wright
of Texas, Texas Christian’s ace rebounder
and scorer Craig Sibley, and Baylor’s Julius
Denton and Southern Methodist’s John
Colborne, who tied in balloting for the fifth
and final spot.
Sibley, Denton, and Colborne are se
niors.
Tdnv Edmond of Texas Christian, whose
quick hands led to numerous steals, was
named the Defensive Player of the Year by
the coaches.
Aggie bats grow cold
No. 18 A&M falls to SHSU, 4-3
By RICHARD TIJERINA
Of The Battalion Staff
HUNTSVILLE — Left fielder Chad
Broussard stepped to the plate Wednesday
faced with the same situation the Aggies
faced so many times last season: two outs,
two strikes and trailing in their last at bat.
Down 4-2 in the ninth inning, Broussard
responded with a solo home run on a full
count to bring No. 18 A&M to within one
run of Sam Houston State University, but
the Aggies couldn’t scrape one more run
and fell to the Bobkats 4-3 at Holleman
Field.
A&M dropped to 15-6 on the year.
It was a different Aggie team than the
night before, when A&M pounded out 23
hits — 11 of them for extra bases — in a
doubleheader sweep over Southwest Texas
State at Olsen Field.
A&M had eight hits Wednesday.
The Aggies seemed to have felt the ef
fects of playing a road game after a late
doubleheader the night before that didn’t
A&M vs. SHSU
Texas A&M
ab
r
h
rbi
Holt, cf
4
0
2
0
Witte, b
4
0
0
0
Williams, 3b
4
1
1
1
Robinson, rf
4
0
0
0
Rollen, dh
4
1
1
0
Broussard, If
4
1
1
1
Thomas, 1 b
4
0
1
0
Marshall, ss
4
0
2
1
Wood, c
4
0
0
0
Sam Houston State
ab
r
h
rbl
Jones, rf
4
2
1
0
Cotton, cf
4
1
4
2
Copes, If
4
0
1
1
Tallo, c
4
0
1
0
Turlington, 3b
2
0
0
0
Kridler, dh
4
1
1
0
Vollmering, 3b
4
0
0
1
Carmichael, ss
4
0
0
0
Ferrell, 2b
4
0
1
0
Verastegui, ph
1
0
0
0
end until 10:30. A&M played Wednesday
just like the weather: cold and sluggish.
“We just couldn’t get our bats going in
this game,” said third baseman Travis Wil
liams, who scored on a solo home run in the
fifth inning, his fourth of the year. “Our
bats were pretty cold.!’
If the Bobkats were waiting for the Aggie
bats to warm up as the game went on, they
didn’t have to worry. A&M never got on
track.
The Aggies had bases loaded twice, but
failed to capitalize either time.
A&M got its first run in the second in
ning. David Rollen lined a single between
SHSU first baseman Clint Turlington and
second baseman John Carmichael. Brous
sard followed with a line drive off the Bob-
kat starter’s elbow. Broussard was thrown
out, but Rollen advanced to second.
Aggie first baseman Brian Thomas sin
gled to move Rollen to third, and shortstop
Jason Marshall knocked him in on a sharp
single between first and second base.
But A&M’s 1-0 lead was short-lived. The
Bobkats responded with a run in the bot
tom half of the inning. Designated hitter
Gene Kridler drove Aggie starter Brent Gil
See Cold Bats/Page 8
Lady Ags fall
to Lady Cougars
in SWC Tourney
By VINCE SNYDER
Of The Battalion Staff
The Lady Aggies’ basketball team was
hoping for a little sun to shine on them as
they entered the first round of the South
west Conference Women’s Basketball
Tournament Wednesday night against the
Lady Cougars, but bad weather prevailed
once again.
A&M lost a hardfought battle with UH,
who came away with a 77-69 victory at
Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
“I thought we played much better to
night,” A&M coach Lynn Hickey said. “We
were concerned that we would come out
and play like a team tonight.”
It was a close game from the start with
the lead changing hands seven times. Hous
ton was able to milk a seven-point lead over
A&M in the first half, but not after A&M
tied the game nine times during the first 13
minutes.
The Lady Cougars were able to connect
See Game/Page 8
C&C Crawfish Farm
Live, purged, farm raised
crawfish
Call and order now!
JAPAN:
Trade war
or
Fair Competition?
Featuring:
Dr. Lawrence C. Wolken
Texas A&M Finance Department
Wednesday, March 21, 1990
7:00p.m., 158 Blocker
Free Admission
Reception to Follow
A
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