The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 03, 1990, Image 13
The Battalion Page 13 fhursday, May 3,1990 i rted cram- ing food obinson Continued from page 10) He sun, and I remember diving for it (on the play before). That’s the last ing I remember. I don’t remember tting up or getting ready for the n^xt batter. “I remember seeing Coach John- n when I woke up, because he’d :en there all the time, and I said, loach, I don’t think I can finish the ime.’ I didn’t even know it was onday — I had lost all those days.” H Robinson’s jaw was wired shut for five weeks to prevent him from opening his mouth. Of course, that o prevented him from eating any- ing this side of solid food. For the next five weeks, Robinson Ks limited to drinking milkshakes aiid eating yogurt — anything that jw$ smooth. It had to be strained be- Huse there wasn’t any space for it to gp through. H But after the wires were cut two eks ago, Robinson, who had lost out 15 pounds from not eating, s given the [een light to wnole you-#* 1 - When Hey cut the ICAI# r e s miwT 1,” Robinson id. “I just t it in little pieces and 199(j swallowed i*- > ...'whole be- 1*31 SHa use I Huldn’t Hew it. Now I can chew a little bit. Hiis has been the first week that I Hn barely chew. I’m eating anything Hd everything now.” • —i H Dan Robinson remembers his re- covery. u' It wasn’t easy going from the Ag- .Jjtgies’ team leader on offense to ^^tyatching his team go on without Bn. But he said through it all — the Hin, frustration and his doctors and ■aches not allowing him to practice H even pick up a bat — his team- Baates and the community helped Hn with their support. ■ Cards poured into the Robinson Up,,,Home in the Woodlands, Texas, nc "'Hiere he spent most of his recovery Jl£f|jtinie. Children would visit him in the Hspital and ask him to get well be- Scllt]$S ,lse c hey wanted to see him play. H“The team has been really sup- [wartportive — they’ve been great,” Rob- . niBon said. “They give me a hard nmUHie because of the stuff I’ve been They’ve tried to blend every- lUMtjjjing f or me a|; (]; a j n Hall. I’ve had DOle# 38 * 1 m hkshakes and any kind of Hiits — anything that would work, ij* B“My teammates would always give H a hard time about it, but they’re :y St(ill happy for me. They say, ‘We’re Hd to near you talk again.’” leilSl Johnson may be happy just to see Jp wield a bat again. RThe Aggies’ offense has been ane mic at best over the last month. And Mth the team facing a crucial series inst Houston last weekend, and Dan Robinson Battalion file photo by S. Weaver Coach Mark Johnson (I) and trainers attend to Dan Robinson af ter he broke his jaw in a collision with Trey Witte in March. Arkansas this weekend, Johnson said he’s happy to have Robinson back in the lineup. “Dan’s one of the guys who has a chance to open a game up with the long ball,” Johnson said. “Some of the guys don’t have that ability. With that in mind, we think maybe we can get something generated if he can get hold of some balls.” That may have played a part for last weekend’s pinch-hitting appear ance, Robinson said. Johnson had told Robinson before last Saturday’s game to be ready in case he was needed. His chance came in the seventh in ning. “I got chills and goosebumps all over my arms when my name was called,” Robinson said. “It was just a great feeling to be back. When I walked up there, I asked (Johnson) if we were going to take a strike — because we usually take a strike when we’re down a run. “But he said, ‘No, you swing away.’ He was hoping, too. I guess he just had a feeling that I could do something, like I could get an extra base hit.” Robinson didn’t. With his walk, the Aggies had the baserunner they needed to tie the game. Robinson stood on first base wearing the pro tective helmet the doctors make him wear. The lower half of his face is covered with a hard plastic shell, to protect him from any sudden movements. Then came Weber’s repeated pickoff attempts. • Dan Robinson remembers stand ing on first base. With pinch hitter Jeff Bernet at the plate, Weber threw to first base three times in hopes of picking Rob inson off. But each time, Robinson dove safely back into the bag. He said he wasn’t thinking of a possible collision with Houston first baseman James Wambach, even though it might have caused him re injury. Robinson was thinking only one thing — base hit. “I wasn’t nervous, I was anxious,” Robinson said. “I was ready to run. On a double, I was going to score from first base. I already had it in my mind: ‘If he hits a aouble, I’m scoring. I’m scoring.’ I was really pumped up then, and I felt like I could outrun Carl Lewis or some thing—I was feeling that good.” And Robinson said he’s feeling much better since being allowed to play again. “The doctors didn’t release me until the Houston series,” he said. “I’ve been in the dugout for the last four weeks. It’s kind of discouraging sitting there. When the team’s doing well, it hurts because you want to be a part of it. “When the team’s not hitting, you say ‘Maybe if I was there, I could have helped.’ You never know. But I’m just happy to play again, to be a part of this team.” Robinson’s back, even though it took a long road for him to get there. Doctors wanted to make sure bond between the jaw bones were se cure before they gave him permis sion to play. Any sudden movement might have broken the bond, which could have disfigured Robinson’s face. He wasn’t allowed to even pick up a bat for three-and-a-half weeks, but they did let him throw a baseball. In the fourth week, he started running again. Johnson said Robinson has a good chance to play in Arkansas this weekend. The Aggies (42-15 overall, 10-8 in Southwest Conference play) are fighting the Rice Owls for the fi nal spot in the SWC post-season tournament. A&M’s magic-number is two. Any combination of two A&M wins and Rice losses will give the Ag gies the final playoff berth. Rice finishes its season at home against Texas Tech on May 11-12. • Dan Robinson remembers last weekend, watching A&M’s chances at the SWC Tournament start to slip while the Aggies were being swept by the Cougars. It was the first three-game series sweep of the Aggies at home since Arkansas did it in 1987. With Robin son at first base, Bernet struck out. Down to their last out, Pyle ended the game on a long fly ball to right field. That extra base hit Robinson was hoping to try to score from first base on, never came. “There wasn’t much we could do,” Robinson said. “The team did the best it could, and it just didn’t hap pen. It’s disappointing to lose, but we just didn’t come together as a team and play as well as we should have.” Robinson said his biggest problem since coming back is regaining the timing on his swing. Johnson said that will come back in time. What may never come back is Robinson’s memory of his collision. Right now, all he can do to remember the play is watch it on film. Even that cloesn’t help jog his memory. But that may not be all that bad. “I think it’s good that I don’t re member that, because I’m not scared to play now,” Robinson said. “If I would have remembered it, I might be a little more hesitant toward ev erything, even getting close to some body. But it doesn’t bother me at all, so I’m glad for that.” The Aggies are happy too. Robin son’s return won’t bring the team victories. But it certainly won’t hurt. “I’m so anxious right now,” Rob inson said. “I haven’t played in six weeks, and I want to come back and help the team. And I’m not going to do it by myself — everyone else is going to have to contribute like they’ve always done. “That’s what I’ve got to get in my mind, that I need to just stay back, stick to my game, try to get base hits and get on base. I feel good. I feel strong again.” Aggie fans may remember that for a long time. ains threaten golf tournament | IRVING (AP) — Continuing Mins, which have flooded large por- Hns of North Texas, threaten Hiursday’s start of the Byron Nel son Classic. H‘Tm trying to figure out if we can ay 36 holes on Sunday,” Mike ea, tournament director for the PGA Tour, said Wednesday. MAbout four inches of rain fell Wednesday on the TPC at Las Col- ihas in the Dallas suburbs. ■ The heavy rains followed storms last week which flooded large por- d6ns of North Texas, caused mil lions of dollars in damage, forced tljousands from their homes and Were blamed for the loss of seven lives. I Most of the area remained under ash flood watch. “The forecast is for more storms, more of the same, tonight. Maybe another 3-4 inches,” Shea said. “We’ll play when we can.” The pro-am was washed out for the second year in a row and gave the 156-man field a day off. For many of them, it was not completely welcome. Leading money-winner Mark Cal- cavecchia and PGA champion Payne Stewart were among the group looking to the pro-am as their only practice round. “I’ve played here so much, that’s not really a problem,” Stewart said. “But it’s the tournament and the local charity that’s taking the beat ing, and all those people who bought the gold sponsorships and places in the pro-am,” he said. “It’s a shame.” Ope 11 TO DO THIS YOU’VE GOT TO BE ABLE TO STUDY WITHOUT ANY DISTRACTIONS. / ( —If you’ve got a noisy roomate, obnoxious neighbors, or just can’t seem to concentrate at home I ^ or in the library, The Comfort Inn has a deal for you. j -From May 2-9 with an A&M ID., you can get a ^ room at the The Comfort Inn, including a well- g lighted desk, free breakfast, (6:30a.m.-10a.m.) and a ^ kingsized bed for only $35.00 a night! You can come ^ down to our lobby Till 11p.m. and enjoy all the free ^ coffee, lemonade, cookies and fruit you want! At this low rate, we ll soon be filled with Aggies who are serious about studying. BEAT THE fC HELL OUTTA • ( FINALS BEAT THE HELL OUTTA FINALS « 846-7333 T"¥“¥"¥-¥"¥"¥-¥-¥-¥--^V-¥"¥-¥-¥-¥-¥^-¥-yi -ery O’ 1 It also caused some confusion for Calcavecchia, who has slumped after reeling off three consecutive run ner-up finishes a month ago. “The last couple of weeks I’ve playing terrible,” he said. “I’d gone to a new set of clubs at the start of the year, but I’d played so bad lately I thought I’d go back to the old set just to make a change. “But I didn’t get a chance to prac tice with them. So now I don’t know if I want to go with the old set or stay with the new or what. “If it was any other tournament I’d probably just withdraw. But this stretch — Nelson, Memorial, Colo nial — is probably my three favorite tournaments. It’s a stretch I’ve been looking forward to all year.” playoff alive NEW YORK (AP) - Ewing kept the New York Knicks in the playoffs Wednesday night with 33 points and 19 rebounds in a 102-99 victory over the Bos ton Celtics. . * The fourth game will be Friday, night at Madison Square Garden, with the Celtics up 2- L Ewing had 21 points and 16 re bounds at halftime, but he com mitted his fourth foul and sat out most of the third quarter. Ewing returned to the game and scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, givmg New York a seven-point advantage. The Celtics dosed to 100-99 on a free throw by Reggie Lewis with 29 seconds remaining. WANT A 4.0 GPR? i * k EVEN IF A 4.0 IS UNREACHABLE THERE IS jf i)( STILL A WAY TO DO WELL ON FINALS. 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AggieVision Option 23 Texas A&M's video yearbook