Mark J. Czerwinski
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
07-04-1991
SPORTS TALK
By Mark J. Czerwinski
Date: 07-04-1991, Thursday
Section: SPORTS
Edition: All Editions -- Two Star, One Star
Column: SPORTS TALK
A BASEBALL SUMMER:
Bill Craib and Sue Easler are on baseball's
ultimate road trip.
By World Series time in October, the couple plans to have visited
all 178 professional baseball stadiums in the country.
'A lot of people figured we'd fight and Sue would leave after about
a week,' Craib said. 'So far it hasn't happened.'
They made stop No. 90 Friday at St. Cloud Commons, home of the
Huntington Cubs of the rookie Appalachian League. They watched the
Charleston Wheelers of the South Atlantic League beat the Greensboro
(N.C.) Hornets, 2-1, the following night.
The trip will encompass 60,000 miles. Craib, 27, thought of the trip
in 1986 while director of sales for the Macon (Ga.) Pirates. They began
their excursion April 9 in Oakland, Calif.
'We started out with about $4,000 that we had saved up,' said
Easler, 23. 'We've used a lot of that up, but we're going to keep
going.'
MR. NOSTALGIA:
San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Felder really
must enjoy those Turn Back the Clock Days, when major league teams don
the uniforms of yesteryear.
Felder scored the winning run for the Milwaukee Brewers last year
in the original Turn Back The Clock Day against the Chicago White Sox.
Then he drove in the winning run for the Giants in their TBTC game
against the Cubs this year.
HE CAN HIT LEFT-HANDERS:
One of the knocks on Pittsburgh Pirates
outfielder Andy Van Slyke is his inability to hit left-handed pitchers.
But don't tell that to his teammate, Neal Heaton.
The Pirates outfielders were tossing the ball around the outfield
before a recent game. In the right-field bullpen, Heaton and reliever
Stan Belinda were talking, oblivious to the events around them.
Heaton was waving his glove as he talked. Van Slyke saw the wave
and thought Heaton wanted the baseball. So Van Slyke obligingly fired
the ball into the bullpen.
Heaton never saw the ball coming. The throw nailed him in the head,
and down he went.
'Well,' Van Slyke said, 'I had to knock out a left-hander sooner or
later.'
HAPPY TO BE HERE:
Rookie outfielder Wes Chamberlain, off to a great
start with the Philadelphia Phillies, isn't ashamed to tell the world he
loves being a major league ballplayer.
'You play your whole career waiting to get here,' Chamberlain said.
'You dream about it. You sleep it. You eat it. And now it's here.
'I got here in September, but that was just a tease. That's why they
call it a cup of coffee. It's just a taste of it. But then, when you get
back, you think, `Now I know I belong here.''
BIG FRANK:
During the late Sixties and early Seventies, Frank
Howard was the most intimidating power hitter in the American League.
The 6-foot-8 former Washington Senators star and current Yankees
hitting instructor left an impression on opponents.
'I've got one for you,' said former Yankees outfielder Bobby
Murcer. 'It was in Washington and Fritz Peterson was on the mound. Frank
hit a line drive up the middle and Fritz hit the deck.
'It just missed him. I was in center field and I took two steps in.
The ball sailed 30 feet over my head, banged off the fence, and almost
knocked the stadium down.'
Illustrations/Photos: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO - BY GEORGE, A PERFECT FIT: Four-time
Indianapolis 500 champion Rick Mears modeling racing helmet for President Bush
during visit to the Oval Office Tuesday.
Copyright 1991 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
07-04-1991
SPORTS TALK
By Mark J. Czerwinski
Date: 07-04-1991, Thursday
Section: SPORTS
Edition: All Editions -- Two Star, One Star
Column: SPORTS TALK
A BASEBALL SUMMER:
Bill Craib and Sue Easler are on baseball's
ultimate road trip.
By World Series time in October, the couple plans to have visited
all 178 professional baseball stadiums in the country.
'A lot of people figured we'd fight and Sue would leave after about
a week,' Craib said. 'So far it hasn't happened.'
They made stop No. 90 Friday at St. Cloud Commons, home of the
Huntington Cubs of the rookie Appalachian League. They watched the
Charleston Wheelers of the South Atlantic League beat the Greensboro
(N.C.) Hornets, 2-1, the following night.
The trip will encompass 60,000 miles. Craib, 27, thought of the trip
in 1986 while director of sales for the Macon (Ga.) Pirates. They began
their excursion April 9 in Oakland, Calif.
'We started out with about $4,000 that we had saved up,' said
Easler, 23. 'We've used a lot of that up, but we're going to keep
going.'
MR. NOSTALGIA:
San Francisco Giants outfielder Mike Felder really
must enjoy those Turn Back the Clock Days, when major league teams don
the uniforms of yesteryear.
Felder scored the winning run for the Milwaukee Brewers last year
in the original Turn Back The Clock Day against the Chicago White Sox.
Then he drove in the winning run for the Giants in their TBTC game
against the Cubs this year.
HE CAN HIT LEFT-HANDERS:
One of the knocks on Pittsburgh Pirates
outfielder Andy Van Slyke is his inability to hit left-handed pitchers.
But don't tell that to his teammate, Neal Heaton.
The Pirates outfielders were tossing the ball around the outfield
before a recent game. In the right-field bullpen, Heaton and reliever
Stan Belinda were talking, oblivious to the events around them.
Heaton was waving his glove as he talked. Van Slyke saw the wave
and thought Heaton wanted the baseball. So Van Slyke obligingly fired
the ball into the bullpen.
Heaton never saw the ball coming. The throw nailed him in the head,
and down he went.
'Well,' Van Slyke said, 'I had to knock out a left-hander sooner or
later.'
HAPPY TO BE HERE:
Rookie outfielder Wes Chamberlain, off to a great
start with the Philadelphia Phillies, isn't ashamed to tell the world he
loves being a major league ballplayer.
'You play your whole career waiting to get here,' Chamberlain said.
'You dream about it. You sleep it. You eat it. And now it's here.
'I got here in September, but that was just a tease. That's why they
call it a cup of coffee. It's just a taste of it. But then, when you get
back, you think, `Now I know I belong here.''
BIG FRANK:
During the late Sixties and early Seventies, Frank
Howard was the most intimidating power hitter in the American League.
The 6-foot-8 former Washington Senators star and current Yankees
hitting instructor left an impression on opponents.
'I've got one for you,' said former Yankees outfielder Bobby
Murcer. 'It was in Washington and Fritz Peterson was on the mound. Frank
hit a line drive up the middle and Fritz hit the deck.
'It just missed him. I was in center field and I took two steps in.
The ball sailed 30 feet over my head, banged off the fence, and almost
knocked the stadium down.'
Illustrations/Photos: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO - BY GEORGE, A PERFECT FIT: Four-time
Indianapolis 500 champion Rick Mears modeling racing helmet for President Bush
during visit to the Oval Office Tuesday.
Copyright 1991 Bergen Record Corp. All rights reserved.
