mlt@mb2c.UUCP (Mark L. Tompkins) (06/27/85)
The 1985 All-Star game is just around the corner, and the Tiger's own Sparky
Anderson will head the Al squad. In an article appearing in the Detroit News
recently, Sparky told how he dreads picking the reserves for the squad; in his
own words, "I got me a big problem, and there ain't no easy solution". To
paraphrase the article:
Sparky believes in rewarding his own people, since they are the World Champs.He knows that the fans will elect Parrish and Whitaker as starters, but he
considers Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson as their equals. He also has three
excellent pitchers in Morris, Petry, and Hernandez. His personal dilemma is:
How can I justify having seven of my own players on a 28-man squad? The
pitching staff will not be as big a problem, since the other managers in the
league will have some input, but the other 12 reserves he must choose himself.
Add to that the fact that you must have one player from each team, and you
have problems. There is no way to satisfy everyone. As Sparky said, "Good
thing Bradley ( Seattle ) is having a good year - it makes it a little easier".
He wishes the roster were 30 instead of 28.
I don't think a 30-man roster would help. It would be just like the NCAA
tournament;someone would complain because they didn't get in. I hope Sparky
will be as fair as he can in choosing the reserves. I do feel, however, that
all of the above mentioned Tigers are deserving. Sparky also plans to take
Alex Grammas and Dick Tracewski, his top two coaches, and let them coach first
and third base. I imagine Bill Behm, the Tigers' longtime trainer, will also
be there.
Kirk Gibson definitely belongs on the All-Star squad: avg. around .290,
15 HRs, 49 RBI. He has hit some incredible homers this season:
-One off the light tower on the right field roof at Tiger Stadium
-Another which bounced off the same roof
-Two or three off the facing of the third deck, right below the roof
-The rest of his homers at Tiger Stadium have been line drives into the
upper deck.
-On the road he has hit:
* One over the right-field roof at Comiskey in Chitown
* A 500-foot blast at Yankee Stadium off the back wall of the bleachers
in right center
* And just last night ( 6/26 ), he hit a homer over the screen at Fenway
in LEFT center against a 12-15 mph. wind.
I was fortunate enough to witness his 540-foot blast over the roof at Tiger
Stadium in June 1983. The ball looked as though it was fired from a cannon.
Just amazing. The man has awesome power.
Mark