sports"
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Sports^rttg'In
four years as a minor leaguer, Craig Brooks has hit
.281, .292, .271, and .361 at present. He has twice made
the Carolina League All-Star team, been named Carolina
League Player of the Month (May 1980), twice made the
Carolina League All-Star team and has moved from
center field to left field, to designated hitter (to improve
u:~ r:-i J:?\ i 1- ?~ ? * - * "
vsii ma ticiuiii?/ uack iu icu nciu. ne is considered one 01
^ the fastest players in the Red Sox Organization.
Yet, Brooks has watched a number of outfielders he
felt were not as good and who did not hit as well move on
to higher competition.
The Boston Club recently called up lefthanded hitting
Gary Hancock from their triple A farm club to replace
the injured ?iim Rice. Jim Dwyer is playing left field for
the Sox at present. Carl YazstremSki no longer has the
legs to play the outfield leaving Fred Lynn, an established
star* Dwyer and Hancock as the lefthanded swinging outfielders.
* 4fe;
Crtf/'g Brooks
Brooks has watched Reid Nichols, a good friend who
had a super year last season, jump all the way to triple A
after spending a number of years at Cfass A Elmira. Why
has Brooks remained a single A player now spending his
fourth year at age 24 in Winston-Salem? That may be the
$64,000 question. Some of the Bosox Brass say it is
Brooks fielding. As a result he was sent back to WinstoSalem
last year to work on the weak fielding but wound
up as designated hitter. This spring, for the second
straight year, he played centerfield for the Winterhaven
spring club and didn't make an error but was sent back to
his home away from home. ?
Some say it is because the Bosox have an overabundancc
of fine young out fielders and Brook s doesn't rank
ahead of them. Yet, he has been the most consistent
member of the organization in terms of average during
his career.
How does the Richmond, California native who grew
up playing baseball with Claudell Washington, Ruppert
Jones, Alvin Moore and Ed Miller (all major leaguers)
view the situation?
Personally 1 just don^t understand it. I'm not trying
to say I think I'm a great player but looking at thdoTher
outfielders in this organization, I feel I've been the most
consistent. I can hit for power and average and I think I
O have proved it here. When Reid (Nichols) went up it gave
me incentive. I knew how he had labored in single A and I
felt if I could have another good year or start out burning
the league up I'd move up too."
Brooks has done just that for more than half the
season leading the league in hitting from the outset but he
still has not heard from the brass.
Much has been said about the Bosox organization and
many have called it racist. Over the past few years the Sox
have gotten rid of Reggie Smith, Cecil Cooper, Ferguson
Jenkins, George Scott, and Roger Moret to name a few.
Last season they let Bob Watson sign with the Yankees,
then picked up Tony Perez. At present the Sox have only
Perez and slugging Jim Rice on their squad.
When asked about the accusations of racism in the
organization Brooks says, "I didn't think about the talk
of racism before I signed with Boston and I'm not thinking
of it now. Just look at the trouble Jim Rice got into
talking about it and he is a super star. I've always felt that
if I go out and do the job my color wouldn't matter. I just
plan to keep on doing my best and I'rifi still confident I'll
- get my chance."
Brooks is not saying whether that chance will come
with Boston since he enters his option vears next season.
but it is obvious that while the Sox haven't heard very
much about the hot hitting Californian, other clubs have.
Still Brooks hopes to someday soon battle Fenway
Park's "green monster." "I like the Boston organization.
They pay well and 1 have a lot of friends in this
organization."
Brooks feels he deserves better than to waste away as a
^ single A superstar. "I feel f belong in triple A right now,
but I never try to figure out what the front office is do^
ing. I just want to keep hitting the ball."
c >
Winston-Sa
III ^r *
>^P^*^>, i
v^^e ira
NYSP Says
Participants in the Neighborhood Youth Sports Program at
it a little easier to get to and from the campus thanks to the
let's hear it for the buses... 1-2-3 Thanks!
Indians C
Gary Groce threw a seven hitter and knocked in two
/ runs with a triple and a single, while Ron Fowler and Don
Hill knocked in six runs with 6 hits between them, as the
Warden Motors Indians trounced the Mt. Airy Yankees
11-2 to wilt the second half title of the Winston-Salem
Baseball League last week.
Groce raised his record to 8-2 on the season with the
win and left the Indians with a 13-2 mark for the season.
The Yankees had a chance to spoil the Indians bid for
- the crown with a win after Ken Criss of tBfe second-place
cards the night earlier became the only pitcher to beat
the powerful "Big Red Machine" twicethis seasonin a
12-2 Cardinal win. Mark Polivka, who had pitched three
consecutive shutouts for the Indians, was kncoked out of
the game in the third inning and suffered the loss.
After finishing the first half of the regular season tied
for first with identical 4-1 records, the Indians and Cards
met Wednesday night to decide the first half winner. A
win by the Indians would give them their second
straightWSBL title.
If the Cards should win,the series would become a best
of-two-of-threc affair, with the Cards faced with the task
of beating the Indians twice more to win their first league
title.
BEEP...
Visually Impaired
Take Their Cuts
By Robert Eller the ball he is out. Each
Sports Editor player has five strikes or
ten pitches to hit the ball in
The Winston-Salem fair territory. Three outs
Pioneer Lions will be look- end an inning,
ing for revenge as well as
their first win of the season The game was invented
this Saturday afternoon at 1 some years back by a man
p.m. when they take on the working for Western ElecCharlotte
Hornets in a beep trie. There are currently
ball game at Bolton Field, five teams located in North
Beep ball, a form of Carolina. Greensboro, Rasoftball
adapted for the leigh and Wilmington have
visually impaired, is a rela- teams in addition to Chartively
new sport in the city lotte adn Wirtston-Salem.
with the Pioneer Lions entering
only their thierd year Wisnton-Salem has
of play. never beaten the Charlotte
The game is played with team which is the defenda
beeping Softball and three ing state champions,
bases which emit a solid
tone. Seven fielders are 8ave them a good
placed in the field which is 8ame xn Charlotte earlier
sectioned off in areas. A th,s season and two of our
sighted pitcher tosses the starters were ?ing,"
ball to the batter and yells fald captain Booker
"Ball". When the batter lnn' Tls t,me we are at
makes contact with the ball f?" and we have
and it passes the fair terri- j e ',ome ^,e'^ advantage,
tory line one of the bases is e 'ntend *? heat their
turned on the number of socks off this Saturday."
the fielder where the ball is charlotte won the first
located ts called. It then encounter in charlotte bv a
becomes a race between score Qf 23-15 and stopped
the fielder where the ball is the pioneer Lions 25.18 in
located is called. It then t^e tournament semi-finals
becomes' a race between Ust season
the fielder and the batter.
If the batter reaches the In addition to the game
base before the fielder re- Saturday the Pioneer Lions
trieves the ball he has will paly Greensboro at
scored a run. If he doesn't Bolton Field at 6:15 p.m.on
get to the base before the tuesday July 22 and again
fielder gains possession of on Tuesday August 12.
lem Chronicle
__L1_L II I 111 I .. ?? rMM^WV W>>M?Wutfif'Mii <"?WfT ?| "i"i?im ?^rnmm??? ???i^??
1 Q^| H ^1 D
Photo by Games
Thanks
Winston-Salem State University this summer are finding
help of some local churches and their buses. Okay gang,
hasing City, State \
By Robert Eller
Sports Editor
John Bolton fired a one hitter and his teammates gave
him all the offensive help he needed with a two-run
innine asa the Warden Motors Indians beat the Mt. Zion
I JUL
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A
Hawks 2-0 in the first round of the North Carolina State
semi pro baseball tournament being played in Roxboro
this month.
In gaining a spot in the quarter finals this Saturday the
Indians did all their scoring in the first inning. Ron
Fowler, who recently joined the Indians after playing
three seasons with the Pond Giants, doubled with one
out. Thirdbaseman Mike Smith promptly singled him in
and after cleanup hitter Curt Gibson sacrificed Smith to
second, Don Hill singled him in.
That was all the scoring in a game dominated by
outstanding pitching and defense.
Bolton,in picking up his sixth win of the season in
A ?/ \
i mj y
. R" i I i
I
^ r?'y'*'1
Babe Johnson
Come in and see for yourself why
more foreign cars are traded in on
Chevrolets than any other cars in
A merica.
I he Chronicle, Saturday July 12, 1980 - Pa^e 11
~ * ?*
Kennedy Wins,
Gets Ali Shot
By Robert Eller
Sports Editor
Winston-Salem's William Kennedy had a number of
reasons for climbing into the ring with Walt Dixon of
charlotte Saturday night in amateur boxing at the
Asheville Speedway.
Kennedy, a former Golden Gloves champ, wasn't very
happy with the way things had been going in his young
boxing career over the past few months.
But Saturday night he took out his unhappiness on
Dixon who had defeated him in an earlier bout and
^gpied the right ot returnto Asheville August 5 to fight a
member of the Muhammad Ali boxing team.
"It was a very gratifyingwin for me," said the
175-pounder afterwards. "Dixon had beaten me before
and I know I should have won that match. This time it
was different."
Kennedy also may have lost some of the frustration
that had built up inside the youngster after he
was disqualified from the state Olympics trials last month
for having an improper mouthpiece.
"I feltbad about being disqualified," he said. "I felt
that 1 could have won my weight class and gotten a shot
at the Olympic trials. That has been one of my goals ever
since I first started fighting and it was a pretty big
disappointment to lose it without getting to throw a
See Page 12
Vampum
seven decisions, struck out 13 and walked only two. He
did not allow a man past second base. The only Hawk hit
came in the fifth when shortstop Ron Evans singled
cleanly to center.
Bolton retired the last 14 men in order as he lowered his
league-leading earned run average to 1.03.
The Indians managed only seven hits against the
strong Hawks pitching. The team now places its 29-7
record for the season against the Durham Bees on
Saturday July 12 at 5 p.m. A bus will leave from Rips
Painting and Decorating Service 1217 Waughtown St. at
_ a # it # t t *
l p.m. on aaturaay ior mosc ians wisning to accompany
the team. The cost of the game and the trip is only $5.
Indians coach Melvin "Blinky" Hillsays he is looking
forward to the gamewith the tough Bees, who were
runners-up in the tourney last year after capturing the
event in 78.
? caprice i
-$ 1,500 1
Discount
IMPALA I
up to
$1,500 I
Discount
LETS NOT I
IMPORT
OIL I
or I
CARS I
CHEVROLET, INC.I
KtK"The Little Cheeper Dealer"
1-40 at N.C. 66
Exit. Kernersville
PHONE
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