Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / April 18, 1974, edition 1 / Page 7
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l/l Gary Stewart Sports Editor Hi Aaron^s Homer Feat Lift For Baseball? t lUly >Ser g«. cat* as ant. lern rear the iton lild, last I * V' ^ Seasifii Hils Sireicli Run,. Thursday. April 18,1974 KI.VGSMOLNTAIN MIRROR PageTA Baseballers Host LincolntonAndBC After-thoughts of Hank Aaron’s record- breaking 715th career homerun; -There are some, naturally, that say Aaron has not broken Babe Ruth's record but just set one of his own. The reasoning behind such a statement is that Aaron has batted 3,000 more times than Ruth did. -There are some who have, or will, say that if Ruth had played in a “mini-park” like Atlanta Stadium, where the fuul line fences are just slightly over 300 feet away from home plate, that • the Babe would have hit 1,000 homers. -At the same time, there are those who say that many of Ruth’s clouts went over the short 296-foot right field fence at Yankee Stadium. But, again, there are those who’ll argue that Ruth hit a lot of 450-foot blasts to dead-away centerfield in Yankee Stadium that were caught. Anywhere dse they would have been homers. -Still, there are others, like yours truly, who’ll argue that if Mickey Mantle had played in good health throu^out his major league career, he would have been the all-time homer king. Whether you’re a fan of Aaron’s or not, you have to give the man credit, even though he has batted many more times than the legendary Babe. When ^ a man hits ova: 700 career home runs (an average of just under 40 a season) and carried a lifetime batting average of over .300 (both Ruth and Aaron sport these figures) he has to have a lot going for him. Aaron’s achievement of breaking the Babe’s record on the Braves’ opening night in Atlanta generated a lot of excitement for a sport which many people feel is crying. The biggest disappointment during Hank’s road to glory was the way in which baseball com missioner (dictator?) Bowie Kuhn acted. Kuhn continously made threats toward Braves’ Manger Eddie Mathews and the entire Atlanta organization and ordered them to play Aaron in two of three games in CSncy, yet the commissioner didn’t have the ipits to be on hand when Aaron hit ' jIMk 7i5th in frodt of tha> Atlanta fans. Instead, Kuhn sent Monte Endn to Atlanta to face the booing crowd. Ihe first thing I’ll ask for in my letter to Santa this year will be a new baseball commissioner. Rec Program Buzzing With the end of school rapidly approaching, local recreation officials are busy lining up various summer softball and baseball leagues. Walter Vess, who is serving as public relations director for the Babe Ruth Lea^e this sununer, reports that if enough interest is shown the city • will field a 13-year-old BR league this year. Any youngsters interested in playing in either the 13 year old or the 14-15 year old BR league are asked to contact any of the league coaches or the recreation department. The industrial and men’s church softball leagues are scheduled to (^n play this week and recreation director, Roy Pearson, says his staff is in the process of organizing the ladies softball league, tee league and little league. If the locals fare as well this summer as last the season will have to be counted a success. The Babe Ruth aU-stars won the state championship and represented the city in the southeast regional in Florida, and the little league all-stars came widiin a game of winning the state championship. ^ The legion program could be on the upswing as Post 155 is expecting to have several good prospects from Bessemer (Tity on the squad. BC decided not to field a legim club this summer because of financial burdens. Coaches Barry Gibson and David Bolin will have several returnees from last year’s team and every player acquired from BC and-or Blactoburg will be a plus. Athletic officer Gene ’Tignor reports that City • Stadium is still not yet in good playing condition. ’Ihe backstop has as many holes as ever and at . least one li^t post is cracked and could fall over at any minute. ^ ’Ihe city has apparently forgotten the promise it made last year to get the field in tip-top shape. I hope I’m not one of the ones electrocuted when the lights start faUing during the middle of a * ballgame. ' And, speaking of legion baseball, it’s time we get behind the program. Maybe the sport isn’t as ' competitive as it once was, but still a good ' baseball game is hard to beat. I I’d like to see the legim open the season by I letting the fans in the gate free and depend on i concessionstofootthebillforumpires, li^ts, etc. i A good performance might bring the fans l»ck. i Another of my brilliant (?) ideas is for some of I file merchants to sponsor a "night” at the I , _ ballpark and give free tickets to their customers, l Anything to help build up interest would be a i |dus. I Kings Mountain High’s baseballers resume play this afternoon, hosting Lincdnton in a key Southwestern Con ference, Division One contest. Coach Barry Gibson's Mountaineers, 3-3 in the division and 4-3 overall, stay home Friday for a game with Bessemer City, then travel to North Gaston next Tuesday. Today’s game will be a big one for both the Mountaineers and Wolves, who are trying hard for a playoff berth in the split SWC. At last report, the Wolves had lost just two games and were trailing East Gaston (7-1) and South Point (6-1) in the Division One race. With three losses already against them and the season rapidly coming to a close, the Mountaineers cannot afford ano'her defeat. They defeated Lincolnton 4-2 in an earlier outing but reports are that the Wolves have improved greatly since then. Coach Gibson said he’ll probably start either Chuck Austin (1-0) or Kenny Farias (2-1) against the Wolves and whoever doesn’t start today will open against Bessemer City Friday. Farias hasn’t started a game since March 26 when he went the distance in that victory over Lincolnton but turned in a good relief job in saving a victory for Austin against North Gaston. Gibson will likely shuffle his lineup a bit-for today’s game as he continues to look for a winning combination. The Mountaineers have won two of their last three games but were bombed 15-1 by South Point in their last outing. Senior Jimmy Fitts will move back to first base from third and junior Richard Gillespie will move from his rightfield spot to third base. Steve Southwell will stay at second, Hal Glass at short, Darrell Van Dyke at center and Tony Payne in left. Sophomore Chris Johnson will move to Gillespie’s right field spot. Gibson is hopeful David Lancaster, a .300 hitter last spring, will be available for either pinch-hit or starting duty. A first baseman, Lan caster had been counted on to carry much of the batting load but suffered a broken foot in pre-season practice. “If Lancaster's able to play, he’ll certainly help us out,’’ said Gibson. “We also need some improvement in our pitching staff. It’s been a disappointment.’’ Fitts and Gillespie are the only regulars hitting over .300, Fitts leading the way with a .381 clip and Gillespie at .333. Fitts is also the leader in runs batted in with six and is tied for the lead in runs scored with six. The pitching staff has an unimpressive 6.25 earned run average but Austin and Farias have respectable marks of 2.10 and 2.50, respectively. 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The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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April 18, 1974, edition 1
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