THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Friday, September 6, 1968
THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, September 6, 1968
..:..r:
;ers drive to pennant with McLain, breaks
League pitch better than the
Tigers and five teams hit better.
But nobody hits farther.
With 157 circuit blows this
season the Tigers almost double
the rate at which the rest of the
league reaches the fences. Con-
sequently Manager Smith dis-
dains the stolen base. Elemen-
tary logic indicates that it is
equally easy to scorerfrom any
base on the home run.
The name of the game is,
scoring runs and home plate is
where the action is. To the dis-
may of opposing pitchers, the
Detroit runners are definitely
getting the larger share of the
action.
Furthermore, the attack has
been, remarkably balanced. A
look at the runs produced
(runs scored + runs batted in-
home runs) by the top five
Tiger hitters illustrates this:
Northrup 127
Stanley 122
MacAuliffe 121
Freehan 114
Horton 102
There can be no doubt, how-
ever, that the grease in the De-
roit run scoring machinery is
MacAuliffe. He is the man who
fattens the runs batted in totals
of the" middle of the batting or-
der.
When the Tigers were with-
out MacAuliffe for 5 days, they
lost 5 out of the 6 games play-
ed in that span, and all by one
run. Coincidence? Hardly.
But winning the battle of the
statistics never insures winning
the contest on the field. (Who
can forget some of the Michi-
gan-Purdue fiascos in the past
few years?) There are four maj-
or differences between last year
and this 'year's edition of the
Detroit Tigers: the bullpen,
Denny McLain, the breaks, and
Denny McLain.
The only pitchers that started
the 1967 season and are still
with the club are McLain; Spar-
ma, Wilson, and Lolich. Mayo
Smith has not only revamped
his bullpen, but also his ideas on
how to handle the relief pitch-
ers.
Last year he continually went
Med student helps
%auwe cager's imb,
By JAY PERKINS
-STILLWATER, Okla. (R)--It was Nov. 2, 1963 and students
scurried down darkened footpaths on their way to the light and
warmth of their dormitories.
Football season was almost over at Oklahoma State University.
In just a month, Coach Henry Iba would field another basketball
team as 8,000 students and alumni screaned their support.
But now Gallagher Hall was dark. Down in a basement just a
few hundred feet away, several basketball players gathered to do
their laundry, study, and discuss the coming season.
A 20-year-old sophomore, Bob Swaffar, center, was there. So Was
a pre-medical student, a part-time ambulance driver, and several
other players.
Swaffer still was talking as he reached into a high-speed
dryer for his laundry.
Somehow, the device wrenched his right arm from his body.
Now, Bob and his wife, Kay, are in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia.
But it all might not have been possible except for the swift
action of Swaffar's teammates and a team of doctors on that No-
vember night five' years ago.
For Bob Swaffar's arm was reimplanted onto his body. And
now, except for a few things he can't do with his hand, the arm
appears almost normal.
To see the 6'9" Swaffar do push-ups, you'd never think there
once was little hope for the reimplantation's success. Only two
such operations have ever been performed in the United States.
But today-five years and three operations later-the range of
motion is normal and muscle strength is good in the triceps and
biceps, according to a paper written by physical therapist Thelma
Pederson and Dr. Gael R. Frank.
The authors note Swaffar still is regaining muscle function in
his arm but is unable to identify objects placed in his hand. He is
able to feel pin-pricks in the arm, indicating the return of some
sensory perception.
"Because of his inability starting at midforearm, to dis-
criminate between hard, soft, hot, cold . . . or to identify what
portion of the hand is being stroked, muscle re-education is
dfficult," the authors state.
"It appears reasonable that this patient could have a more
functional hand if it were not for the sensory loss," they conclude.
No one knows exactly what happened on that November night
in 1963. But Gary Hassman, 23-year-old pre-medical student, was
in the room. And almost all agree, he played a large part in the
operation's success.
"The accident happened when Bob reached into the water ex-
tracting machine to remove some clothes," Hassman said shortly
"after the accident. "He must have gotten tangled in whirling. clothes.";
-Associated Press
THE DETROIT TIGERS are powering their way. to the American
League Pennant. To date, the Tigers have hit 157 circuit blasts.
Bill Freehan crosses the plate to1
Jim Northrup.
with the "hot hand". Late in
the season all the hot hands
turned to burned out arms,and
the bullpen managed to pull de-
feat out of the paws of victory
consistently in the last crucial
weeks.
This year Mayo is spreading
the chores around, and a liabil-
ity has turned to an asset. Now
it is the starters that have been
inconsistent. But late inning
rallies have been making win-
ners out of the young relief
staff. Such kids as Pat Dob-
son, John Hiller, Fred Lasher,
Daryl Patterson and, earlier,
John Warden, have been taking
be welcomed by Al Kaline and
turns coming in and retiring the
opposing side like seasoned per-
formers. The success of the
youth movement in the relief
staff has resulted in changing
the name from bullpen to play-
pen. A large share of the credit
goes to pitching coach Johnny
Sai, ,whose knowledge and pa-
tience has rejuvinated the Tiger
staff.
And then there is Denny Mc-
Lain.
Gates Brown, the only .400
hitter in the major leagues who
rides the bench, revealed that
he understood the more subtle
points of the game when he told
n rtr " I'd rather be
a rep w . . .. ai fe eaciet"ems aeg
on U~4 Ii.ay t- r' ay lucky than talented." This year
M the Tigers appear to have Hassman called an ambulan
thr .Peace-Freedom polished the art of hitting the in towels and placed it in coldwa
R0F00 'A /N 300RPM"ball where the opposing fielders at the Stillwater Hospital. Less t
1 N V ,ARS O Ff o COPI t R SS rent was in surgery at University Hosp
Meanwhile back on the mound,
the Tiger hurlers have seen a Two surgeons began work on th
tdgood number of their offerings labored six and one-half hours.
Planning Meeting-Meet the Candidate lined straight and hard to Swaffar has gone through an
,.' . .. .. FRIDAYSEPT 6 fiendly, waiting gloves. m e therapy since the operation. His wi
+: >. NMEEE at mm m m m u ma N sum .2 .to am ..., - even turn into triple plays. But in Ethiopia. Doctors have hopes he,
3 P.M.-UNION, Room K and L this is how ball games are won use of his arm as nerves continue t
Sponsoredrr i bb penant bound teams.,s fhsam a nre otnet
Subscribe to The Daily Sponsored by Friends of C.N.P And then there is Denny Mc- Bob Swayfas asketball caree
_._- Lain ... But his story has only begun.
T CO ENTART
0Y
LEROI JONES DR. TIMOTHY LEARY'
and debates
The Black Arts Theater DR. SIDNEYCOHEN
September 8th 8:00 P.M October.6th 8:00 P.M.
BILL BAIRD
MUHAMMED AL "The Fight for
September 15th 8:00P.M. Birth Control"
October 13th 2:00 P.M.
All Performances at Hill Auditorium
ice, wrapped the severed arm
ter. He repacked the arm In ice
han 90 minutes later, Swaffar
ital in Oklahoma City.
e arm and two on the body. They
extensive program of physical
e, Kay, will continue the therapy
will eventually regain even more
o grow into the reimplanted limb.
ended that night in November.
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