Page 16-Friday, June 15, 1979-The Michigan Daily
RODRIGUEZ' E RROR OPENS DOOR:
Seattle spoils Sparky's debut, 3-2
By ALAN FANGER
specialtoThe Daily
DETROIT-A 30 second standing
ovation . Reporters and
photographers following his every step
. . . Sparky Anderson basked in the
limelight before making his debut as
the new Tiger manager against Seattle
last night.
Unfortunately, there was also a little
matter of a ballgame to follow. And to
the dismay of the former Cincinnati
Reds skipper, it proved to be a grim
awakening from the pregame frivolity.
Sparky's new ballclub bungled
several chances at bat and in the field,
yet the Mariners waited until the ninth
inning before capitalizing on the
miscues for a 3-2 win.
Ironically, it was a rare error by third
baseman Aurelio Rodriguez that
determined the final outcome.
With Seattle pinch hitter Leon Rober-
ts on third and two gone in-the ninth,
Larry Milbourne hit a slow grounder to
third. Rodriguez crouched for the ball
but it caromed off his glove into lef-
tfield. Roberts raced home with the
winning run, spoiling Anderson's
opening night act.
The Tigers were equally frustrated at
the plate, unable to push more than two
runs across in the second and third in-
nings. They even loaded the bases with
none out in the fifth before Mariner
Shane Rawley retired Steve Kemp,
Rusty Staub and Lance Parrish in or-
der.
Rawley and Bryan. McLaughlin, in
relief of starter Rick Honeycutt,
allowed only three Tiger hits over the
final five innings. Rodriguez ninth in-
ning error saddled John Hiller with the
loss, with Rawley notching the win.
Hiller took over in the final stanza from
starter Jack Billingham.
Anderson's managerial tenure got off
to a good start in the second inning.
Lance Parrish beat out an infield
single, went to second on an infield out,
and scored when Rodriguez sliced a
single down the rightfield line.
Seattle responded with a pair in the
third, largely due to the efforts of for-
mer Tigers Dan Meyer and Willie Hor-
ton, Milbourne and Ruppert Jones each
singled to lead off the inning. Milbourne
then scored from third on Bruce
Bochte's double play ball.
The ex-Bengals combined for the
other Mariner run in the inning. After
Parrish dropped a third out foul fly,
Horton singled up the middle, and
Meyer powered a Billingham pitch to
the 415 mark in right center. Ron
LeFlore nearly caught the ball, but it
fell out of his mitt as he crashed into the
wall. Horton scored easily on the play,
netting Seattle a one-run lead.
But the Bengals kept pace with their
west coast opponents in their half of the
third. With two down, Jerry Morales
doubled, then moved to third on Kemp's
infield single. Meyer could have ended INCOMING DETRO
the rally by fielding a slow roller off the two exchange smiles
bat of Staub, but let the ball slide last night against t
through his legs. Morales breezed home Anderson predicted1
to even the score at two apiece. I promise you one thi
SPORTS OF THE DAILY
IT Tiger skipper Sparky Anderson hugs Lou Whitaker as the
s at Tiger Stadium yesterday. Anderson made his Tiger debut
he Seattle Mariners. "I don't have lightning in a bottle,"
boldly, "but if they keep me here and I hope to God they do,
ing, I'll have Detroit in the World Series."
Holmes defends WR A title tonight
NEW YORK - Larry Holmes will IN ONE OF them, Jimmy Young Baby Bengals Leach of Michigan, who already has
make his third defense of the World will try to reverse his skidding career come to terms.
Boxing Association heavyweight against Wendell Bailey who will be DETROIT - Chris Baker, Detroit's The Tigers also signed their top
championship tonight against Mike trying to get into the heavyweight pic- second first round draft choice last choice in the secondary phase of the
Weaver, a fighter the champ places ture. Young, of Philadelphia, has lost week, has agreed to terms and will draft, Paul Fox, and signed regular
below some of his previous opponents in two straight decisions to Ocasio and report today to the Tiger's minor draftees Jon Driver, Ken Baldwin and
ability but one he doesn't consider a soft has a record of 22-8-7, with seven league training base in Lakeland, Fla. Wilson Tucker.
touch. knockouts. Bailey, of Baltimore, is 13-1 THE 6-4, 185-pound righthanded hit- Detroit has now signed all but 10 of its
"I don't feel Mike Weaver is the with three knockouts. ' ting outfielder from Livonia Franklin 36 draftees.
caliber of fighter of Earnie Shavers or The other 10s will match junior was drafted after the Tigers took Rick -UPI
Ken Norton," said Holmes from his
training camp in the Catskills, "but I
feel he's better than Alfredo
Evangelista or Ossie Ocasio."
HOLMES EARNED a WBA title shot
by outpointing Shavers, against whom
he is scheduled to defend Sept. 14, and
then won the title by outpointing Nor-
ton. In his first two defenses, he
knocked out Evangelista and Ocasio,
each in the seventh round.
"Holmes knows what I can do," said
the 26-year-old Weaver, whose record is
only 20-8, but who has knocked out his
-fast five opponents. "I think he takes
me seriously."
There are three other scheduled 10-
rounders on the card.
SCOR ES
American League
caft-ornia 10, Toronto2
cleveland 2, Oakland I
Minnesota 4, New York 2
Milwaukee6. Texas, 2
Nati onalLeague
Montreal 4, Atlanta 3
welterweights Ruby "The Snake" Ortiz
of New York against Willie Rodriguez
of Allentown, Pa., and middleweight
Mike Baker of Washington against
Clarence Gilmore of Memphis, Tenn.
Holmes, 29, will fight for a percen-
tage, which figures to be much less than
the $1 million-plus purse a heavyweight
champion usually commands from
network television. Weaver is guaran-
teed $50,000.
-AP
Slugger siek
DETROIT - Former Detroit Tiger
first baseman Norm Cash was reported
in serious condition yesterday, after
suffering what doctors described as a
slight stroke.
CASH, 44, played with the Tigers
from 1960 through 1974.
Doctor Clarence Livingood, the
Tigers' team physician, said Cash suf-
fered some paralysis on the right side of
his face and body, but said the popular
left-handed hitting slugger was able to
speak, although with a slur.
--AP
4
Hazel du toll rises
HAZEL PARK, Mich. (AP)-Veterinarians destroyed a third horse
yesterday that apparently had been drugged in its stall at Hazel Park
Raceway.
"We put her down at noon because it seemed the humane thing to do,"
said James Higginbottom, deputy state racing commissioner stationed at
the track.
The horse, Kan She Do It, earlier in the morning had appeared to be im-
proving, he said.
Two other horses, Courgette and Terpsong, were destroyed early
yesterday at the veterinary school of Michigan State University in East Lan-
sing. Another horse, Miss Ged Hot, was "holding her own" at the school,
Higginbottom said.
Higginbottom said pathology tests had not been completed, but the
first autopsy showed "nothing obvious" and track steward Allen Fairbanks
said earlier veterinarians could find no hypodermic needle marks.
"It was done for money. I've had horses slow down before but they
weren't killed. Whoever did this botched it up so bad it just killed them," said
Steve Terpovich, Terpsong's owner.
The horse threw itself to the ground, ran into walls, stared unseeingly in-
to space, and grew increasingly paralyzed, starting at the hindquarters.
Higginbottom said the state's investigation of the incident, the first
known in Michigan since 1973 when a race had to be cancelled at Detroit
Race Course, was pursuing "a few leads, but nothing hot."