The Michigan Daily -Tuesday, September 18,1990 - Page 11 } prti ngws *ie spothe. w v Fielder slams life back into Tigers by Mathew Dodge Daily Sports Writer The Silent Assassin of the Detroit Tigers. Forty-five, forty-six... forty-seven home runs and counting. He is a mystery man. His voice is soft, but his bat is a baseball magnet. Remember when you used to play whiffle ball when you were little? Remember using that fat, oversized plastic bat that dented the ball every time you hit it? Every kid in America has spent hours watching the old plastic ball soar over the hedges and into the neighbors' yard. That is how Cecil Fielder feels right now. He is dominating the American League. He arrives at Tiger Stadium, pulls on his XXL uniform over his Charles Barkleyesque body. His batting practice swings turn the left field grandstand into a pinball machine. He re- moves his hat and stands quietly during the na- tional anthem. Fielder does what is asked of him. He does it well. And he doesn't complain. This combina- tion is rare among today's supersluggers. Is Jose Canseco watching? At the age of 26, Fielder is only getting his feet wet in his first fullmajor league season as a regular. However, his game has several weak- nesses: he strikes out too often, and his abilities in the field, while adequate, are far from spectacular. But who cares whether or not he wins a Gold Glove with 47 homers, 120 RBIs, and a .290 batting average? Fielder has made a greater immediate impact on the Tigers than anyone since Doyle Alexander won nine straight games three years ago. In 1989, Detroit had the worst record in the American League. And in March, it was a con- sensus pick to repeat in 1990. Bill Lajoie, the Tigers' General Manager, grabbed Fielder over the winter. No one really noticed. Instead, the fans and the media lamented the fact that Kent Hrbek, Mark Davis and Mark Langston slipped through Detroit's free agent fingers. This is an organization which seemed to lose its direction and go to sleep immediately after Minnesota hammered it in the 1987 playoffs. The glory days of 1983-87 were gone. Was this the mid-1970s all over again? Not as long as Cecil is here. Fielder has been a splash of cold water on De- troit's sleepy face. The team has been flirting with third place most of the summer. In the spring, this thought would have been as ludicrous as the thought that Deion Sanders could play major league baseball. The cause of the Tigers' surprising season is astoundingly clear to all. Detroit is close to the .500 mark because of the outstanding play of Fielder and Alan Trammell. Trammell has had a solid season at the plate and in the field. But Fielder has refreshed the shortstop's career. Trammell no longer has to be the main man in the Detroit lineup. He bats ahead of Fielder in the batting order - which is enough to make even Darnell Coles look compe- tent in the box. Whenever a southpaw faces Detroit, fans stand outside on Kaline Drive - waiting for Cecil to launch another satellite over the roof. His slug- ging percentage against lefties has been above .900 all year. Wow. So pitchers tend to give Trammell one or two good pitches to swing at. That gives him pre- cious freedom at the plate. But these days, the only advantage pitchers have in getting Trammell out is that Fielder will only hit a solo shot in- stead of a two-run homer. The most impressive part of Fielder's game is his consistency. He stays healthy and plays al- most every game. Which is more than Canseco can say. The fact that Fielder is in the lineup ev- ery day translates into more wins for the Tigers. Third place is nice. It means that you're a better team than most, and close to the two best. But five years from now, no one will remem- ber whether the Tigers finished, in third, fourth, or fifth. What we will remember is that Cecil Fielder hit fifty home runs. We will recall this season as the start of a new Tiger era. A brief slump into the deep end of the American League East was alleviated by the big guy batting cleanup. In five years, Trammell and Lou Whitaker may be gone. Jack Morris and Sparky Anderson will be gone. But not Cecil. Wolverine swimmer Mike Barrowman, owner of the 200-meter 'breaststroke world record, competes in the NCAA men's swimming and diving championships last spring. Barrowman jumps ship to prepare for 1991 Worlds by Sarah Osburn hind Barrowman, junior E Daily Sports Writer ,. 1 m c The Michigan men's swimming team will be without its team cap- tain until January because current breaststroke world record holder and NCAA champion Mike Barrowman is taking the fall semester off to pre- .pare for the 1991 World Champi- onships, which will be held in Australia Jan. 7-13. Wolverine coach Jon Urbanchek explained that Barrowman took both spring and summer classes to be eli- gible to swim in 'January in case he made the world championship team and skipped the fall term. "He dis- cussed it with me ahead of time," Urbanchek said. "It wasn't a sur- prise. The team knew about it and they still elected him captain, every- one understands. Mike is a very focused person and he can't train at that _ high of a level and go to school'j Vunderiich, inl teu 1meter breast stroke; and junior Eric Namesnik in the 400 individual medley. Barrow- man will compete in the 200 breast- stroke, the event in which he holds both the world and NCAA records. Junior freestyler Scott Van Ap- pledorn was elected active captain to replace Barrowman for the fall term. IShare the news ate RESTAURANT "24 YEARS EXPERIENCE' E 11 - Jon Urbanchek Men's swimming coach; "Mike is a very focused person' 0 and he can't train at that high of a ,.. level and go to school. Mike made the Big Ten all-Academic team and .-'has a 3.5 grade point .average as an English major. He is not someone who doesn't care about academics." Urbanchek doesn't feel that the absence of Barrowman, the 1989 United States Swimmer of the year, will hurt the team in any way. "The ' only important meet he will miss is Wisconsin," he said. Two other Wolverines made the World Championship team: Michi- gan's second fastest breaststroker be- Newcomers propel Tigers DETROIT (AP) - The harvest moon will have special meaning for the Detroit Tigers this month. The Tigers, who have taken more than a few zings about the state' of their farm system, have seen two young prospects - Travis Fryman and Milt Cuyler blossom and find their way to the big leagues this summer. Fryman was expected to be here. He seemed almost programmed for it. He arrived in July and his first ihajor league hit was a 400-foot home run. After 58 games, he's hit- *Oing .320, and he's been switched from shortstop to third base. But Cuyler is a surprise. He was called up just over a week ago, when major league teams were allowed to expand their rosters as they do every September. But in just 11 games, Cuyler has made such an impression on Tigers manager Sparky Anderson that it's almost certain he'll be the regular center fielder next season. K-In those games, Cuyler has hit .324, driven in five runs and scored five. But the thing that really sets Cuyler apart from the rest of the pack is his speed, both on the bases and in the outfield. "This kid, no question, puts an aw..f.i lrnt of inice inl nr n 'tawk_" An. OXFORD Several colleges of Oxford University have invited the Wash- ington International Studies Council to recommend qualified students to study for one year or for one or two terms. Lower Junior status is required, and graduate study is available. Stu- dents are directly enrolled in their colleges and receive transcripts from their Oxford college: this is NOT a program conducted by a U.S. College in Oxford. 3.2 minimum index in major required. An alternative program which is sponsored by a U.S. Univer- sity is available for students with minimum indexes of 2.7. Stu- dents will have social and athletic rights in an Oxford college, and the fees are substantially less. Meet with Oxford representative at 3:00 pm at the International Center, 603 E. Madison Street. INTERN IN WASHINGTON, LONDON WISC offers summer internships with Congress, with the White House, with the media and with think tanks. Govern- ment and Journalism courses are taught by senior-level gov- ernment officials, who are also scholars, and by experienced journalists. Similar opportunities in public policy internships are offered (with academic credit) in London (Fall. Spring and Summer). 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