!.' : ~ l R A Iii* -A J N£t1 The Michigan Daily -- SPORTSTuesday -- Tuesday, January 18, 1994 - 3 Y:P KEcUIR orris The former Michigan baseball standout offers his outlook on life in the Majors While playing first base for the Michigan baseball team, Hal Morris garneredAll-Big Ten honors in 1985 and 1986 as well as academic confer- ence recognition before beginning his pro career in the New York Yankees organization. The Yankees traded Morris to the Cincinnati Reds Dec. 12, 1989. Since being traded to the Reds, Morris, 28, has been a consistent performer, hit- ting above .300 in three of his four seasons. In his first season with the Reds, Morris hit.340 and drove in the WorldSeries-clinching run. Beset by the injury bug the last two seasons, Morris is looking towards a prosperous 1994 campaign. Recently Daily Sports Writer Tim Smith spoke with Morris about life in baseball. Daily: After a last year's disap- pointing performance by the Reds, how do you think the club will be able to rebound for this season? Morris: I think we should be com- petitive in our division, foracoupleof reasons. First of all, and I think prob- ably most importantly, realignment. No offense to the other teams in the *(Central) division, but we've lost the Braves and we've lost the Giants. Now we'll be in there with the Cubs, the Pirates, the Cardinals and the Astros. I think there will be a lot of parity in that division, so it should be a competitive division. D: Were you happy that you were able to move to a seemingly easier division without the Braves and Giants to contend with? M: Thepower really shifts quickly in baseball from one division to the next every two or three years it seems like.I was happy with itonly becauseI think you're going to see more excite- ment in September with the addition of another division and a wild card team. . I think it's going to create a lot of new rivalries. It will create new rival- ries every year with people fighting for that wild card spot. So, in that regard, I was happy to see it. D: So you don't really mind that it was breaking the tradition of baseball to send only division winners to the playoffs? M: I don't really. Maybe I'll dis- agree a year from now but I think it should be good for baseball. . D: Do you think the Reds are good enough to win the division? M: Oh yeah, there's no doubt. We have a very talented team. The Reds have had a lot of talent the last eight or nine years, starting with Barry Larkin. If Kevin Mitchell's healthy we can score some runs. If our pitching stays healthy, we'll be all right. We defi- nitely have a good enough team to win the division. D: Kevin Mitchell always seems to be hurt in some way. Do you think he'll be able to finally stay healthy and play up to his tremendous potential? M: He could be the MVP of the league, which he's done in the past (1987 with the San Francisco Giants). Obviously, we're all hoping and pray- ing that he'll be able toget out there 150 games. I guess you'll just have to ask him that question and see how he's doing. He's just a tremendous hitter. He could have not played for a couple of weeks and rolled out there and hit a couple of home runs. The guy is just unbelievable. D: The Reds have made some significant off season transactions, among them was trading for Eric Hanson from Seattle. How will he help improve the club's jditching staff? M: Well, if we can have all of our guys healthy, I think that our staff is going to be better. (John) Smiley had some bone spurs in his elbow, (Tom) Browning was hurt and Hanson has been doing well from what I under- stand. I think we made some real good decisions getting (Chuck) McElroy from the Cubs and (Jeff) Brantley from the Giants. I think our staff is shaping up real nicely right now. D: What impact will Chris Sabo's departure for the Baltimore Orioles have on the Reds? M: I think we're going to miss his presence, because he's such a gritty player. He is such a work horse. He's going to get out there on the field come hell or high water. He's such a great example for his teammates. Unfortu- nately, we didn't resign him. I obvi- ously wanted to see him signed, be- cause we're definitely going tomiss his presence. D: With free agency bigger than ever, and player loyalty being ques- tioned when a player changes teams, has the ability for players to move adversely affected baseball? M: I guess some players would argue that free agency has been great because their salaries have increased but Idon'treally like the movement in baseball. I grew up a Cubs fan and I knew on opening day that my favorite players would be there. You developed a real loyalty to those players and to the teams. That's not happening in this day and age. We're mercenaries going from one team to the next, and I don' t think that's good for the game. I really wish that Pittsburgh could have held on to Barry Bonds, and Will Clark would have stayed with the Gi- ants. Because of the economics of the game and the free agency structure, this doesn'thappen. I don't think that's necessarily the best situation. D: With all the problems surround- ing Major League Baseball, does the game need someone to be in charge, or is the commissioner's office a thing of the past? M: You definitely need someone who is independent of the players and the owners, although you're never go- ing to have that. Basically, the com- missioner is an employee of the own- ers. You saw what happened to Fay Vincent. Theoretically, it would benice to have someone in that position. D: After an injury-plagued 1993 season, do you think you'll be able to have aproductive and healthy season? M: I was fine the second of half last year. I probably had my best half of my career the second half of the season. I've had freak injuries the last couple of years - getting hit by a pitch and getting hurt in a fight-just crazy things. I'm conditioning right now and I'm in good shape, so I'm looking forward to having a good year. D: What were your feelings when Tony Perez was abruptly fired early last season without really getting a fair shot at proving himself? M: I was real disappointed with the way that came down. First of all, Tony never got a chance to play with his entire ball club. I was hurt, and we had a lot of other guys injured. Frankly, we just stunk the first two or three weeks of the season. You can't blame that on the manager. We had a guy in the outfield who dropped two or three balls and that really hurt us, because it cost us some really big games. So I was disappointed because I think he's done a great job, and he's a tremendous man. We were all real up- set with the way we had played. D: Regardless of your feelings for Perez, what do you thinkDave Johnson has brought to the team? M: I like Davey a great deal as well. I think that Davey respects you as a professional and as a grown-up. He expects you to go about your busi- ness and go out there and play. He's not going to carry a hammer over your head. Like I said, he respects you as a professional. I think he's agood base- ball man. He knows the game. D: Do you think that players re- spond better toamanager, likeJohnson who is somewhatrelaxed when itcomes to rules, or do you think a strict rule setting manager is more effective? M: Davey just expects you to go out there and play. He's not going to really harp on you about things that are insignificant. He is more of a player's manager.I think that the play- ers appreciate that, and hopefully the players won't abuse that. D: Team owner Marge Schott cre- ated a lot of controversy last year with her racist remarks which led to a tem- porary suspension. What was it like in the Reds clubhouse with all the media attention surrounding that event? M: We dealt with that in spring training, and I think that in the off season last year the issue was really addressed. I don't think it really had any impact on us last year. D: What is like being a teammate of Rob Dibble? M: Off the field, Rob is nice guy, kind of quiet. It's just that he's an adrenaline pitcher, so he has to get himself all pumped up. I've had alotof fun playing with him. D: Michael Jordan has recently said that he plans to try out for the White Sox. What do you think of this idea? M: More power to him. I hope he does and I hope he does well. I think it will be a lot of fun, and it will be great for baseball. D: Don't you think that since he hasn't played since high school he will have a little tougher than he imag- ines to make it to the Major Leagues? M: Definitely, I would say that the cards are stacked againsthim. Baseball is a tough game to pick up when you haven't played in so long. When I get ready for spring training, I'm not ready to hit until I've played in a month's worth of games. It does take you a long time to get into the swing of things. It's going to be tough, but he's one of the greatest athletes to play any sport. It will be interesting to see what happens. Like I said, though, it's going to be tough for him but it should be fun to see how he does. D: Describe the experience of play- ing in the 1990 World Series and de- feating Oakland in that series. M: It was really overwhelming for me because it was really the first year that I played at all in the majors. I had been up with the Yankees a few years back, but it was only for a little bit. Just getting the chance to play in the Major Leagues is thrilling, then to do it when your team is in a pennant race, and then to get in the playoffs and get in the World Series. It just happened so quickly that I appreciate more now than I did at that point. Like I said, it was overwhelming and hard to describe the emotions you feel when you are playing, and the exhilaration you have when you're playing in the World Series. It's some- thing I'll never forget. D: You mentioned the Yankees When you were traded from New York to Cincinnati, were you happy, in the sense that you hada better chance to get more playing time, or were you sad because you had envisioned yourself wearing the Yankee pinstripes? M: There's nothing that parallels putting on Yankee pinstripes. The big- gest thrill of my life was putting on a Yankee uniform the first day I was called up to the Major Leagues. I would have loved to stay there and play but I was realistic and knew that (Don) Mattingly was playing first base for them, and it would be very unlikely that I would stay in New York. I realized that I was going to be moved. Although, when you are traded, it comes as a bit of a shock, because I think you have loyalty to the team that drafts you and gives you a chance ini- tially, but everything has worked out for me over here. D: When you're traded, is it a feeling of rejection because the team doesn't want you, or is it a feeling that they're just giving you abetter oppor- tunity? M: Youhavetolookattheclubandsee if you fit in with their personnel. If you're afirstbaseman withthe WhiteSox, you're not going to play first base. If you're a left fielder with the Giants, you're not going to play left field, and you realize that it's not an insult to you that you're being traded, you're just happy that another team has that interest. D: What are your future goals in baseball? M: Well, I'd like to stay healthy and get a chance to play everyday for as long as I possibly can. I think I've got that opportunity this year. I just want to see what I can do. That's my big goal - to get out there 155 to 160 games. D: Would you like to continue playing for the Reds, or do you have another team you really want to play for in the future? M: I'd like to stay here. I live here now. I have a home here in Northern Kentucky and I really enjoy the area. I'm from Indiana, so it's not real far from here, so l would like to sign a two or three year contract after this year. D: What do you see yourself do- ing after baseball? M: I don't know. I'm going to go to graduate school I think. I've got to finish my undergraduate. I'm 13 hours away from getting my degree. I wouldn't mind going to get an MBA possibly. D: Do you keep up with the Michi- gan baseball team? M: Yeah, I try to check out the scores in the paper and see how their doing. D: What do you think of the re- building of theMichigan program after the probation? M: I imagine that it's going to take a little time. After something like that happens, it's going to take you a little while to rebuild your recruiting base and everything, but hopefully it will start to happen here. KEN SUGIURA Close But No Sugiura Women cagers finding strength in numbers When her legs start to feel like jelly and the court seems to be engthening each time down the floor, Silver Shellman might peek over to the sideline, in the hope that someone might be hopping off the bench to her rescue. But that rarely is the case, so Shellman - a freshman forward on the Michigan women's basketball team - knows she only has one option, even though it might not be the preferred one. Keep playing. "You never ask the coach to come out," she says. Players afraid to ask for time on the bench - it's just one of the many peculiarities of this team, all of seven players deep and according to the coach, Trish Roberts, "probably the youngest team in Division I right now." Yes, that's seven players, as in two subs and plenty of good seats still available at the end of the Michigan bench. "You feel like you're the only one there," says Shellman of her rare trips to the pine. She logs an average of 34 minutes per game. More tidbits? 1. So they can scrimmage 5-on-5 in practice, they employ the services of some of the men's team's student managers. 2. Four of the starters are freshmen, something that would be an oddity anywhere besides Crisler Arena, where a certain fivesome already holds the patent on that novelty. The fifth frosh, guard Mekisha Ross, also plays regularly, as if she has a choice. 3. There were originally 11 members, but two - Rhonda Jokisch and Tannisha Stevens - are out with injuries, and the other two - Angie Mustonen and Sonya Mays - recently left the team to concentrate on their studies. Mustonen is in the Residential College Honors Program and Mays is a mechanical engineering major. 4. Starting point guard and freshman Jennifer Kiefer is not big on the jokes she hears about her team's lack of depth. "Just because we have seven players doesn't mean we can't play basketball and play hard and compete with the other teams," she explains. 5. As can be expected, the Wolverines are taking their lumps. After losing a 64-63 heartbreaker Sunday to Wisconsin at Crisler, they fell to 3- 10 overall and 0-4 in the Big Ten. And with only conference games remaining and nine of the II Big Ten teams currently above .500, the term "winning streak" can likely only be used in the loosest sense. 6. The other day, the entire team went for a ride in sophomore Jennifer Brzezinski's car. Despite the hardships, this resilient bunch is trying to look on the bright side. For example, Roberts believes practicing with the managers is turning out to be a valuable experience. "I think it benefits our girls in the long run because they're playing against tougher, quicker, stronger, faster guys every day," she explains. Roberts, a silver-medal winner in the 1976 Olympics, and her assistants also take to the practice court when necessary. And while it was rough in the beginning, even the whole little- experience, less-depth thing is becoming old hat now. "I'm getting kind of used to it," Kiefer says. "You just know there's no one that can come in for you, so you just have to stay out there and play hard." Indeed, Kiefer, who has been on the floor for all but 27 minutes this season, pushed the tempo whenever possible Sunday. "They have great endurance," marveled Wisconsin coach Mary Murphy. "They just keep running up and down the floor with you." "It's a way of life for us," frosh center Catherine DiGiacinto says proudly. And while the win-loss record by season's end might not be much, the Wolverines are still plugging away, enjoying everything that comes their way, even if they don't win, which is fairly often. Because if there are not actual wins, at least there are still smaller wars to be won. With their third victory, they met their season's goal of topping last year's victory total. And as DiGiacinto half-seriously points out, until Purdue lost Sunday at Penn State, the Wolverines had come the closest of See SUGIURA, Page 2 RoCK with guest D.J. "The Buckster" Every Thursday 10 p.m.-1 a.m. N E S 1950 South industriat Ann Arbo, MI 48104 For Special Group Rates call: 665-4475 q atokan C EO sJ T tymeiCu The University of Michigan Club Organizational Meetings January 18, CCRB Small Gym, 8:00 pm January 20, CCRB Martial Arts, 8:00 pm Beginners Welcome! Winter 1994 Practice Schedule Tues 8:00-10:00pm Thurs 8:00-10:00pm Sat 10:30am-noon Small Gym Martial Arts Rm Small Gym For more information: Adam: 994-3489 Toni: 761-9537 Atri 747-3141 t _. . 0 0 U E E E cum Great Fresh Pasta Dinners for Less with Your College I.D. $ 95 for each FULL mealt Mondays & Tuesdays only, 5-10 p.m. Select from 3 favorites: I i