Sports Page 12 Thursday, August 6, 1981 The Michigan Daily (AP baseb whelm tract prece Now Players vote to ratify co- - A majority of major league all's players voted over- Owners wil meet today singly yesterday to ratify the con- agreerstwill meet today agreement that ended the un- dented mid-season strike. t i it becomes the owner's turn, and new they'll meet in Chicago today to discuss approval of the agreement as well as a format for the remainder of the season. TEN OF THE 16 teams which have reported votes on the agreement gave it their unanimous approval. The Detroit Tigers, who voted unanimously in favor of the contract following a workout on Wednesday, were the 14th of the 26 clubs to approve it by a lopsided margin. The Pittsburgh} Pirates declined to reveal the margin of their vote, but the other 15 clubs voted in favor by an overwhelming 364-15 spread. A simple majority of the 650 players on active major league rosters, plus those on injured reserve, was all that was needed for ratification of the con- tract. Ironically, that majority was achieved on the precise day that the owners' $50 million strike insurance ntract expired. BESIDES DETROIT, the contract has been unanimously approved by the players on Milwaukee, Kansas City, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal, Houston, St. Louis and Atlanta. The New York Mets voted in favor by a 24-1 margin, Seattle 23-3, San Francisco 23- 2, San Diego 22-3 and Minnesota 21-6. "I really had no doubt it would be ratified," said John Curtis, San Diego's player representative. "I think the vote reflects the idea it is a good agreement. Ratification is just a formality, a mat- ter of putting the system into practice." The player voting continues through Thursday, when the owners will hold their meeting - postponed from Tuesday because of the air traffic con- trollers' strike - to discuss ratification. THE OWNERS will also decide on a format for the remainder of the season. Options include picking up the stan- dings as they were when the strike began June 12 or adopting a split- season plan and adding an extra tier of intra-divisional play-offs. Indications are that a majority of owners in both leagues favor the split season concept. But, while a simple majority is enough-for it to be adopted in the American League, a three- quarters vote is needed in the National League. Meanwhile, the players continued to work out in preparation for the resum- ption of the regular season - whatever the format - Monday, following Sun- day night's All-Star Game in Cleveland. "It's going to be tough," said Dick Ruthven of the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the pitchers named to the All- Star squad. "I played catch a little bit during the strike. I don't think I'm that far away. But I've never stopped in the middle of the season, just like everyone else, and I really don't know how long it will take. I won't know until I get out there and try it." I NEW YORK YANKEE REGGIE JACKSON, bat in back pocket, awaits his turn in the batting cage during practice. Jackson and the rest of the major league players voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new agreement which ended the baseball strike. FAUST 'THRIVES OF PRESSURE': Irish coach convinced he's ready SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)-Gerry Faust has had ab- solutely no college coaching experience but is convinced he can handle the mind boggling pressure that goes hand-in- hand with the Notre Dame football coaching job. "I'm the kind of person who thrives of pressure," said Faust, a 45-year-old bundle of energy and enthusiasm who will make his Notre Dame debut after compiling an amazing record of 174-17-2 at Cincinnati's Moeller High School. "I REALIZE I'VE never coached at the college level before but we were under a lot of pressure to win at Moeller, too." said Faust. "I know the high school level isn't the same thing but when you've won 30 or 35 games straight, there's pressure involved." Faust inherits a team that had a 9-2-1 record in Dan Devine's final season as head coach of the Irish. Notre Dame has 38 lettermen returning including eight starters on offense and eight on defense from the team that lost 17-10 to national champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Six of the veterans, including wingback Tony Hunter, linebacker Bob Crable and quarterback Tim Koegel, played under Faust at Moeller, in addition to three incoming fresh- men. FROM THE OUTSET, Faust will be measured against Notre Dame legends Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Par- seghian and Devine, all of whom won national champion- ships. Faust could become the first Irish coach to win a national championship in his first season. Parseghian came close in 1964 but saw it slip away at Southern Cal when the Trojans rallied for a 20-17 victory in the final game of what could have been a perfect season. Faust's undoing could be a crushing schedule. The Irish start out against Louisiana State, Michigan, Purdue, Michigan State, Florida State and Southern Cal and later catch Penn State. "IT'S A TOUGH one, there's not much doubt about that," said Faust. "There are at least three or four teams on there that could win the national championship this year." Faust's first big decision will be naming his starting quar- terback. There are sophomores Blair Kiel and Scott Grooms and senior Koegel. Kiel started most of the games last season but all three were impressive last spring. "I don't like to alternate quarterbacks, it's not good for the offense," said Faust. Whoever wins the job will have such talented receivers as tight end Dean Masztak, wingback Hunter and split ends Mike Boushka and Dave Coneni. Junior Phil Carter will be at tailback and Larry Moriarty and John Sweeney will operate at fullback. r ust ... starts rookie season