The Michigan Daily-Friday, August 7, 1981-Page 15 lit season Owners vote 21-5 for division... CHICAGO (UPI) - National and American League owners voted yester- day to adopt a split season format for the remainder of the strike-plagued 1981 baseball season after earlier adop- ting the settlement that ended the 50- day strike. Under the proposal, adopted 12-2 by the American League and 9-3 by the National League, the four divisional leaders as of the day the strike began, June 12, are declared first half winners. The second half of the season begins next Monday and those leaders will ad- vance to a preliminary round against the first half winners, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Oakland and the New York Yankees. IF THE SECOND half winner is the same as the first, the team with the second best overall record would qualify for the first round playoffs, which will be a best 3-of-5 series. The National League approval came with the minimum amount of votes required because under its rules, a three-fourths majority was needed. In the American League, only a simply majority was required. As was the case with the vote on the settlement, the dissenting teams were not identified. That vote was 21-2 with three abstentions. "THERE WAS some discussion but we all agreed, I believe, that this was the best way to go," said National League President Chub Feeney. "We needed to do something to stimulate in- terest after the strike." American League President Lee MacPhail agreed, saying the owners have little choice but to adopt the split season rather than picking up the stan- dings where the season left off. "If we had adopted something else significantly different, we might have had to reopen negotiations with the players on the settlement," MacPhail said. "It wasn't a rough discussion in our meeting and there wasn't much else to discuss." .. . And unanimously approve Cubs sale CHICAGO (AP)-National League owners, meeting in conjunction with their American League counterparts, unanimously approved yesterday the sale of the Chicago Cubs to Tribune Co., which purchased the franchise from William Wrigley, Jr. for a reported $20.5 million. League president Chub Feeney said the vote was 11-0, with the Cubs unable to vote. "The discussion was very short," said Feeney. "It was almost pro forma." WRIGLEY'S FAMILY, founders of the chewing gum empire that bears the same name, had owned the Cubs since 1916. Tribune Co., which owns the Chicago Tribune, will take over a team which finished the first half of the split season with a 15-37 record, worst in the majors. The management hopes that the split season format will allow the Cubs a chance to redeem themselves. There had been rumors circulating in Chicago that Tribune Co. was planning to install lights in Wrigley Field, the Cubs' home park and the only major league stadium without playing lights, but the new owners have denied those rumors. The sale of the club was announced in June, but was still subject to approval by the rest of the National League owners. The vote on the Cubs was taken at a meeting of club owners called to ratify the contract which ended the major league players strike. * * AP Photo A kick in the grass A ht Washington Diplomats goalie Jim Brown (1) sets up for a shot by Arno Stef- fenhagen of the Chicago Sting (6). The try was unsuccessful, but the Sting went on to win the Wednesday night game ina shootout, 3-2. MORRIS IS ONLY DE TROITER PICKED: All-Star reserve squads named NEW YORK (AP)-Gorman Thomas of the Milwaukee Brewers, who leads the major leagues with 15 home runs, heads a list of 12 players named yesterday by manager Jim Frey to the American League All-Star team. The AL Stars will face their National League counterparts Sunday night in Cleveland Stadium as major league baseball resumes after a seven-week strike. THOMAS WAS one of six outfielders added by Frey. The others were Boston's Dwight Evans, the league's leading hit- ter with a .341 average; Fred Lynn of California (.274); Tony Armas of Oakland (.289); Tom Paciorek of Seattle (.328); and Al Oliver to Texas (.322). Frey named catchers Bo Diaz of the host Indians (.356), and Ted Simmons of Milwaukee (.207), who was an All-Star three times during his National League career with the St. Louis Cardinals. The infield backups are Baltimore first baseman Eddie Murray (.259), second baseman Frank White of Kansas City (.271), shortstop Rick Burleson of California (.299) and Texas third baseman Buddy Bell (.293). PREVIOUSLY, FREY had named a 10-man pitching staff including the league's two top winners-Detroit's Jack Morris and Ken Forsch of California, each 9-3. The National League named 13 reserves to its All-Star squad earlier yesterday. They are headed by three Los Angeles Dodgers including first baseman Steve Garvey (.279), who will not be starting for the first time in eight years. The other Dodgers named were outfielders Pedro Guerrero (.325) and Dusty Baker (.303). Also selected as backups by NL manager Dallas Green were catchers Bruce Benedict of Atlanta (.287) and Terry Kennedy of San Diego (.308), first baseman Bill Buckner of the Chicago Cubs (.313), shortstop Ozzie Smith of San Diego (.259), outfielders Tim Raines of Montreal (.322), Joel Youngblood of the New York Mets (.359), Mike Easler of Pit- tsburgh (.317), infielders Manny Trillo of Philadelphia (.292), and Phil Garner (.284) and Bill Madlock of Pittsburgh (.326). Green named a nine-man pitching staff headed by the league's two nine-game winners, Steve Carlton of Philadelphia and Fernando Valenzuela of Los Angeles. The remaining NL hurlers are Cincinnati's Tom Seaver (7-1), Vida Blue of San Francisco (5-5), Burt Hooton of Los Angeles (7-3), Houston teammates Bob Knepper (5-1) and Nolan Ryan (5-3), Dick Ruthven of Philadelphia (8-3) and Bruce Sutter of St. Louis (2-3). . ''' Morris . :. . liwiener