I

Page 1- he .ichigarDaIly FridaysMay1A8, 1984
Hayward:One MVP

who really
By PAUL HELGREN
If there is a most valuable player on
the Michigan baseball team, it is Ken
Hayward.
Oh, sure coach Bud Middaugh
diplomatically said that his cleanup hit-
ter and relief ace was only "one of
several players" in the running for the
award. But there was never really any
doubt. Hayward's teammates honored
him as the club's MVP at Tuesday's
annual baseball banquet, garnering the
Ray L. Fisher Award for the junior's
trophy room.
NO ONE EVER did more to earn
such kudos. Hayward, who at 6-4 and
220 pounds is an intimidating force at
the plate as well as on the mound, has
been cranking out homers and mowing
down hitters with regularity this
season. He leads Wolverine hitters with
10 round-trippers and 54 RBI and heads
the pitching staff with seven wins and
four saves.
But if you ask Hayward about his con-
tribution to the team he would likely
give you the aww-shucks-maam-it-
ain't-nothing routine.
"THE THING you have to remem-
ber," said the genuinely humble Water-
ford resident, "is that there's other
DISSERTATION SUPPORT
GROUP FORMING!
Doctoral candidate in Linguistics seeks
3-4 ABD's in Social/Behavioral Scien-
ces or Humanities to meet meekly and
help each other survive and complete
our dissertations.
CALL 764-8312
Sponsored by
University Counseling Service

earned it
people that could be doing what I do.
"There's situations when I can come
in and get a few outs but I only pitch
four or five innings a week. I don't pitch
a whole lot. It's just that I get used in
situations where I get noticed a lot, I
guess."
Don't let Hayward's modesty fool
you. He pitches in tight situations
because Middaugh wants him to pitch
in tight situations. Just as Hayward is
counted on to drive in runs, Middaugh
relies on him to silence the bad guys'
bats for an inning or two when the game
is on the line.
HAYWARD will be needed more than
ever this weekend for the Big Ten
playoffs at Minneapolis. The
Wolverines' lack of quality pitching
means Middaugh will try to squeeze
every possible inning out of his burly
righthander. He'll just have to make
sure he doesn't squeeze the well dry.
"I hesitate to use Kenny more than
twice in a weekend," Middaugh com-
mented. "I tried it against Ohio State
and the third time out he got hit hard."
Luckily for Michigan, that hasn't
happened too often. In fact, most of the
heavy hitting in Hayward's three years
as a Wolverine has come from his own
bat.
AS MICHIGAN'S freshman
designated hitter two years ago,
Hayward batted .394, including a share
of the league batting title with a .462
clip. Though his average dipped to .335
last season, he batted in the cleanup
spot on the team that finished in a third
place tie in the College World Series,
knocking in 50 runs.
But 1984 has easily been Hayward's
most productive campaign. After an


DOUG McMAHON/Daily
Ken Hayward (left) accepts congratulations from teammates Mike Watters
(4) and Jeff Minick after belting a homer against Wayne State last week.
early slump his average has edged up sidered gravy. Making only token
to .333. He also owns a .470 on-base per- hurling appearances as a sophomore,
centage, thanks mainly to his 39 walks, the three-time high school all-stater
His total of 54 ribbies is the third from Waterford Township High has
highest in Michigan history, 11 short of developed into the reliever Middaugh
the record set by Jim Paciorek in 1982. needed to replace last year's fireman,
While Hayward's hitting potency this Tim Karazim. And he has had to do this
season should come as no surprise, his while maintaining his every-day
effectiveness on the hill has to be con- position as the team's first baseman
and cleanup hitter.
"I FELT HE had the capability
(to pitch) all along," Middaugh said of
Hayward. "It was just a matter of if
he'd be able to handle going from the
field to the bullpen and then into the
game."
Said Hayward, in typical humility, "I
just come in and throw strikes and let the
defense take care of things. So far it's
been very successful because they've
f..; played great behind me."
Hayward's success brings up the
inevitable possibility that he will turn
professional at the end of the season. He
may indeed leave the team but said he
would rather concentrate on playing
ball right now.
"It's a serious consideration," admit-
ted Hayward, who has two uncles that
We eature CMucars played triple-A ball in the '60s. "But
isontia 2000 Sunbird. right now all I'm worried about is the
Big Ten championship. It's nice to get
that ring and I'd like another one."
Another Big Ten championship ring
would probably go very nicely with the
MVP award already perched in
Hayward's trophy room.
art your H
ay off on
got cars <
vacation-
for gas r .v
o the >
cV to availabitlty"
S THE TRUTH.
1, S
Set;6
*DON OLED BCEOUR CMPETITOR'S

SUMMER STA

I5PER DAY
NO MILEAGE CHARGE
Rate available from anytime
Thursday, May 24, 1984, to noon
Tuesday, May 29, 1984. No daily
minimum.

Rent from us and st
Memorial Day holid.
the right foot. We've
to fit virtually every
sized need. You pay
and return the car tt
renting location.

Non-discountable rate appliesto
this or similar-size car and is subject to change without notice. Speciic cars subjec
WE GIVE YOU NATIONAL ATTENTION. AND THAT'
Available at:
Briarwood Amoco /3230 South State Stre
(I-94 at State) Ann Arbor,769-8437