College Baseball

[batted balls]

East Lansing, Mich.--Miami's Neal Heaton flirted with history June 2 by pitching 8.1 innings of no-hit baseball. In the end, Heaton wound up with a one-hit, 1-0 victory.

"All of my pitches were working today," said Heaton (shown below). "The ball felt great coming off my fingertips."

Heaton, 6-3, gave up only a one-out single to Michigan State third baseman Steve Garvey. The hit was a hard grounder that just eluded the dive of Miami third baseman Mike Pagliarulo.

Heaton, who walked two and struck out two, was trying to become the first East division pitcher to throw a no-hitter. Earlier this season, Allie Reynolds of Oklahoma State threw a no-hitter in the West.

Ed Hobaugh was the hard-luck loser for Michigan State. Hobaugh gave up just eight hits and one run. Pat Burrell drove home the Hurricanes' run with a third-inning sacrifice fly.


Diamond Notes: Ed Reulbach of Notre Dame earned the Player of the Week award by going 2-0 for the Irish. Reulbach, 8-3, is second to Illinois' Fred Beebe (1.87) with a 1.88 ERA . . . Reulbach's teammate Norwood Gibson is third with a 1.92 ERA . . . Dick Radatz of Michigan State has moved into a tie with Florida State's Craig Skok with an East-leading 16 saves . . . Lou Gehrig of Ivy leads the division with a .356 average, 1.064 OPS and 10 steals . . . The Eagles' Sam Mele is the East leader with 52 RBIs; Gehrig and LSU's Buddy Blair each have 48 . . . Minnesota has won four straight games for the first time all season . . . Miami closer Danny Graves will miss at least eight weeks with strained ligament in his pitching arm. Graves recorded nine saves for Miami this season.

Stat of the Week: All five Ivy starting pitchers have a winning record: Pete Broberg (7-5), Jim Beattie (9-1), John Milligan (8-4), Ron Darling (4-0) and Ted Olson (6-3).

Standings
Ivy 40-21 --
Florida State 36-25 4
Illinois 35-26 5
Michigan 34-27 6
Notre Dame 31-30 9
Miami 30-31 10
Mississippi State 28-33 12
Louisiana State 26-35 14
Michigan State 26-35 14
Minnesota 19-42 21

[batted balls]

Los Angeles, Calif.--A week passed on the calendar but the West division standings stayed the same--for Arizona State and Southern California that is.

Arizona State, 43-18, continues to hold a two-game lead over second-place USC. The Sun Devils, winners of three straight, are playing .705 ball. Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 games.

"It looks like a two-horse race right now, but you never know what will happen," said USC manager Rod Dedeaux.

Arizona State continues to get solid pitching, strong hitting and key defensive plays. Left-hander Eddie Bane (3-2, 2.61 ERA) has taken over the starting role vacated by the injured Craig Swan.

Dedeaux, meanwhile, has indicated he will give more save opportunities to left-hander Tom House (1-1). Dedeaux has been disappointed in the performance of current stopper Barry Latman (0-3, nine saves, 5.11 ERA).

"Tom House has shown the ability to get people out," Dedeaux said.

House has struck out 32 batters in 36.1 innings. Latman has fanned 19 in 24.2 innings.

Diamond Notes: USC's Fred Lynn continues to lead the West in batting (.385) . . . Lynn's teammate Mark McGwire leads in home runs (34) and RBIs (76) . . . Bob Hamelin of UCLA has come on strong in the past month. Hamelin (shown below) is batting .318 with 25 homers and 62 RBIs . . . Arizona State teammates Reggie Jackson and Hubie Brooks are the West leaders with 10 steals each . . . Stanford manager Mark Marquess has shaken up his team in an attempt to close the gap on Arizona State and USC. Stanford sent reliever Don Rose and outfielders Pete Stanicek (.217) and David McCarty (.172) to the minors. Marquess has brought up pitcher Mark Davis (5-1 at Triple A), infielder Paul Carey (.291-8-30 at Double A) and outfielder Dave Meier (.355-10-28 at Double A) in an attempt to boost the Cardinal . . . UCLA is 7-3 in its last 10 games and has climbed to seventh place.

Stat of the Week: On May 25 Mark McGwire of USC hit two home runs and drove home six in a rout of San Diego State. Since then, McGwire is seven-for-his-last 37 (.189) with just two homers. In addition, McGwire has struck out 10 times.

Standings
Arizona State 43-18 --
Southern Cal 41-20 2
Oklahoma State 32-29 11
Stanford 32-29 11
Texas 30-31 13
Cal 29-32 14
UCLA 29-32 14
Cal State Fullerton 28-33 15
Arizona 23-38 20
San Diego State 18-43 25

[marc]

Originally Posted by batted balls

Ohio State was considered when the league was first set up but just didn't have enough quality big leaguers. If and when the AABL expands, Ohio State will get another look.

It's a better baseball program than Michigan for crying out loud!

Just giving you a hard time, I've just caught up reading the whole thread and you've done a great job with this. Looking forward to reading more!

[chilliputt]

I am a huge Miami Hurricane baseball fan and enjoy seeing how my team stacks up against other colleges. I am a little disappointed at the season for Miami, but anyway life goes on.

I have a question about the UM roster. Where is Mike Piazza, Charles Johnson, and Jason Michaels for instance?

Keep up the great thread.

[batted balls]

Glad to hear you are following the league! As for Piazza and Michaels, both are in the minors right now. Charles Johnson is backing up Jorge Fabergas at this point. However, look for Piazza and Michaels to get callups by the All-Star break. When I ran spring training, the computer placed both players in the minors. I was surprised by this, especially in the case of Piazza but Fabergas has played pretty well thus far. Piazza would be a great DH. Interestingly, on the baseballalmanac.com site Piazza is listed as attending Miami-Dade North Community College. On the Miami site, the Hurricanes claim him.

[batted balls]

Max Mercy, Jr. here again, folks . . .

Hope you're all enjoying the All-American Baseball League as much as Old Maxie is. As you know from my previous columns, I'm spending time on the road this summer checking out as much AABL action as I can. I've partied in Austin where I watched Cliff Gustafson scratch his head a time or two. I've had a devil of a time in Tempe with Arizona State. I've been to Southern California where it truly never rains and the girls truly warm 'ya. I've seen the lackluster play of the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the San Diego State Aztecs. And, on and on, Ole Max could go . . .

But, I'm here to tell 'ya this league is here to stay and will continue to evolve. Teams will continue to develop their personalities. Teams will continue to develop players. Remember, folks, all these rosters were stocked with players based on their rookie stats. That means while Arizona State might enjoy the fruits of a Bob Horner who had early success in his big league career, it will also have a Barry Bonds working on his game both on and off the field for future seasons. So while Horner may be the Big Man on Campus today, Bonds may be the BMOC down the line.

Being BMOC is something Ole Max can relate to, but I digress . . . What I'm really saying is that while teams like Southern Cal and Arizona State will continue to prosper in years to come, don't give up hope if you're a fan of an LSU or Miami or Michigan State. Players will develop over the seasons. While a Fred Beebe at Illinois may shine today, a Texan named Roger Clemens will be the man in years to come. While Mike Devereaux of Arizona State may pound the horsehide in 2006, Albert Belle of LSU will be an All-Star by 2008 or '09. Yes, folks, you heard it hear first. Just because your favorite ballclub may not be tearin' up the peapatch this summer doesn't mean you won't be celebratin' somewhere down in line. Who knows, maybe they'll be drinkin' champagne in Champaign one of these seasons. Maybe they'll be dancin' in East Lansin' or jumpin' on tables in Coral Gables. Someday, they may party in Berkeley like, well, only they can party in Berkeley. Someday, the Twin Cities of Minnesota or even San Diego . . . well, maybe Ole Max has spent too much time in Berkeley.

This is Max Mercy, Jr., keepin' it between the ditches and signing off until next time. . .

[batted balls]

Max Mercy, Jr. here again, folks . . .

Ole Max knows a columnist is only as good as his readers. Thus, Ole Max is inviting his loyal readers to drop him a line. Let him know what's on your mind. Ole Max will be glad to answer your cards and letters. All Max asks in that you use our native language and a civil tongue!

This is Max Mercy, Jr. lookin' forward to your replies, folks!

[chilliputt]

Originally Posted by batted balls

Glad to hear you are following the league! As for Piazza and Michaels, both are in the minors right now. Charles Johnson is backing up Jorge Fabergas at this point. However, look for Piazza and Michaels to get callups by the All-Star break. When I ran spring training, the computer placed both players in the minors. I was surprised by this, especially in the case of Piazza but Fabergas has played pretty well thus far. Piazza would be a great DH. Interestingly, on the baseballalmanac.com site Piazza is listed as attending Miami-Dade North Community College. On the Miami site, the Hurricanes claim him.

Piazza played 6 games for Miami as a Freshman before leaving due to grades I believe and because he was listed as the 3rd catcher.

[batted balls]

Chilliputt,

Thanks for the information. It's interesting to hear stories like that. I'm hoping to sim the next week of the AABL tonight and post the results sometime tomorrow or over the weekend. Best of luck to your 'Canes.

[batted balls]

San Diego--Arizona State rewrote the All-American Baseball League record book June 10 as the Sun Devils shellacked San Diego State 29-1.

Arizona State, 46-19, scored in seven of its nine at-bats en route to the rout. The Sun Devils, who smashed out 20 hits and drew 20 walks, scored 13 runs in the eighth inning alone.

"It was ugly," said San Diego State player/manager Tony Gwynn. "You think it couldn't get worse and it did."

Arizona State knocked out Aztec starter Jim Andrews (2-5) in the second inning. Andrews allowed five hits and four earned runs in his one inning of work. Erik Plantenberg replaced Andrews. Plantenberg was battered for 12 earned runs on seven hits and 11 walks in five innings of work.

"It was the worst outing of my life," said Plantenberg. "My only positive is that it can't ever get worse than it was today."

Jim Campbell pitched the final three innings for San Diego State.

Meanwhile, Eddie Bane (4-2) pitched 6.1 innings to earn the easy victory for Arizona State. The lone Aztec run was unearned. Sean Lowe and Jim Umbarger finished the game on the mound for the Sun Devils.

Arizona State had numerous hitting stars. Mike Devereaux led the way with a 6-for-7 performance. Devereaux (shown below) scored five times and drove home three runs. Luis Medina, a recent call-up from the minors, hit two home runs. Leadoff man Hubie Brooks had five RBIs while Reggie Jackson and Pat Listach drove home four runs.

"It was one of those incredible games that happens on rare occasions," said Arizona State manager Bobby Winkles. "I'm glad we were on the positive side of the ledger."

ASU 231 014 5(13)0 29 20 3
SDS 100 000 000 1 3 1

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by batted balls

Through the magic that is Out of the Park Baseball, the All-American Baseball League will soon begin its 2006 season. Twenty of the top collegiate baseball programs will compete for the national championship following a 162-game schedule. The teams will be divided into two divisions of 10 teams each. These alignments are listed below. Team rosters are taken from baseball-almanac.com. Whether a player appeared in one major league game or 1,000 games, he is eligible for the league. Financials are turned off. Injuries will be set at very low and no trades will be allowed. Players were imported as either rookies or as second-year players if they were a September call-up. The DH will be used. All teams will be computer-run. The divisions winners will meet in a best-of-seven game National Championship series. Look for rosters and spring training reports in future postings.

East
Florida State Seminoles
Illinois Fighting Illini
Ivy Eagles (a collection of Ivy Leaguers)
Louisiana State Tigers
Miami Hurricanes
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan State Spartans
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Notre Dame Fighting Irish

West
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona State Sun Devils
California Golden Bears
Cal State Fullerton Titans
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Stanford Cardinal
Texas Longhorns
San Diego State Aztecs
Southern California Trojans
UCLA Bruins

dood. I tried to create a league based on every conference in NCAA football but it crashed like 3 times. Hopefully my computer is man enough to run it because it would be, like really cool.

[batted balls]

June 14, 2006

Bristol, Conn.--The Ivy Eagles continue to fly high in the All-American Baseball League East.

Ivy, in the midst of a nine-game winning streak, has opened a five-game lead over second-place Florida State. Illinois, 38-29, is third. Miami, by virtue of a four-game win streak, has moved into fourth place ahead of slumping Michigan. The Wolverines have lost six straight and eight of their last 10 games.

"We've regressed in the past week," said Michigan short stop Barry Larkin. "We need to get back on track."

Diamond Notes: Miami's Jorge Fabergas took East Player of the Week honors. Fabergas hit .526 for the week. The Hurricane catcher is fourth in the East batting race at .325 . . . Miami may soon add Mike Piazza to its lineup. Recently promoted to Triple-A, Piazza hit .538 with three homer in his first week in the high minors . . . Lou Gehrig of Ivy continues to lead the division in batting (.360), OPS (1.057) and stolen bases (10). The Eagle first baseman is second in RBIs (55) and has nine home runs . . . A trio of Illinois players lead the East in homers. Outfielders Don Lenhardt and Hoot Evers have 11 each while short stop Lou Boudreau has 10 round-trippers . . . Michigan State's Dick Radatz (shown below) has taken over the division lead with his 18th save. Craig Skok of Florida State is second with 17 . . . Last-place Minnesota has won seven of its last 10. Meanwhile, Louisiana State has lost five in a row and dropped into ninth place.

Stat of the Week: Right-hander Jim Beattie of Ivy has won nine straight decisions.

Standings
Ivy 46-21 --
Florida State 41-26 5
Illinois 38-29 8
Miami 35-32 11
Michigan 334-33 12
Notre Dame 33-34 13
Mississippi State 31-36 15
Michigan State 28-39 18
Louisiana State 27-40 19
Minnesota 22-45 24

[batted balls]

June 14, 2006

Tempe, Ariz.--Arizona State doubled its lead in the All-American Baseball League West.

The Sun Devils, winners of seven of their last 10 games, increased their lead to four games over second-place Southern California. Arizona State swept its series with last-place San Diego State. Included in the sweep was a record-setting 29-1 thrashing of the Aztecs.

"It was a day where everything went right for us," said pitcher Eddie Bane.

Sun Devil manager Bobby Winkles added, "We've been able to stay away from a prolonged losing streak. That's what makes a winning team so successful."

Meanwhile, Texas put together a 7-3 record in its last 10 games. While that only allowed the Longhorns to keep pace with Arizona State, the winning string vaulted Texas into a four-place tie with Stanford. The Cardinal were the polar opposite of Texas, dropping seven of its last 10.

Diamond Notes: Texas third baseman Grady Hatton was the recipient of the West Player of the Week award. Hatton hit .353 with three home runs and eight RBIs for the week . . . Fred Lynn of USC is threatening his own 23-game hitting streak. Lynn, the West batting leader at .374, has hit in 18 straight games . . . Mark McGwire, USC first baseman, continues to lead the division in home runs (34) and RBIs (77) . . . Cal's Orval Overall (9-3) has moved to within one victory of Mark Prior's West leading 10 wins . . . Stanford's Steve Chitren (shown below) recorded his 20th save June 13 against red-hot Arizona State . . . Arizona was the week's hottest team. The Wildcats won eight of 10. San Diego State experienced yet another losing streak; the latest was snapped at nine games with a win yesterday.

Stat of the Week: A day after going 6-for-7 against San Diego State, Mike Devereaux of Arizona State was 0-for-5 including a strikeout in a loss to Stanford.

Standings
Arizona State 47-20 --
Southern Cal 43-24 4
Oklahoma State 37-30 10
Stanford 34-33 13
Texas 34-33 13
Cal 33-34 14
UCLA 31-36 16
Cal State Fullerton 29-38 18
Arizona 28-39 19
San Diego State 19-48 28

[batted balls]

June 22, 2006

South Bend, Ind.--The fortunes of Notre Dame baseball took a turn for the worst when staff ace Ed Reulbach suffered a strained tricep muscle during a 3-2 loss to Michigan.

Reulbach (shown below) leads the Irish staff with an 8-5 record and a sparkling 1.96 ERA. Reulbach will likely miss three weeks with the ailment.

"It's certainly not what we were looking for," said Notre Dame manager Pat Murphy. "Big Ed is our staff ace. We've got to forge ahead without him."

The Irish have been in a tailspin, losing eight of their last 10 games. Notre Dame trails first-place Ivy by 18 games.

The injury may also cost Reulbach a spot on the East All-Star team.

"That's not the important thing right now," said Reulbach. "What is important is helping my team out."

Reulbach's spot in the rotation will be taken by reliever Jim Hannan (3-1, 3.13 ERA).

Diamond Notes: Lou Gehrig of Ivy won the East Player of the Week. The husky first baseman hit .455 with a home run and eight RBIs for the week. Gehrig has a seven-game hit string going . . . Gehrig took the East RBI lead away from teammate Sam Mele 63-62 . . . Florida State's Juan Bonilla has a 13-game hitting streak alive . . .Miami right-hander Alex Fernandez has won four straight decisions to boost his record to 10-4 . . . Miami also got a lift when Aubrey Huff was activated off the disabled list . . . Warren Morris came off the DL and returned to the LSU lineup.

Stat of the Week: Alex Fernandez of Miami has allowed just three earned runs in his four-game winning streak. His ERA is 0.86 during that span.

Standings
Ivy 52-23 --
Florida State 46-29 -6
Illinois 43-32 -9
Miami 41-34 -11
Michigan 38-37 -14
Mississippi State 35-40 -17
Notre Dame 34-41 -18
Michigan State 31-44 -21
Louisiana State 30-45 -22
Minnesota 25-50 -27

[batted balls]

June 22, 2006

Tempe, Ariz.--The news was mixed out of Arizona State camp this week. The good news was that a Sun Devil earned Player of the Week honors and the team stayed in first place. The bad news was the loss of a starting outfielder.

While right fielder Reggie Jackson (shown below) won the West Player of the Week award, left fielder Mike Devereaux is expected to miss at least two months with a torn rib cage muscle.

"Fortunately we have depth," said Arizona State manager Bobby Winkles. "Our bench has been a strength for us."

Devereaux was hitting .322 with six home runs and 35 RBIs. Rick Monday (.255-9-32) and Barry Bonds (.306-2-7) are expected to split time in left for the Sun Devils with Devereaux out.

"Mike was strongly being considered for the All-Star game," said Winkles, who will manage the West if Arizona State can maintain its first-place lead.

Jackson, meanwhile, has turned up his game as the season develops. The Sun Devils right fielder hit .364 with four homers and seven RBIs en route to the Player of the Week award. Jackson has homered in his last three games.

Meanwhile, Arizona State saw its lead in the West reduced to two games. Second-place Southern California has won nine straight games to slice two games off the Sun Devils' lead from a week ago.

"It's going to be a great race all summer long," said Jackson.

Diamond Notes: Mark McGwire, Fred Lynn and Mark Prior continue to be keys to USC success. McGwire leads the West with 36 home runs and 84 RBIs. Lynn, who had his 18-game hit streak snapped, leads the division with 73 runs scored and a .378 average. Prior, 12-4 with a 2.27 ERA, has struck out an amazing 148 batters in just 115 innings . . . Arizona State's Hubie Brooks leads the West with 12 steals . . . Dante Powell of Cal State Fullerton has a 15-game hitting string . . . UCLA has put together a season-high six-game win streak to move to within a game of the .500 mark.

Stat of the Week: Arizona State reliever Sean Lowe is 9-0 on the season. Lowe also has two saves.

Standings
Arizona State 53-22 --
Southern California 51-24 -2
Oklahoma State 40-35 -13
Texas 39-36 -14
Stanford 37-38 -16
UCLA 37-38 -16
Cal 35-40 -18
Cal State Fullerton 33-42 -20
Arizona 29-46 -24
San Diego State 21-54 -32

[batted balls]

June 28, 2006

Bristol, Conn.--The Ivy Eagles lengthened their stronghold on first place in the East of the All-American Baseball League as the All-Star arrived.

Ivy, 55-26, has won seven of its last 10 games and boosted its lead to seven games ahead of second-place Florida State.

"We've continued to play well right into the break," Ivy manager Bob Seddon said. "That was one of our goals, to finish the first half up strong."

The Eagles continue to get strong pitching from right-handers Jim Beattie (10-1, 2.35 ERA) and Pete Broberg (10-5, 3.38). First baseman Lou Gehrig (.352-11-68) and outfielders Sam Mele (.299-5-66) and Hughie Jennings (.315-2-39) spark the Ivy offense. Jennings is shown below performing his "Eee-Yah" yell after an Eagle victory. Jennings leads the East with 67 runs scored.

Player of the Week: Cap Anson, Notre Dame

Player of the Month: Lou Gehrig, Ivy

Pitcher of the Month: Ben McDonald, LSU

Stat of the Week: Cap Anson of Notre batted an incredible .680 for the week. This hot streak vaulted Anson into a tie with Lou Gehrig of Ivy for the East batting race at .352.

East Leaders:
Batting--Can Anson, Notre Dame & Lou Gehrig, Ivy .352
Home Runs--Don Lenhardt, Illinois 12
Runs Scored--Hughie Jennings, Ivy 67
RBIs--Lou Gehrig, Ivy 68
Stolen Bases--Lou Gehrig, Ivy 10
Wins--Carl Lundgren, Illinois 11
ERA--Ken Tatum, Mississippi State 1.93
Saves--Dick Radatz, Michigan State 21
Strikeouts--Jeff Innis, Illinois 117

Standings
Ivy 55-26 --
Florida State 48-33 -7
Illinois 47-34 -8
Miami 45-36 -10
Michigan 42-39 -13
Mississippi State 39-42 -16
Notre Dame 35-46 -20
Louisiana State 34-47 -21
Michigan State 33-48 -22
Minnesota 27-54 -28

[batted balls]

June 28, 2006

Los Angeles, Calif.--A six-game losing streak has dropped the Southern California Trojans back in the standings of the All-American Baseball League West.

The losing skid puts USC a season-high six games behind the front-running Arizona State. USC is 51-30. Arizona State is 57-24.

"We picked a bad time to play this way," said USC manager Rod Dedeaux. "We will use the All-Star break to get our focus back."

While USC was stumbling, Arizona State put together a string of eight victories in 10 games to stretch out its lead.

"USC has been hot on our heels for most of the first half so sure, a little breathing room is nice," said Sun Devil manager Bobby Winkles.

Meanwhile, UCLA has won nine of its last 10 games. The Bruins have taken over fourth place, moving past Texas and Stanford. After a slow start, Jackie Robinson (shown below) has raised his average to .299 with six home runs and 42 RBIs. Bob Hamelin (.291-27-76) and Troy Glaus (.276-22-60) have provided power.

Player of the Week: Jeff Robinson, Cal State Fullerton

Player of the Month: Reggie Jackson, Arizona State

Pitcher of the Month: Eddie Bane, Arizona State

Stat of the Week: Arizona's Kenny Lofton has put together a 15-game hitting streak to raise his average from .224 to .277.

East Leaders:
Batting--Fred Lynn, USC .382
Home Runs--Mark McGwire, USC 36
Runs Scored--Fred Lynn, USC 75
RBIs--Mark McGwire, USC 75
Stolen Bases--Hubie Brooks, Arizona State 14
Wins--Mark Prior, USC 12
ERA--Mark Mussina, Stanford 1.83
Saves--Steve Chitren, Stanford 22
Strikeouts--Mark Prior, USC 155

Standings
Arizona State 57-24 --
Southern California 51-30 -6
Oklahoma State 46-35 -11
UCLA 42-39 -15
Stanford 40-41 -17
Texas 40-41 -17
Cal 37-44 -20
Cal State Fullerton 35-36 -22
Arizona 34-47 -23
San Diego State 23-58 -34

[Eugene Church]

Sorry, batted balls, I don't have the time to read any Dynasty Leagues, but saw your name and just had to check it out. You are so faithful to read mine.

I went to the University of New Orleans and now live in Baton Rouge. But I am no fan of LSU...no one calls it Louisiana State that lives here or is in the SEC...it is just LSU to the natives and surrounding states.

In a word, this league is superb. You really are a great writer. Not only do you cover the league so well, you do it in superlative style and with great humor.

You put me to shame. I must have the most boring dynasty league on the board.

I wish you had been on the Text Team for OOTPB2006. You really have a way with words and a truly fine baseball vocabulary. I spent the last 6 months working on that along with several other fine guys. But it is a massive project to do. It will be much improved over previous versions, but still need a lot of work.

As I said, I just don't have the time to get involved in reading all of these great dynasty reports, but if there is a better League on the Forum, it must really be fantastic. Your talent is unbelievable.

You got to be one of the top dynasties.

Your league has everything...excellent baseball and great entertainment. It don't get any better than that. The graphics are a very nice touch. They add a lot of atmosphere to the thread.

Great job.

Are you a real sportswriter?

You should be.

[batted balls]

Bristol, Conn.--Ivy manager Bob Seddon announced the roster and starting lineup for the inagural All-American Baseball League All-Star Game. As expected, the East features six of Seddon's Ivy players.

"This should be a fun game for the players, the fans, the media, for everyone involved," Seddon said from Eagles Nest Park, site of the inagural All-Star Game.

The six players who will represent Ivy for the East are first baseman Lou Gehrig, short stop Hughie Jennings, center fielder Roy Thomas, right fielder Sam Mele and pitchers Jim Beattie and Pete Broberg. Jennings, Gehrig and Thomas will be in the starting lineup for the home fans. Beattie, 10-1 with a 2.35 ERA, will be the East's starting pitcher.

"Jimmy has earned it," Seddon said. "We're playing this game to win. I like our roster."

Five Illinois players were selected. They are short stop Lou Boudreau (shown below), center fielder Hoot Evers and pitchers Fred Beebe, Jeff Innis and Carl Lundgren. Don Lenhardt, the East leader with 12 home runs, was not selected.

Michigan was the lone team with no players on the East roster. Interestingly, eighth-place Louisiana State had as many players selected (3) as did second-place Florida State.

The final roster spot was filled by Miami reliever Oscar Munoz, who takes the place of injured Notre Dame starter Ed Reulbach. Munoz, who took over the Hurricanes' closer role when Danny Graves was sidelined with an injury, has seven saves and a 1.52 ERA.


East Starting Lineup (with Avg.-HR-RBI)
Hughie Jennings, Ivy-SS (.315-2-39)
Cap Anson, Notre Dame-3B (.352-1-33)
Lou Gehrig, Ivy-1B (.352-11-68)
Will Clark, Mississippi State-DH (.287-9-44)
Roy Thomas, Ivy-CF (.327-1-41)
Warren Morris, LSU-2B (.311-9-33)
Sam Mele, Ivy-RF (.299-5-66)
Joe Adcock, LSU-LF (.323-9-43)
Jorge Fabergas, Miami-C (.324-8-37)

Starting Pitcher: Jim Beattie, Ivy-P (10-1, 2.35)

Remaining Roster
Dan Wilson, Minnesota-C (.294-5-21)
Buddy Blair, LSU-3B (.289-6-51)
Lou Boudreau, Illinois-SS (.284-11-44)
Hoot Evers, Illinois-CF (.307-11-46)
Mark Gilbert, Florida State-RF (.312-8-46)
Adam Piatt, Mississippi State-RF (.294-2-35)
Fred Beebe, Illinois-P (10-6, 2.06)
Jeff Innis, Illinois-P (9-5, 2.20)
Carl Lundgren, Illinois-P (11-4, 2.34)
Pete Broberg, Ivy-P (10-5, 3.38)
Alex Fernandez, Miami-P (10-4, 3.19)
Oscar Munoz, Miami-P (2-1, 1.52, 7 saves)
Richie Lewis, Florida State-P (9-3, 2.09)
Craig Skok, Florida State-P (3-1, 1.01, 20 saves)
Dick Radatz, Michigan State, P (0-1, 0.79, 21 saves)

Manager: Bob Seddon, Ivy
Coaching Staff: Mike Martin, Florida State; Tom Dedin, Illinois; Ron Fraser, Miami

[batted balls]

Bristol, Conn.--More than half of the West All-Star roster comes from the division's top two teams, Arizona State and Southern California.

"Both teams deserve to have so many All-Star representatives," said Oklahoma State manager Gary Ward. "After all, they were the best two teams in the first half."

Arizona State manager Bobby Winkles selected seven of his own players for the inagural All-American Baseball League All-Star Game. Those Sun Devils are catcher Mike Colbern, third baseman Bob Horner, center fielder Oddibe McDowell, right fielder Reggie Jackson and pitchers Paul Moskau, Floyd Bannister and Sean Lowe. Arizona State leads the West with a 57-24 record.

Second-place Southern Cal, meanwhile, placed five on the West roster. The Trojans representatives are first baseman Mark McGwire, left fielder Steve Kemp, center fielder Fred Lynn and pitchers Mark Prior (shown below) and Jim Barr. Prior, 12-4 with a 2.48 ERA and a league-leading 155 strikeouts, will start for the West.

"Mark deserves to make the start," said Winkles. "We have a lot of depth with our roster."

Stanford and Texas each placed three players on the All-Star team. Cal State Fullerton and San Diego State did not have any players selected.

"The choices were difficult to make," Winkles said.

Cal State Fullerton manager Augie Garrido was upset that closer Mike Schooler (15 saves, 1.30 ERA) was not taken.

"Mike deserves to be there, simple as that," Garrido said.

Despite being in last place with the AABL's worst record, San Diego State felt first baseman Mark Grace should have made the squad. Grace is third among West batting leaders with a .332 average.

"With Mark McGwire and Bob Hamelin (of UCLA) already on the team, Mark Grace was left off," Winkles said.

West Starting Lineup (Avg.-HR-RBI)
Grady Hatton, Texas-LF (.291-16-56)
Fred Lynn, USC-CF (.382-15-67)
Bob Hamelin, UCLA-1B (.291-27-76)
Mark McGwire, USC-DH (.338-36-87)
Bob Horner, Arizona State-3B (.285-24-73)
Ernie Koy, Texas-RF (.260-11-53)
Jeff Kent, Cal-2B (.282-16-50)
Mike Colbern, Arizona State-C (.290-7-28)
Ron Gardenhire, Texas-SS (.304-7-36)

Starting Pitcher: Mark Prior, USC-P (12-4, 2.48)

Remaining Roster
Bob Boone, Stanford-C (.277-4-31)
Troy Glaus, UCLA-3B (.276-22-60)
Oddibe McDowell, Arizona State-CF (.271-21-55)
Reggie Jackson, Arizona State-RF (.270-16-45)
Pete Incaviglia, Oklahoma State-LF (.287-24-57)
Steve Kemp, USC-LF (.252-17-67)
Jim Barr, USC-P (8-2, 3.04)
Paul Moskau, Arizona State-P (7-2, 1.99)
Sean Lowe, Arizona State-P (9-0, 2.10, 2 saves)
Floyd Bannister, Arizona State-P (8-3, 2.45)
Oval Overall, Cal-P (9-5, 2.69)
Tim Pugh, Oklahoma State-P (8-3, 2.60)
Mike Mussina, Stanford-P (8-7, 1.83)
Steve Chitren, Stanford-P (1-1, 1.60, 22 saves)
Trevor Hoffman, Arizona-P (1-1, 5.40, 20 saves)

Manager: Bobby Winkles, Arizona State
Coaching Staff: Rod Dedeaux, USC; Gary Ward, Oklahoma State; Art Reichle, UCLA