Newspaper Page Text
58th Annual Lyons
Youth Tournament
Begins Thursday
At Partin Park
May 19,2021
®lft Aimante
Section B
Loran
Smith
Designated
Hitter Blues
The designated hitter rule is coming to
the National League, but I don’t have to like
it And I don’t It is not official, but you can
easily predict that
the National
League will cave
on the issue when
the next bargain
ing agreement is
negotiated.
If I sound like
the caustic man
ager of yesteryear,
Sparky Anderson,
then I am proud to
be in his company
I was not a friend
or confidante of the first manager to win
the World Series in both leagues, but I had a
conversation with him years ago about the
DH. He detested the rule.
While in Detroit, in the early eighties,
I went out to Tiger Stadium for a game and
wound up behind the batting cage in con
versation with Sparky, the loquacious man
ager who would engage in baseball talk with
most anybody. I asked if I could turn on my
tape recorder for a couple of questions.
He was obliging. During a brief Q_and A
session, I asked him about the American
League designated hitter rule.
“I hate the (expletive) rule,” he said.
Then he was off and running. “I know it is
part of the game over here, but I will never
accept it. It is not baseball. They (American
League officials) don’t like for me to talk
about it, but I ain’t stopping. I will always
speak out against the designated hitter. I am
a traditionalist and I think the game is bet
ter when the pitcher has to bat for himself.”
Interestingly, he managed the Tigers
for 17 seasons, winning the World Series
there in 1984 after nine years with the Cin
cinnati Reds where he won World Series
titles in 1975 and 1976.
When he was elected to the Baseball
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., Sparky
wore his Cincinnati cap although he man
aged almost twice as many years in Detroit
as he did with Cincinnati. My guess is that
he went to his grave holding loud contempt
for the concept of the Designated Hitter.
In the National League, when the
pitcher is coming to bat, that is the time
most fans head to the popcorn stand. When
the pitcher is batting, that is the time to take
a bathroom break, but you better hurry.
Three quick fastballs down the middle and
in less than three minutes, the pitcher may
be walking back to the dugout. That is why
there is a legion of baseball fans, who think
it is a joke to have the pitcher spend time in
the batter’s box.
You would think that the DH would b e
offensive to Babe Ruth, who not only could
hit (.342 lifetime average with 714 home
runs), he could pitch. He won 89 games as
a pitcher with the Red Sox and five with the
Yankees to whom he was traded following
the 1919 season. During his years in Bos
ton, the Babe batted over .300 every year
but two as a pitcher and one of those years
was his first year in which he only played
five games. In 1917, he won 24 games and
batted .378 with 40 hits, which included
three triples and two homeruns.
And, what about the late Tony Clon-
inger of the Braves. In a game at San Fran
cisco in 1966, Cloninger blasted two grand
slam home runs to become the only pitcher
to pull that off. He also singled in a run for
a total of nine RBI’s for the day. Not even
the Babe, when he was a full-time hitter,
ever had a game like that. Rick Wise, of the
Phillies, had himself a banner day when he
no-hit the Reds in Cincinnati in 1971; he
also hit two home runs, but the magnitude
of his hitting prowess pales when compared
Please see Loran page 11B
r m ..... a
By Loran Smith
VHA Plays For Championship
Photo by Mike Branch
State Runner-up Heritage Eagles - (L to R, Front): Head Coach Seth Sitzman, Jackson Franklin,
Luke Moxley, Jackson Poole, Ethan Sikes, Jackson Williamson, RJ Wells, Jake Adams, Ledger Curl,
Coach Walter Banks; (Back): Hardy Franklin, Greer Posey, JT Cofield, Chris Reaves, Jacob Dean,
and Mason Beacham,
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmail.com
In just their third year
of a varsity program the
Eagles baseball team of Vi-
dalia Heritage Academy
played for the GAPPS State
A Championship last Fri
day against the Patriots of
Habersham School out of
Savannah. The Eagles had
been a scrappy team all year
long, but were outmatched
in the Championship as
they fell in both games of
the double header on Fri
day in the best-of-three se
ries.
Game 1
In the first game the
Eagles kept it close early,
but a big top of the third
was the key for Habersham.
Habersham started with
two singles in the top of the
first inning, and a sacrifice
bunt moved the runners to
second and third. A ground
out then scored the first
run of the game to put them
on top, 1-0. VHA did get
the third out to send the
game to the bottom of the
first inning.
In the bottom of the
first inning JT Cofield led
off with a solo home run to
tie the game at 1-1. But that
was all they could get in the
inning, and as it turned out,
that would be the only run
that they would score in the
game.
In the top of the second
inning with a runner on
base, two wild pitches
moved the runner over to
third base. A walk put run
ners at the corners, and a
base hit put them on top
2-1 over the Eagles. In the
bottom of the second the
Eagles went three up, three
down.
The top of the third is
when the Patriots blew the
game open. With two run-
Please see VHA page 3B
Indians Fall In Elite 8
Photo by Mike Branch
Walker Moncus put the bat on the ball for VHS as they battled back in the third
game of the series against Lovett.
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 7 advance@gmaii. com
The Indians baseball team of Vidalia
High School had their playoff run came to
an end last Tuesday in Game 3 of the best-
of-three series against the Lions of The
Lovett School in the Elite 8. The two
teams were evenly matched, but 10 walks
and 4 errors cost the Indians in their final
game.
VHS and Lovett had split the first
two games of the series on Monday of last
week, with Vidalia winning the first game
4-2, and Lovett taking the second 1-0.
Game 3
In the top of the first inning, the Li
ons jumped out to an early lead. Bryson
Whited was on the mound for VHS and
had gotten the first two outs, but then he
walked the next three batters to load the
bases. Two hits by the Lions followed to
give them a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, the Indians
couldn't get anything going to answer,
and the game went to the second inning
with VHS down 3-0. VHS did manage a
run in the bottom of the second inning,
though, as Hughes Graham walked and
then took second on a balk by the Lovett
pitcher. He was moved over to third on a
sacrifice by Walker Moncus, and came in
to score on a ground out by Michael
Blount. That made the score 3-1.
Whited again held in the top of the
third inning, and in the bottom of the
frame the Indians got the offense going.
Please see VHS page 11B
The 27th Annual Toombs-Mont-
gomery-Wheeler Counties United Way
Golf Tournament was held Thursday,
May 13, at the Swainsboro Golf Club.
Twenty-two teams competed and
helped raise money for the United Way.
Tournament Director Dennis Do
nahue said, “This was our best year ever
with 22 teams taking part in the tourna
ment. The weather turned out great,
had a great turnout, just a great day. We
had more sponsors than before, and we
raised more than ever before. I want to
thank all of the sponsors, volunteers
and players who made this all possible.”
First place in the tournament went
to the team from ServPro with Brad
Niebrand, Heath Taylor, Matt Simons,
and Austin Frost with a score of 58.
Second place was the Rocky Creek
Lodge with Monroe Goss, Wally Ad-
United Way Golf Tourney Held
By Mike Branch
Sports Editor
sports 1 advance@gmail. com
Photo by Mike Branch
Winners - (L to R): Brad Niebrand, Heath Taylor, and Austin Frost, Not pictured: Matt
Simmons.
ams, Brad Page, and Gary Blaxton with Ben Harris, Jeremy McCallum, and
a round of 59. And third place was The Tim McCallum with a round of 60.
Red Stag with Kenneth Thornsbury,
