Mike Ivie hoping
this is his year
By KEN PETERS
AP Sports Writer
YUMA, Artz. (AP) — Mike Ivie says he thinks he’s
ready to be a baseball superstar, and that he has a good
chance to do just that “if the Good Lord’s willing and the
creek don’t rise.’’
The San Diego Padres first baseman, a big, raw-boned
man of 25, left his native Decatur, Ga., for the major
leagues nearly seven years ago, but his southern drawl
and grits-dripping expressions could almost put Billy
Carter to shame.
But while his manner of speaking hasn’t changed, a lot
of other things have for the Padre infielder.
Ivie made his major league debut as a catcher for the
Padres when he was only 19. He spent a couple of years
following that in the minor leagues, then became a Padres
regular last season.
He came into his own, leading the club in hitting at .291
and runs-batted-in with 70.
“I’m hopeful this is the season I blossom,” Ivie said. “I
know most players reach the peak of their careers when
they’re in their mid to late 20s, and I’m just getting there.
“I got started awfully young, have been around for
seven years, and I think this might be the year for me.”
Norris heading for Majors
after 6 years in the Minors
By HERSCHEL NISSENSON
AP Sports Writer
Jim Norris was in a state of
shock and his wife cried when
they learned he was going to
Cleveland ... and no smart re
marks, please.
So Cleveland-on-Erie is not
exactly the French Riviera or
the beach at Waikiki, but when
you have bounced around the
minor leagues for six long years
it can be the Garden of Eden.
Norris, a 28-year-old rookie
who was notified 24 hours
earlier that he had made
Cleveland’s 25-man .regular
season roster and probably
would be the opening day right
fielder at Boston next week,
delivered a triple and three
singles in five at-bats Thursday
as the Indians trounced the
Oakland A’s 8-1 in an exhibition
game.
“It’s great to have a day like
this, but I’m not playing any
harder than I have all spring,”
said Norris, who is batting .403
on 25 hits in 62 at-bats. “I thou
ght I was playing well enough to
win a job, but I still was in a
state of shock when Frank
(Manager Frank Robinson) told
me.
"I mean, after you’ve played
in the minors as long as I have,
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and you’ve planned on what
you’ll say and do when you do
get here, it’s still hard to com
prehend it all when it does hap
pen.”
Norris, who starred at the
University of Maryland, was
the Indians’ No. 5 selection in
the secondary phase of the
January, 1971 free agent draft.
His minor league route took him
through Sarasota, Jacksonville,
Elmira, San Antonio, Oklahoma
City and Toledo.
“When I told my wife we’d be
going to Cleveland, she was
stunned,” Norris disclosed.
“She cried, she was so happy. I
don’t think anybody could have
been happier than we were. We
stopped on the way home and
bought a bottle of champagne to
celebrate—and did we cele
brate!
“I didn’t buy it sooner
because I didn’t want to jinx my
chances. Now you tell me I
might be in the opening day
lineup. That’s great. I’d love to
play in Boston. I’d love to play
162 games for the Indians this
season.”
Meanwhile, the Red Sox,
Cleveland’s opening day oppo
nents, edged the Pittsburgh Pi
rates 3-2 as Jim Rice slammed
his sixth home run in five games
Ivie said he has high hopes for San Diego this season,
partly due to the acquisition of pitcher Rollie Fingers,
catcher Gene Tenace and outfielder George Hendrick.
“We’re going to win some ballgames,” Ivie said with a
big grin. “We’ve got one good baseball team here.
“Getting some new folks kinda takes the pressure off
some of the other players like myself. I felt pressure on
myself everytime I went to the plate last season, and I
don’t think that helps your hitting.”
While the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is known primarily for
his hitting, he seems almost more proud of his fielding.
“I’ve set one goal for myself this season,” Ivie said, “a
Golden Glove. I made just five errors last year, but Steve
Garvey of the Dodgers made just three.”
Ivie was asked if he felt any resentment toward his
high-salaried teammates, the free agents signees.
“Not at all,” he replied. “I think they should get what
they can. I’ve never really thought about playing out my
option, though.
“The Padres have been real good to me, and I guess
money’s just not that important to me,” Ivie continued.
“I didn’t get a college education or anything and I owe
everything I have to baseball. I’d almost play for nothing.
I play the game because I love it."
and Butch Hobson delivered a
two-run single, streching his
consecutive-game hitting
streak to 10 games.
The Cincinnati Reds contin
ued to look like anything but
world champions. They dropped
their fourth game in a row when
the Chicago White Sox, held
hitless for six innings by Fred
Norman, scored twice off relief
ace Rawly Eastwick in the 11th
for a 4-2 victory. The setback
dropped the Reds’ spring record
to 8-13, their worst exhibition
showing in 11 years.
Wayne Simpson allowed one
run in seven innings and low
ered his spring earned run av
erage to 1.80 as the California
Angels downed the San Diego
Padres 4-1. The performance
not only was Simpson’s fourth
exhibition triumph but earned
him a spot in the starting
rotation, according to Manager
Norm Sherry.
Del Unser’s second home run
of the game, a three-run blast in
the 10th inning, offset a two-run
shot by Minnesota’s Bob
Gorinski in the bottom of the
10th and enabled the Montreal
Expos to nip the Twins 4-3.
The- New York Yankees
signed pennant home run hero
Chris Chambliss to a five-year
contract, then beat the Atlanta
Braves 4-3 as Fred Stanley
drove in two runs with a sacri
fice fly and a squeeze bunt.
Elsewhere:
Greg Luzinski’s RBI single in
the bottom of the ninth gave the
Philadelphia Phillies a 6-5
victory over the Texas Rangers,
Eric Rasmussen hurled six
shutout innings as the St. Louis
Cardinals edged the New York
Mets 2-1 and Ken McMullen’s
pinch homer capped a five-run
seventh inning that carried the
Milwaukee Brewers past the
San Francisco Giants 9-8.
Lee Stanton smashed a two
run homer and a game-tying
triple, helping the Seattle
Mariners defeat the Chicago
Cubs 5-4, the Detroit Tigers
bombed Toronto’s Steve Har
gan for six runs in the sixth in
ning and whipped the Blue Jays
10-4, and Eddie Murray drove in
six runs with three homers in
the Baltimore Orioles’ 11-7
triumph over the University of
Miami. The collegians belted
four home runs off Ross
Grimsley.
In other developments:
—Detroit pitcher Mark “The
Bird” Fidrych underwent suc
cessful knee surgery and is ex
pected to be out for two months.
—Mets slugger Dave King
man said he would play out his
option if he is not signed by
opening day.
—The Pirates gave veteran
first baseman Bob Robertson
his unconditional release.
Pearson
sitting
on pole
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -
A pair of drivers who have had
continued luck at Darlington
Raceway squared off Thursday
to try for the pole position in
Sunday’s Rebel 500. Naturally,
only one of them won.
It was David Pearson of
Spartanburg, S.C., who has won
the pole eight times in his last 11
appearances at Darlington, who
did it again. Pearson’s speed of
151.269 m.p.h. just beat the
150.390 posted by Cale
Yarborough of Timmonsville,
S.C.
Yarborough has won the
Southern 500 at Darlington
three times. He was driving a
Chevrolet Thursday, and
Pearson a Mercury.
Twenty-two cars tried for the
first 12 positions in the $160,000
event on the tricky 1%-mile
oval. Qualifying will continue
today and Saturday, with a doz
en cars being selected each day.
Pearson, 43, gave the credit
for his performance to the Wood
Brothers for setting up his
Mercury to negotiate the track.
Donnie Allison of Hueytown,
Ala., winner of the pole
positions at Daytona and Roc
kingham earlier this year, was
third at 149.749 in a Chevrolet.
Fourth was Darrell Waltrip in
a Chevrolet (149.512), fifth was
Buddy Baker in a Ford
(149.136), sixth was Bennie Par
sons in a Chevrolet (148.824),
and seventh was Richard Petty
in a Dodge (148.604).
Also among the first-day
qualifiers were Dick Brooks of
Spartanburg, Bobby Allison and
Neil Bonnet, both of Hueytown,
Ala., Dave Marcis of Skyland,
N.C., and Sam Sommers of Sa
vannah, Ga.
Football
WASHINGTON - The Na
tional Football League has
agreed to pay the NFL Players
Association $15.8 million for
settlement of their long-stand
ing legal battles.
J
im —'Y~
» . *5 ■ — r «
; I •
••■I HBMKD* bF*
New York Mets general manager Joe McDonald, left, chats with Dave Kingman Thursday
at spring training camp, St. Petersburg, Florida. Kingman, who is still embroiled with the
team in a contract dispute, said Thursday that he wants to be traded and will play out his
option if he is not signed when the season opens next Thursday. (AP)
Drew’s ‘quiet 38’
bumps off Nets
ATLANTA (AP)-Atlanta
Hawks Coach Hubie Brown said
John Drew has “a very quiet 38
points” Thursday night to lead
the Hawks to a 95-81 National
Basketball Association tirumph
over the New York Nets.
If Drew’s baskets were quiet,
his play was not, as he grabbed
15 rebounds from the Nets, one
more rebound than teammate
Len “Truck” Robinson had.
Drew had three dunks as the
Hawks put away six of the
game’s last field goals, handing
the Nets their tenth loss in a
row.
Nets Coach Kevin Loughery
said his team’s shooting aver
age for the last seven or eight
games has been below 42 per
cent. “That simply isn’t enough
to win games with,” he said.
Robinson had only nine points
Thursday, down from the 30-
plus he has averaged in the past
seven games.
“He was due for a tough
shooting night,” Brown said.
"But he is such a fine player
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that he contributes in many ot
her ways when he’s not scor
ing.”
The Hawks led most of the
game, but the Nets pulled with
• in two points three times dur
ing the final period.
New York’s scoring was led
by Jan van Breda Kolff with 18,
followed by Al Skinner and Mike
Bantom with 15 apiece. Ken
Racing
OLDSMAR, Fla. (AP) - The
Florida Downs and Turf Club
has canceled the final week of
its winter racing program at
Oldsmar.
The decision to end the season
with Saturday’s running of the
Florida Breeders Futurity was
a result of horsemen having
previous engagements, thus
leaving a weak field for next
week’s programs. Sam Davis,
track owner, denied reports he
was attempting to sell his inter
est in the raceway.
Page 7
— Griffin Daily News Friday, April 1,1977
Charles and Steve Hawes both
scored 15 for Atlanta.
GRIFFIN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Is Now
accepting student applications fur Four-Year-Old Kin
dergarten thru Grade 12 for the 1977-78 School Term.
There will be a limited number of students accepted for
Four-Year-Old Kindergarten thru Second Grade.
Registration Fees are as follows:
Kindergarten $25.00
Grades 1 thru 12 $37.50
No one family will pay more than $75.00 for registration
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There will be a SIO.OO late fee for applications ac
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‘The Bird’
DETROIT (AP) — Thursday
was not a normal day at Henry
Ford Hospital. The Bird was
having surgery, and telephone
calls from his anxious fans were
making life hectic for the
switchboard operators.
“There were hundreds of
calls,” said Mary Laing, a hos
pital official. “Most of them
wanted to know his room num
ber, so they could send flowers
or notes.
“But we’re getting some real
funny ones. We had people call
and say, ‘Put me through to
Mark Fidrych.’ Just like that!
Like we’d just ring his room for
them.”
Mark “The Bird” Fidrych,
the Detroit Tigers star pitcher,
had a one-hour operation to re
move the damaged cartilage in
his left knee Thursday. The op
eration was declared a success.
The Bird will remain in the
hospital about a week and be on
crutches a week or two after
that. It is hoped he will be ready
to pitch in about two months.
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