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Sports Ji'iflWHn B W iB, lgf ;$! BBr ->5:; jy jgg sP ■ : ■ •■■■■: - WORKOUTS LEADING TO THE 1999 PERRY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SEASON HAVE BEGUN AT THE PANTHER PIT The First Game OJ The Season Pits Perry Against Vidalia At The Panther Pit Sept. 3 Perry High Panthers preparing for 1999 football season By ALLINE KENT Home Journal Sports It has been said that there is nothing like being at the Panther Pit on a Friday evening. To that end. Perry High School Football Coach George Collins, his staff and his players have been nard at work this summer. It’s almost like no one has had a summer vacation. Players and coaches both have been hard at it all summer in preparation for another season of Panther football. NEW SIGNS Perry Middle School Principal Tom Gupton and Athletic Direc Signs raise funds for middle school athletic needs By ALLINE KENT Home Jourwal Sports £oach Leslie Belcher has spent his sum mer in an unlikely vocation for a three sport coach. He has spent many hours since school got out in June painting signs and and hanging them on the fence at the new facilities of Perry Middle School. The signs, which advertise local busi ness in the Perry area, are a big financial boost for the school. Each sign has an ini tial cost of S2OO and a year to year cost ol $75. Some 28 signs have been sold so far, with the hopes of many more being sold. The money raised will help provide funds for several major expenses at the middle Top rookies don’t always become longtime baseball stars Just how tough is it to make it to the major leagues? Expansion has made it easier to get ther£, obviously, but it isn't that easy to stay. Baseball Digest selects the magazine’s All-rookie team each season, combining both leagues and selecting one player at each of the eight everyday positions, plus four starting pitchers and one relief pitcher. Let s look at the team of 1989. Just 10 seasons ago, the select group of up and comers included such names as Carlos Martinez of the Chicago White Sox at first base. Martinez played for a few seasons, and for a few teams, but I can t find his name on a major league roster today. .At second base, the choice was the Mets’ Gregg Jefferies. Jefferies could play a lot of positions, includ ing first base and the outfield, which prolonged his major league career. He was also injure prone, and that has kept him out of every day lineups in recent seasons. The shortstop on the 1989 team was Omar Visquel, who came up with the Seattle Mariners, but Perry High School went 7-3 last year, barely missing the playoffs. This was one of their most success ful seasons in several years. Practice for the team began two weeks ago, as the Panthers started working on conditioning and fun damentals. Work outs in full pads began last week. Seventy young men have come out for the team, and Collins expect to pick up a few more after school starts Aug. 12. "We always pick up a few more tor Danny Shelton inspect new signs placed at the PMS athletic fields. school. First on the priority list is at least one set of bleachers at the football field and a press box with a public address system. School leaders would also like to have concession stands with rest room facilities outside. Eventually, a separate press box for the softball and baseball fields will be fund ed. Perry Middle is expected to provide 100 percent of the funding for these projects. During the summer months, the signs will be moved to the fence which runs by the Perry Parkway, giving the advertisers the bonus of year-round exposure. Persons interested in a sign can contact Belcher or Coach Danny Shelton at 988- 6291. Phil Clark Home Journal Sports who is one of the top shortstops in the game today, as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Baltimore's Craig Worthington was the third baseman. Anybody know his whereabouts? The Chicago Cubs had two rookie outfielders on the team. One was Jerome Walton of New nan, who had a reasonable suc cessful major league career, but injuries cut it short. He even had a stint in Atlanta a couple of sea sons ago. The other Cub in the outfield on the 1989 team was Dwight Smith, who also enjoyed a few productive seasons in the majors. Not much doubt that the other outfielder belonged on the team. Home Journal Photo by Alline Kent Page 6A Wed., Aug. 11, 1999 when school starts,” he said. “Kids move into the area and 9th graders are more familiar with starting foot ball when school starts." While their hard work during the hot summer months comes without much glory or praise, it is consid ered necessary for a successful football program. Collins spoke highly of his team's effort during the off season. “Their dedication says a lot about the group of kids, we’ve got. They have been lifting weights all year, Fellow by the name of Ken Griffey Jr.! He is by far the most success ful rookie on the 1989 team. The catcher was Joe Giradi, who was the third Chicago Cub to make the team that season. Gira di has been with several teams, and is now playing with the New York Yankees. Tom Gordon was one of the starting pitchers on the team, but he was converted to relief , and is one of the top closers in the major leagues. He came up with the Kansas City Royals though his success came with the Boston Red Sox. Another of the starting pitchers was a member of the California Angels, former Michigan star Jim Abbott, who made it to the major leagues despite having been born without a right hand. Kevin Brown was another of the starters. Like Griffey Jr., there's no doubt that Brown belonged on the team. He is one of the most dominant right handed pitchers in the game today, as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Baltimore's Bob Milacki was the d I /. ' jF JT \ mSIpP- pip sfeF t% r '**'* f ' Alltel, Applebee’s buy cups for Perry Middle athletic department use By ALLINE KENT Home Journal Sports Alltel and Applebee's continue their ded ication to the Perry community and they joined together this year to provide cups for the Perry Middle School athletic program. Each organization has paid for 300 plastic bottles to be used by the athletes. The bottles, which have their own plastic straw attached, will be used by the various teams during the season. Each will be BHPHF H K«- «jpr BHB I3HPT 4 GIVING THE PANTHERS PLASTIC Panthers by Mark Yarborough of Apple- Perry Middle School Principal Tom Gup- bee's (secondfrom left) and Skip Dawkins ton (left) and Athletic Director Danny of Alltel. Shelton (right) inspect cups given the Houston Home Journal Hump Journal Photos by Allinr Kent started as soon as the season was over last year. We have had high attendance in the weight room all summer long. “We are going to be the strongest team around. And many of our kids competed in a passing league this summer. This will help us be ready on offensive and defensive," Collins added. The Panthers open at home Sept. 3 against non-region foe Vidalia. The first region game is Sept. 10 against Lamar County. fourth starter. He. too, was a suc cessful major leaguer. The relief pitcher was. too. Another Oriole, Gregg Olson was one Of the dominant closers in the game until arm trouble slowed him down. Still in the majors, Olson is not the dominant pitcher he once was. He, like Walton, had a short stint as an Atlanta Brave. It’s, interesting that both the Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles had three members of the All-rookie team in 1989. None of the players are with their original teams, and both teams are in next-to last place in their respec tive divisions. The Cubs occupy fifth in the National League central while the Orioles are in fourth in the Amer ican League east. Griffey Jr. is the only member of that All-rookie team who still plays with the team that brought him to the majors! Although Baseball Digest selected its All-rookie team from teams in both leagues, they did select a Rookie of the Year in each league. That would be Olson of Baltimore in the American and Middle School coaches set open house event By ALLINE KENT HOUBjIOigWAL^SPOKTS^ _____ Parents ana other Middle School Panther fans will soon have a chance to get up close and personal with the athletic department staff at Perry Middle School. The PMS Athletic Department will host “Meet The Coaches and Staff" night Aug. 17. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Middle School Gymnasium. The evening will give par ents and interested com munity members an oppor tunity to hear about the upcoming football and soft ball seasons while meeting the coaches who lead the middle school in these sports. During the evening. Ath letic Director at Perry Mid dle School Danny Shelton, will discuss items concerns the 1999-2000 athletic sea son. Among many things, Shelton will discuss the overall athletic program and the discipline program at Perry Middle and how it affects the athletes. "Our discipline program at Perry Middle is having a great effect on all our kids,“ said Shelton. “It really affects our athletes by giv ing them something to work for," he said. marked writh a players’ name and number. "It wall cut down on a lot of waste." said Perry Middle Athletic Director Danny Shel ton. “Up to now, we have had to use paper cups. It made for a mess that had to be clean up after every game and every prac tice. This will be much more sanitary for our kids." The Perry Athletic Staff wall be responsi ble for washing the cups after every use. Walton of Chicago in the National. Current Atlanta players Walt Weiss and Ozzie Guillen were both member of the team. Weiss with Oakland in 1988 and Guillen with the White Sox in 1985. Brett Boone, who came to the majors with the Mariners in 1991, didn’t make the team his rookie season. The honor went to Chuck Knoblauch of Minnesota, now with the Yankees. Boone is also a member of the Braves. Atlanta has benefited from the modern style of play in the major leagues. That is. a player doesn't stay put with one team for long. The 1987 American League Rookie of the Year, Mark McGwire, recently hit his 500th career home run. He reached the plateau in 5,487 at-bats. The previous record holder, Babe Ruth, took 5,801 at-bats. t The others in the top five aren’t even close. Jimmy Foxx got there in 7,074. Mickey Mantle in 7,300 and Mike Schmidt in 7,331. The major league home run record holder. Hank Aaron, is not among the top five in reaching the 500 mark. Home Journal Photo by Alline Kent