as Castlegar News August 1, 1990

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August 1,1990 Castlegar News

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The Ryan express rolls on

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nolan Ryan's entire career has been a coun- tdown. As a young pitcher with an overwhelming but erratic fastball, there were many walks and strikeouts in the early days.

The strikeouts began to mount and now number well over 5,000 with more on the way. Then there are the no-hitters. A major league record six to be exact.

The most remarkable figure of all might be his age. Ryan is 43 but shows no sign of slowing down. And neither does his fastball, which sill registers in the mid 90s.

But now Ryan has a new number to

It’s 300 victories, and he’s joined an elite fraternity of major league pit- chers to win that many games. The tall Texas Rangers right-hander, who has pitched for four major league teams, is only the 20th pitcher to reach that level.

The number chase, for the time being, is over.

“I'm relieved that it’s over with,” Ryan said Tuesday night after pit- ching 7 2-3 innings and beating the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 to win his 300th game on his second try. ‘I don’t have any plans to celebrate. I’m proably one of the most boring people around.

set goals. I’m going to approach the rest of the season as | did the first four months. I hope I finish up the last two months of the season as strong as I can. What lies in the future, I don’t know.””

But Ryan’s immediate future is a return to normalcy after a hectic week of chasing No. 300. He failed against the New York Yankees last week in the Rangers’ home park when he was hit hard, giving up seven runs and 10 hits, including three homers. His ailing back threatened to delay the quest even longer.

But Tuesday, with a national TV audience watching and a sellout

define his standing in baseball history.

“I’m not number oriented. I don’t crowd at County Stadium — in-

cluding George Bush, tHe son of the president and part owner of the Rangers — pulling for him, he got it done.

“In the scheme of things, I really don’t know what it's going to mean to me,’ Ryan said after No. 300 was finally secured. ‘‘I’ve gotten a lot of satisfaction out of what I’ve accom- plished. I’m not one to reflect back on my career.”’

The victory came in his 695th career start and gave him a lifetime record of 300-267. He won his first game on April 14, 1968, with the New York Mets and became the first to reach 300 since Don Sutton in 1986.

( 300-Game Winners

. Cy Young, 511 . Walter Johnson 416 . Christy Mathewson, 373

) Grover Alexander, 373 . Warren Spahn, 363 . James Galvin, 361 . Charles Nichols, 360 . Timothy Keefe, 344 . Steve Carlton, 329 . John Clarkson, 328 . Eddie Plank, 327 . Don Sutton, 324 . Phil Niekro, 318 . Gaylord Perry, 314 . Michael Welch, 317 (tie) Tom Seaver, 311 17. Charles Radbourne, 308 18. Lefty Grove, 300

(tie) Early Wynn, 300

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A Labotts player is safe at second base as Banjo's P

the bag during the game in the C

Park Sunday. Banjo's won the game 1-0. —costiews photo by Ed mills

Banjo’s Pub takes title in Men’s Fastball League

By CasNews Staff

Local dentists might be getting a lot of business from Banjo’s Pub players this week.

The league champions, Banjo’s added the playoff title to their credits for the year as they beat defending champions Labatts 1-0 to win it all in the Castlegar Men’s Fastball League at Kinnaird Park Sunday after- noon.

AWARDS page B2

And now they probably should be checked for cavities because, according to Banjo’s player-coach Terry Taranoff, victory couldn't have come any sweeter. ~

were out yotts by Labatts on Sunday at

Hark. —cosews photo by Ed Mills

Even Gerald Ryan's rally cap didn't pry Trainor they besten the

“It was a really great year, capped off with this. This is what you play for all year. Especially after last year’s disaster this was really sweet,’’ said Taranoff moments after Banjo’s had won.

‘Sweeter still is the fact that it was the fifth time in six seasons Banjo’s has won the championship. The team has won the league title three of the last four seasons.

And if victory was sweet, Taranoff was sweetest of all as he hit a two balls and no strikes offering from Labatts pitcher Joe Tarasoff for a triple in the fourth

ub shortstop Gary Flemming covers gar Men's Fastball League at Kinnaird

inning and scored the winning run when Guy Bertrand hit a sacrifice fly to left field.

**] figured he had to come down the middle, but I wasn’t really looking for anything, it was just there,” said Taranoff, who came into third base without sliding on the play

With the league’s best pitcher and playoff MVP Eli Soukeroff on the mound, one run turned out to be all Banjo’s needed

Soukeroff, who was named MVP in awards ceremonies after the final, struck out three and walked one but was actually out-pitched by Tarasoff who allowed just two hits over seven innings.

Still, Soukeroff, who pitched every game for Ban- jo’s in the playoffs for a 3-1 record, has been Banjo’s ace all season and shut the door on Labatts with the game on the line.

“Eli threw just super, you can put that in that paper,’’ said Taranoff.

Labatts biggest threat came in the sixth inning, but with men on first and second and one out, Soukeroff got Bruce McMillan to hit into a fielder's choice and then wrapped up the inning himself by get- ting Tarasoff to hit a bouncer back to the mound.

The win avenged Banjo’s only loss of the four team tourney, a 1-0 defeat to Labatts in the round robin. But the sweetness Taranoff was referring to goes further back than that.

Last year, Banjo’s was eliminated in three straight games from the playoffs as Labatt’s went on to win the championship. It was something players 6n this year’s edition of team wanted to make amends for, said Taranoff.

That didn’t go over too well at all,”’ he said, ad- ding that it was veterans like Soukeroff, shortstop Gary Fleming and thirdbaseman Phil Angrinon who helped lift the team in the playoffs.

In the semifinal, Labatts’ Don Savinkoff hit a solo home run in the fifth inning and Pete Evdokimoff tossed a one-hitter as Labatts beat Trainor Mechanical 2-0. Labatts added an insurance run when Wayne Kuzyk reached on an error and scored when McMillan hit into a fielder’s choice.

Trainor’s Tony Kabatoff struck out a tour nament-high nine batters and allowed just three hits but still took the loss.

Salmo Hotel, which finished last in the regular season and came into the playoffs with upset on their minds, were upset themselves after pitching ace George Plotnikoff broke his finger in the team’s last game of the season, two days before the playoffs

Salmo lost S-1 to Banjo’s, 5-4 to Trainor and 3 2 to Labatts and were eliminated after the round robin portion of the playoffs.

Wild Thing hangs one on Blue Jays

BALTIMORE (AP) — Gregg Olson lived up to his theme song — Wild Thing — but still managed to salvage a very important victory for the Baltimore Orioles.

The box score in the Orioles’ 6-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday showed that Olson earned his 24th save with 1 1-3 innings of one-hit relief.

It didn’t show just how close he came to getting his fourth loss.

When Olson entered the game in the eighth inning, the song Wild Thing blared over the public-address system, as it always does when he pit- ches in Baltimore.

Olson gave up a run-scoring single, then walked the first two batters in the ninth. He got Tony Fernandez on a fly ball, but Kelly Gruber followed with a monstrous fly ball to left that floated foul by about 12 feet. Olson struck out Gruber and George Bell to end the game.

He threw 34 pitches, 18 of them out of the strike zone.

“I did that last year, I’ve done it this year,’’ Olson said. ‘‘At least I’m consistent.””

Gruber’s blast was close to being the. first homer against Olson at Memorial Stadium in 71 innings. Earlier this year, Olson had been tagged for a loss on the road by

KELLY GRUBER ... just missed

yielding a homer in a similar situation.

Baltimore, which has the best record in the AL since the all-star break, was 17-11 for the month, their best July since 1983

Cal Ripken hit a three-run homer off John Cerutti (7-7) and Craig Wor- thington had a two-run double as Baltimore evened the three-game series at one win apiece.

Yanks owner yanked

NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent in- dicated Tuesday he planned only to suspend George Steinbrenner, but the New York Yankees’ owner inexplicably asked for what amounted to a lifetime ban.

Vincent also suggested the penalty he planned to impose was for a fixed term and was less severe than the punishment Stein- brenner agreed to after 11 hours of negotiations Monday.

A baseball official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the length of the suspension would have been two years plus three years’ probation.

“I have to say to you I found some aspects of yesterday strange and I still find them strange this morning,’’ Vincent said.

Steinbrenner agreed to give up control of the team and resign as general partner by Aug. 20.

As the baseball world still reac- ted to Steinbrenner’s departure, the commissioner placed the Yankees under American League supervision for the next five years.

Steinbrenner, meantime, con- firmed he wants his 33-year-old son Hank to take over the day-to- day operations of the Yankees. The'move, already cleared by Vin-

ed partners major-league clubs.

“| think it’s time to turn that over to the young blood in the family,"’ said Steinbrenner, who was punished for associating with, and paying, a known gambler.

After Vincent informed Stein- brenner of the planned penalty, the owner’s lawyers proposed an alternative.

“I said I would be willing to do

this,’’ Vincent said. ‘‘I sent Steve (deputy commissioner Greenberg) the seven paragraphs which I wrote out, and they became Plan B.” During the hour-long session, Vincent was playful and appeared far more relaxed than he was during Monday night’s news con- ference.

Local teams getting set for playoffs of swimming

By CasNews Staff

Call it round one in the playoffs of swimming.

“*This is just like the playoffs. It’s what we’ve been working towards all year, this, and the provincials,”’ said Castlegar Aquanauts coach Tom Carew.

The “‘this’’ Carew is talking about is the Regional Championships set for the Wright Pool in Trail this Saturday and Sunday.

Ten teams from the East and West Kootenays and one from Colville, Wash., will join the Aquanauts and the Robson River Otters in the year’s second biggest — next to the provin. As — meet of the season.

“*It’s going to be a pretty intense meet, because everybody's vying for the provincial championships — the top three (in each event) qualify,” says Carew.

He says his team is ready

“*This could be the last meet of the year for some of the kids so they really have to be performing.

“*] want to see some fast swimming. 1 want to see kids doing. best times or close to best times,’’ said Carew, who returned Sunday with the Aquanauts from a meet in Kimberley

With clubs from Colville, Nelson and Trail showing vast improvement this season Carew says he’s not really worried about winning the overall title at the meet but adds that the Aquanauts still have a chance at it

“We're only taking 55 swimmers (about half the members of the team) which isn’t as much as we hoped would go this year. We're going to give Nelson (Neptunes swim club) a good run for first . . ."” said Carew

It’s safe to say Carew and the Aquanauts would like to do more than just give the Neptunes a run after the Nelson squad came in and stole the Aquanauts own meet at the Aquatic Centre two weeks ago. The

P are champ at regionals while the Aquanatus finished second last year

Revenge aside, Carew’s goal is to have at least as many or more swim- mers qualify for provincials then the 25 who made it last year

Robson River Otters coach Curtis Ready, who will also be taking about half his team — 14 members — to regionals, says it will take an excep- tional swim from at least two of his club members if the River Otters have any hope of qualifying more than the three swimmers they did last year

Siblings Kim and Kristy Verigin are expected to make provincials again

this year but Scott Sutherland is no longer with the team so at least two swimmers have to step in and fill the void for the Otters.

Those exceptional swims could come from a number of kids who have been showing promise all season long, says Ready.

“People like David Shingler, and Sean Pinkerton in backstroke, Torrie La Hue in the (butter) fly — They have a chance,”* he said. ‘It would have to be an exceptional swim but there’s a possibility.”

The provincials will also be held at the Wright Pool Aug. 15-19

Fun in the sun in Kimberley meet

By CasNews Staff Don’t worry, be happy — at least for now

That's what the Castlegar Aquanauts and Robson River Otters were doing as the two local swim club’s warmed up for their toughest meet of the season with a no-pressure meet in Kimberley last weekend.

It was the team’s final meet before the big shows — the regionals this weekend and the provincials two weeks later. Both those meets will be held at the Wright Pool in Trail

But in Kimberely, it was a time for some fun in the sun and relaxation before getting back to business in practises this week.

“This was basically a fun, relaxing meet, a good tension breaker from our training,"’ said Aquanauits coach Tom Carew.

Still, of the 22 Aquanauts who did swim in Kimberley it was particularly

satisfying for Teddy Hunter and Justin Phillips who both won gold medals for the first time in Division 4 and Division 6 boys respectively

Neil Jones was also a medal winner for the Aquanauts taking the bronze in Division 7 boys while Jason Schuepfer won the silver. Dan Fodor made the medals with a bronze in Division 6.

Overall, the Aquanauts placed fourth behind the Colville, Wash., club, Nelson and the host team. Trail placed fifth, then Golden, Grand Forks and the River Otters

For the River Otters, it was novices Paul Shingler and Dan Shingler with second place finishes in the 25-metre freestyle and 25-metre backstroke respectively

Otters coach Curtis Ready got off the sidelines and into the pool in Division 7 boys and came out with a second in the 100-metre breaststroke and a fourth in the $0-metre freestyle