Oh, Say! Anthem Slips, But Baseball Is Under Way
LAKELAND, Fla. — And now, for the national anthem. Everyone stood up. The man inside the Marchant Stadium press box pushed the button for the pre-recorded tape. Music, maestro . . . “Ohhh, say can yooourrp—“
And silence.
The tape was dead. The speakers were blown. And 6,288 people were standing in the Florida sunshine craning their necks to see what was going on.
Welcome to baseball, 1986.
LET’S PASS A BIT MORE TIME WITHOUT NATIONAL PASTIME
LAKELAND, FLA. — I have made myself a promise. I am not going to get poetic today. Everyone else may go ga-ga just because the Tigers are playing their first game of baseball of The Year of our Lord, 1986.But not me.Who against?It is trendy, I know, to sit down...
EVEN HOT QUESTIONS CAN’T BUILD A FIRE UNDER SPARKY
LAKELAND, Fla. — I am ready for anything. I am ready for one-eyed pitchers. I am ready for a third baseman named Clark Kent. I am ready for wild and crazy predictions.I am sitting in Sparky Anderson’s office.”How’s it going?” I...
Brookens In 8Th Season Of Fighting For His Job
LAKELAND, FLA — They keep coming, like ducks in a penny arcade. New rivals for Tom Brookens. Baseball in springtime is oh so poetic, the awakening of grass beneath a player’s feet and all that. Yeah. Unless you happen to be fighting for your job. And then the grass beneath your feet doesn’t feel so steady. That’s the other side of sports. Always someone before you, always someone right behind. Tom Brookens knows it.
A Little Tiger, A Little Snake
LAKELAND, Fla. — The subject was fear, and Kirk Gibson was coming up empty.
“Heights?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said.
“The dark?” I asked.
“Nah,” he said.
“Fast cars?”
He just laughed at that one.
“Snakes? Scorpions?”
He paused for a second. “Well, I don’t like snakes,” he said, “but if I saw one, I’d just . . . kill it.”
A LITTLE TIGER, A LITTLE SNAKELOVE HIM OR HATE HIM, WE ALL WATCH KIRK GIBSON
LAKELAND, Fla. — The subject was fear, and Kirk Gibson was coming up empty.”Heights?” I asked.”Nah,” he said.”The dark?” I asked.”Nah,” he said.”Fast cars?”He just laughed at that one.”Snakes?...
Tiger Lapoint Marches To A Different Drumroll
LAKELAND, Fla. — I know it is early. I know spring training is still in diapers. But I am going to make a prediction.
I predict Dave LaPoint will become the best quote on the Tigers by midseason.
Now, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “good quote” is someone who, after getting bombed for 17 runs in three innings, does not sit by his locker and say, “I dunno wha’ happen’ (burp).”
Nor is a good quote someone who, after getting bombed for 17 runs in three innings, says, “Get that microphone out of my face before I chew your arm down to the veins.”
He Works Wearing A Mask–But He Sees Everything
LAKELAND, Fla. — He sees them all, every spring, from behind the bars of his sweaty black mask. The pitchers cannot hide. Not from him. With each thud in his glove he knows who is smokin’ and who is just lighting up and who can’t even generate a spark. You want to know something about something?
Ask the catcher.
WISH YOU WERE HERE; WE COULD USE THE BODY HEAT
LAKELAND, Fla. — TO: FREE PRESS SPORTS DEPARTMENTFROM: SPRING TRAINING CREW Dear Everyone:Arrived safely in Florida, and what a surprise! It’s freezing cold. It’s raining. Half the Tigers are down with the flu. The other half are sipping mugs of hot...Stay Connected
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