The Mail-Journal, Volume 27, Number 6, Milford, Kosciusko County, 23 March 1988 — Page 8

8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL —Wed., March 23,1988

Sports

Warriors

Hey, lets play ball! It’s that time of year, time to play the grandest game of all — baseball. Or for you women’s libers, softball. As a spectator and faithful fan, this is the most wonderful time of the year. College basketball is coming to its zenith and all types of baseball teams are gearing up for their seasons. Give me the ball coach, I’m ready toplay! Locally, Wawasee head baseball coach Neal Frantz has spent several hours preparing his Warriors for the upcoming season. The season looks promising, even though Frantz has some holes to fill due to graduation. Wawasee opens the season Monday, March 28, at Elkhart Central. Perhaps the key loss is in pitching. Kevin Parker was the Warriors’ top hurler last season but has since graduated. A pocketful of hopefuls have taken over the mound duties this year. Another devastating loss is the departure of Chris Yoder, a consensus All-NLC selection a year ago. Yoder’s leadership and exceptional talent will be missed throughout this campaign. But all isn’t lost for Wawasee, for it has several capable players to build a foundation from. Dan O’Haver, Mike Vandiepenbos, Matt Koble and Jay Koontz are some of the veterans back for another year. Vandiepenbos is expected to get the majority of work on the mound for Frantz’s club. He’ll move to the outfield when not throwing strikes. O’Haver’s position remains in limbo as the season moyes one week closer. Last season he was a quality first baseman, but this year he could be moved behind

Hr — - - w'IK gF w HI | I AWARD WINNERS IN GYMNASTICS — The Wawasee High School Girls’ Gymnastics Team were honored in an recognition program last Wednesday in the Wawasee High School Cafeteria Annex. Each of the team members were presented with a scrap book highlighting the year and witlr-. awards from the coaches, Tracy Sumpter and Nika Prather. A part of the recognition program was a presentation of a video tape of the 1987 and 1988 sectional and regional meets toNicole Iwankowitsch, the only senior on the team. Individual team awards were presented for the Most Improved; Junior Varsity High Point; Drive, Desire and Determination; Highest Score for the Year; and Most Valuable Gymnast. Shown in the photo are: Barb Signorelli, Most Improved; Angela Kistler, MVP; Nicole Iwankowitsch, Highest Score for the Year; Karen Butt, Drive, Desire, Determination; and Diane Karst, J.V. High Point. (Photo by Deb Patterson) » • ’ • NORTH WEBSTER YOUTH LEAGUE SIGN-UP DAYS Friday, March 25 And Tuesday, March 29 6 P.M. To 8 P.M. ' Saturday, April 16,9 A.M. To 12 Noon NORTH WEBSTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOYER Late Registration Available For Out-Of-Town Residents Only, Call Sam Lundy: 834-2571 [m RaTT GIRLS' f Bo * S ' 1-BALL SOFTBALL I MINOR r —*• —j i — s j JWW\X I BOYS' I PONY 4| S\X MJUOB I LEAGDE H® If

the plate. Young Dan Wuthrich would fill O’Haver’s shoes at first when the senior catches. Perhaps the biggest change in the Warriors’ infield from last season is at second base. Yoder anchored the position in 1987 but Koontz looks solid there this season. Mark My Words MARK *—vl WEINSTEIN With the senior at the position, along with Koble at short, Frantz believes he has a very good tandem up the middle. Throw in Rod Coy and Vandiepenbos in center and on the mound, and Wawasee is as strong as any team in the area. Still, Frantz believes the Warriors success comes from pitching and solid defense. Both are concerns but the rookie coach believes in his players’ ability. “I think we will be a good defensive team, we’ll surprise some teams,” said Frantz. “We’ve been working hard and look forward to the start of the season.” Other players hoping to contribute in a positive way include Chris Swartz, Chris Conkling and Adam Wilson, all up from last season’s junior varsity team, Fred Crouch and Chad Jones.

open Monday

Mike Clodfelter could help the Warriors .this season if he’s able to return from an off-season injury. The Warriors will be young this season, there’s no doubt about it, but they can be a good baseball team. A few hits here and there, a couple of twin-killings and Wawasee could be in the thick of the Northern Lakes Conference. □ The Warriors’ girls’ softball team opens their season the second week of April, giving coach Mark Timpe plenty of time to form a winner. Wawasee enjoyed a fine season a year ago and should be improved this time around. □ Although all of us are more interested in Wawasee athletics than national-level sports, I came across a story last week that deserves some ink — even in the Mail-Journal. The story came out of Kissimmee, Florida, the spring training site of the Houston Astros. It dealt with comments uttered by Bob Knepper, one of Houston’s top pitchers. Did you hear what he said about Pam Postema, an umpire trying to land a job in the National League. His comments came moments after pitching in a spring training game which Postema umpired behind the plate. “As far as her ability for umpiring, she seems fine but I don’t think a woman should be an umpire,” Knepper said. “There are some things that men shouldn’t do and some things that a woman shouldn’t do. I think umpiring is one of them.” Knepper found nothing wrong

with Postema’s work but questioned her right to be in the job. “I have a belief that God has intended man and woman to be different,” Knepper added. “It’s a physical thing. I don’t think women were created by God to be a physical, hard person. I think God created women to be feminine.” “In God’s society, woman was created in a role of submission to the husband.” Knepper concluded his thoughts by saying he didn’t believe women are inferior to men, but they shouldn’t be in a leadership role. Such positions — president of the United States, governor, mayor or police chief — should not be occupied by women. Knepper’s comments are interesting, especially coming not long after the black/white issue in 1987. He gained little, if any, support from his Houston teammates. In fact, the Houston front office apologized to Postema —for Knepper. Like many of Knepper’s teammates not accepting the pitcher’s remarks, I doubt if many readers would swallow his views hook line and sinker. That’s why I would like to hear from you this week —a random, voluntary poll on the subject. All results will be published next week. Still, to Knepper’s defense, I commend him for standing up for his beliefs and not hiding behind his professional career. He may not -be right — according to society’s rules — but at least he spoke his mind-. That’s more than a lot of people do these days! □ Only three high school boys’ basketball games remain this season and each one should be

'Flipping' over baseba I beards

A 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps baseball card in mint condition is worth $3,300 today because it was the first regular issue Mickey Mantle card in the Topps series. The complete set of the 1952 Topps series is worth SIB,OOO in mint condition. While millions of card collectors would love to get a hold of the Mickey Mantle card, there are only a couple thousand in existence today, according to Dr. James Beckett, author of The Official 1988 Price Guide to Baseball Cards (House of Collectibles). The guide is a gold mine of pricing information for America’s 250,000 active collectors who attend hundreds of trade shows and conventions a year. The popularity of baseball card collecting is at an all-time high, Dr. Beckett says. The cards themselves have been around since the mid-1800s and have been distributed with products ranging from chewing tobacco to bubble gum to chewy granola bars. Today’s versions of the cards, with their color fronts and statistics-laden backs, are a far cry from their earlier ancestors, which were crudely printed on heavy cardboard and were of poor quality. Topps Chewing Gum of Brooklyn began producing baseball cards in the early ’sos and remains the leading manufacturer of the two billion baseball cards issued each year. Other major card companies producing cards today include Donruss, Fleer and Sportflics. Dr. Beckett bought his first baseball card in 1956, at age seven, for a penny. He went on to become the most industrious card collector in the neighborhood. Because he didn’t have lots of money to spend on cards, he’s get them by “flipping.” A group of kids would flip the cards against the wall and the kid who flipped closest to the wall would win the cards. Invariably, Beckett won. He also became adept at bartering. “I was so obsessed back then,” he recalls, “I’d buy a pack of gum, and I’d trade the gum for more cards.” Today, having amassed one of the finest card collections in the world, Dr. Beckett makes a living writing books that assess the value of baseball cards and other sports memorabilia. After completing his Ph.D. in statistics in 1975, Beckett decided to produce his first price survey. “It was a four page, shrunkdown, xeroxed thing,” he says, “but in those days it was the only thing collectors The success of his pricing surveys prompted Beckett to write a full-

action-packed. Muncie Central looks to win its sixth state title when it opens the state championship round against Bedford North Lawrence. Both teams have identical records, 26-1, and have exceptional talent. In the second game at Market Square Arena, Hammond Noll, 21-5, battles the only unbeaten team in the state, second-ranked Concord, 27-0. The two winners meet in the 8:05 championship contest. Other games of interest to our panel include seven from the NCAA tournament. Heading the list is Temple against Richmond. Others are Purdue versus Kansas State, Rhode Island against Duke, Arizona versus lowa, North Carolina against Michigan, Oklahoma plays Louisville and Villanova plays Kentucky. Mark Weinstein (.681) — Muncie Central, Concord, Muncie Central, Temple, Purdue, Duke, Arizona, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky. Homer Miller (.615) — Bedford-North Lawrence, Concord, Concord, Temple, Purdue, Duke, lowa, Michigan, Louisville, Villanova. \ Dale Tobias (.637) — BedfordNorth Lawrence, Concord, Concord, Temple, Purdue, Duke, lowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky. Mark Huffman (.607) — Bedford-North Lawrence, Concord, Concord, Temple, Purdue, Rhode Island, Arizona, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky. Derk Kuhn (.570) — BedfordNorth Lawrence, Concord, Bedford-North Lawrence, Temple, Purdue, Duke, lowa, Michigan, Oklahoma, Kentucky.

fledged book and in 1979 his first price guide to baseball cards was published. A new edition has been . released annually ever since. “Not to brag,” the author comments, “but I get a kick out of hearing collectors at trade shows say, “We’ll buy at 150 percent of Beckett’ or ‘We’ll sell at 80 percent of Beckett.’ They take the price in the book and pay above or below what’s listed in the guide. Os course, that’s input for me for the next book.” Besides listing prices in three different gradings (mint, very good to excellent, fair to good), Beckett’s price guide includes a history of card collecting, tips on buying and selling, advice on preserving* cards and, for the novice, suggestions on how to begin collecting. “Baseball collecting is like a miniature stock market,” notes the author. “Many factors can affect a card’s value.” For example, when New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden won the Cy Young award two years ago, his ’BS cards automatically increased in value. While the value of ’BS cards for most players average only a few cents, Gooden’s ’BS Donruss card is worth sl9 ;/ His ’B6 and ’B7 Donruss are only worth $1.25 and sl, respectively. Card collectors apparently are eager to let Beckett know what they think of his prices. “I get well over 1,000 pieces of mail a month and in many cases readers are indicating satisfaction dr dissatisfaction over the relative prices. The majority feel the prices are fair,” he reports. Is card collecting a man’s domain? Not at all, says Beckett. “There are more women collecting than one might imagine. And at shows and conventions you come across a number of husband and wife teams in which, as the hobby’s grown over the years, the wife’s role has become a more integral part.” A passion for collecting baseball cards is often passed from parent to child. Beckett’s father was a collector and the author recently began purchasing cards for his four-year-old daughter, Christina. One of the things Beckett likes best about the price guide is that a “little kid can read it from cover to cover and, if he’s got a memory like mine, he’s an instant expert.” When he’s not pricing baseball cards, Beckett is astatistical consultant who gives expert witness testimony — often in court cases involving multi-million dollar lawsuits. “Testifying in court is a totally different tone from collecting and pricing baseball cards. It’s a switch in gears that I really enjoy.”

?• B. ' • ; I B * “ M" 7 t?' ■*' SHI p .^gßHii > % •181 7 Bk A I I > A I li ■ —'A I m I A 1 IB <■> Bb- W AHAMAHBHMHBBBw.. ■ BHBBb FREE THROW CHAMPION — Brandon Lozano, above, won the Knights of Columbus’ state free throw contest last week in Indianapolis. Lozano is 13 years old and a student at Syracuse Junior High. Lozano started his quest for the championship by hitting 14 of 15 freebies at the council level. He drilled 21 of 25 in district competition and 22 of 25 at regional. In state competition, Lozano hit 21 of 25 giving him 87% accuracy throughout the various levels. (Photo by Mark Huffman) IT w MB JR ' '■" ' j •*’“'■ IB - ■• H "BHr .. Awl. mBPBIh»R B H M jBBH I 1 'iHS. '*sßK. -*B '■ zfZ 1 M 113 k J B jjyyß hI i" Ki' jßhkN... h i , SYRACUSE GYMNASTS — Pictured above are members of Syracuse’s Junior High gymnastics team. Shown in front, from left, are Tiffany Smith, Jennifer Shopoff, Cortney Fryback, Sarah Liberti, Daniele Laub and Holli Larimer. In the second row are Joanna Lant„ Erin Alfrey, Kristina Nottingham, Chelsi Mangona, Gretchen Naugler, Ashley Dick and Christy Kelly. Standing in back, from left, are Coach Arleen Corson, Debbie Wogoman, Lisa Wright, Candi Solina, Jennie Tranter, Sherrena Kirkwood, Cindy Cobbum and Beth Luensmann. (Photo by Glen Long) Bfcfe-’u : . :a y*y •«' >*IBBBbE R? '■ - joy A bi jB Bl BB wB W if' x. -* ». A. v~* JK ' ■ Bl x /^B\-z 7 A Ik. A ■ HL BbBSSbHIB .m USSA \ JUhk VZ ■ HL 1 1 WH JMH ImHI - Bi \ 1 ‘ 'Tvs’’' ■ b '* jw k P~ Bbk i *Ji kw 'B \. dH 1 NORTH WEBSTER GYMNASTS — Pictured above are members of the North Webster gymnastics team. Sitting in front are Natalie Mickley and Sarah Locke. Kneeling in the second row, from left, are Tracy Chivington, Gretchen King, Colleen Hoffert, Amber Jarboe and Tera Baumgardner. Standing in the next row, from left, are Coach Tracy Sumpter, Jill Hoffert, Fantasi Wagoner, Rope Jarboe, Stacy Carlin and Christy Rozow. In the back are Jennifer Leslie, Cathy King, Janie Wright, Leslie Davis and Neva Hughes. (Photo by Glen Long)