European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 4, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday july 1, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 23 commentary he my s German baseball pitch who is this contradiction named Clau Helmig he s a German who pans s a German who loves baseball. He s a professed Good sportsman who once swung bal during a baseball Brawl. He s a guardian of German american baseball league rules who will ignore quota standards. He s a 50-year-old native of thai baseball waste land of Frankfurt who was inc first German to sign a professional baseball contract. That was in 956. When he and brother Juergen hooked on with the Baltimore orioles organization. After a year of minor league Ball they were Back in Germany. You think Claus did l leave his Mark two years ago Al the world series. Jack Steadman of the Bali More Sun asked me whatever happened to Claus Helmig that goes to show you re liable to run into the Helmig name whether you re in Mannheim or san Diego. Helm la will forever be etched in German baseball lore. Aside from his minor league stint he founded the German american baseball league in 1979. Seven Yean and much doom saying later the league survives with eight teams. That s three More than the whole air Force league of Europe. What a turn of Fortune. Not Long ago. The air Force boasted three leagues in three countries. The boys in Blue could afford to snub Helmig s revolutionaries comprised of mostly army Guys and a scattering of . Civilians and germans. No longer. After the . And Mediterranean leagues folded last Winter the air Force saw Hel Mig s a a gang As Savior. Merger talk surfaced. Then in april Safe i last remaining league the Continental sports conference agreed to play the g a league in an All Star game. Bucky Fox the game starts at 2 . On the fourth of july. Mark it As the a a j Day of dependence. After seven years of struggle baseball in Germany is finally dependent on Claus Helmig. That s not to glorify the a a league. It s no Bas Tion of future Hall of Fame re. No it s More Hick than Slick. Examples 1. Tuesday nights makeup game at Mann Heim nearly got postponed again. Helmig manager of Hie Hometown Amigos wailed until five noun before game time to ask for permission to use inc military Field. Mannheim sports director Wayne bar Dell said no. That softball practice was already scheduled there. Then he said yes the softball cars found another Field. The Amigos game with inc Darmstadt comets started on Lime. 2. The comets arrived without their manager who had army duty and with eight players. They pulled out a ninth in the form of innocent bystander Brian Samull. They threw him a football Jersey threw him into right Field and paid the Price. In the eighth inning he Tost a Ball and the ballgame in the 3. Darmstadt farms Ladt. The poor comets mired in last place had dumb Luck. First baseman Dan Koch knocked his head against a railing White Chas ing a wild Pickoff throw and had to leave the game. Since eight players would mean end of game Helmig yanked a Guy m shorts from the bleachers and told him 10 play for Darmstadt. 4. Neither team fielded German players even though a a rules stale each team mul play Otic German. league the supported germans playing Al along. We had two germans on the Bench ready to said Helmig who doubles As league president. But som teams Don t know where to find germans. Darm Stadt s one of them. Rather than Jeo partly a the game 1 said Lei s Plav the As Helmig spoke his Amigos Sal atop the a a s Northern division with a 10-2 record. They re the reigning dynasty with live lilies in seven years. They re financially sound with the German contracting firm Klee forking Over the Marks. Helmig spoke of Germany Fielding an olympic baseball team in 20 years. He spoke of once wanting 10 manage thai team bul no More. He scoffed at those who Call his Nal suit aging incident an indication of his ruthlessness. "1 was t attacking anyone. I picked up inc Bat so no one would use it in the fight then i swung it in do Iii. When 1 was Young 1 was More involved Ith having to win. Now not at any he spoke of the sport thai baseball won t supplant in Germany in our lifetimes. If someone knows All the major sports inc top american sports of base Ball football basketball hockey soccer is a simple game. Their game can be Boring. If you Don l have the International flavor there s not much there. Baseball and american football definitely have More strategy planning with that the talking contradiction walked across the baseball Field a German on inc Way to inc american carnival. Tim Star he skim Walling leads astros past padres Houston up Andy Hawkins has a Way of transforming Denny Wal Ling into babe Ruth. While Walling is Little More than a singles Hitler against most National league pitchers he is a feared slugger when he bats against Hawkins. Walling hit two Home runs off Haw Kins wednesday night giving him three no Roundup Homer off the right hander this season. To spark the Houston astros to an 8-1 Triumph Over the san Diego padres. Walling also singled Home two runs in the eighth to finish with a career High of six Bis for the game. I Don t know what the key is Between Hawkins and i said Walling who has hit Only one Home run against the rest of the no pitchers. Last Lime in san Diego i got a Homer and today 1 saw the Ball real Well. 1 got some pretty Good pitches. I Hope it continues because he gets me out Houston s Mike Scott 8-5, raised he top strikeout total to i51 with three 7, giants 4 Atlanta Omar Moreno s three run Homer and Pitcher Zane Smiths two run single highlighted a six run rallying the fourth inning for Atlanta Smith 7-8, held the giants to eight hits and struck out nine in pitching his third Complete game of the season. He walked none but hit two Bailers. Chicago Davey Lopes cracked a Solo borne run with one Oul in the Bot Tom of the ninth inning lifting chicagoan the regularly scheduled game lire Homer made a Winner of Lee Smith 5-6,and a loser of Bob Coure 0-1. Earlier Jody Davis lined an rib sin Gle to Center in the eighth inning to help the cubs win the suspended game.pir�to4,puium3 Pittsburgh Tony pen singled to score Pinch runner Rick Reuschel with two Montou a Tim reints is tagged out at first base by Leon Durham of the Cuba in wednesday s first to it it Chicago. Out in the ninth powering Pittsburgh. Win rally Cincinnati. Nung Pitcher Rick Rhoden 9-4, started the t was the is rally Wilh his third hit of the game a single off Don Carman 3-2. Rai 4, dodgers 3 Cincinnati Pinch Hiler Tony Perez doubled with two outs and the bases loaded in the Bottom of the in la to sixth straight loss for the dodgers who tumbled into last place in the National league West As the reds moved out of the cellar for the first time since april 26, John Franco 2-4, pitched the final 2vj innings far the Victory. Mets4,crunh3st. Louis Gary Carter drove in iwo runs and Wally Backman scored twice anew Yolk completed a three game sweep. Reliever Doug Sisk 2-1, pitched 2w innings for the Victory As Jesse Orosco notched his 12ih save. Bob Forsch 6-5, took the loss. The mils Are 7-0 at Busch stadium
