European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Going Back Back when Bob Feller was mowing Down batters for the Cleveland indians in the �?T40s, my Grandfather was going to indians games. He worked for Sears Roebuck amp co. From 1946 until he retired in �?T65. Throughout my childhood Grandfather preached How great Feller was and How great the indians were from the mid-1940s to the mid-50s. We would get into arguments after he would say a they can to pitch today like they did in my Day. Feller used to handle them  i would defend the pitchers of a a today with today being late �?T60s and Early �?T70s, starring Bob Gibson Denny Mclain Catfish Hunter Jim Palmer and Mike Cuellar. So it was a bit overwhelming to see Feller in person with the ambassadors of baseball at the autograph table Friday at the Wiesbaden a gym. This is the Man who pitched three no hitters. He threw the Only opening Day no hitter in baseball history in 1940, the year he won 27 games. He went 266-162, winning at least 20 games six times while pitching for Cleveland from 1936 to �?T56. He struck out 200 or More hitters in seven different seasons and he was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. 1946 was a very Good year for both my Grandfather and Feller. That was the year my Grandfather left Rural Alabama for Cleveland and landed a Job driving a Fork lift in Sears warehouse on Carnegie Street. And he fell in love with the Cleveland indians. A i had a pretty Good year in 1946,�?� Feller said. A was a matter of fact i pitched a no hitter against the Yankees i was Winner of the All Star game in Boston i pitched the major league strikeout record pitched a couple of one hitters a a Young woman interrupted to ask for an autograph saying a a we be got a lot of Cleveland indians fans  a a we re glad to see those Cleveland indians fans Over Here in Germany a Feller replied with a Grin Back backs amps l. Emmett Lewis or. Bob Feller does a rapid signing Job in Wiesbaden. A but right now we need Cleveland indians ballplayers which Are More important than fans. We need them  Cleveland a 111 wins in 154 games in 1954 is still unmatched in major league history. But the indians were scalped 4-0 in the world series by the new York giants. A i did no to pitch in the 1954 world series a said Feller referring to manager a1 Lopez a decision to not Start him. A i won 13 and lost three that year. Bob commentary with Feller Lemon lost two games Mike Garcia one and Early Wynn one. I did pitch in the �?T48 series the year we won the world  Cleveland beat the Boston braves 4-2 in that series. Feller went 19-15 that year with a 3.56 Era and 164 strikeouts. In game 5 of the series he pitched in front of a then series record 86,288 in Cleveland stadium. But Boston knocked him out in the seventh inning to win 11-5. Nowadays he a still Active in baseball. �?o1 still work for the indians a said the 71-year-old native of Van meter Iowa. �?o1 coach in Spring training and i run their speakers Bureau. When in a out of the country i have two or three people handle my speaking engagements in the Northern Ohio  the indians will get a new stadium eventually. A Cleveland is going to have a new open air stadium in a couple of years. They re making Money now by having a surtax on alcohol and tobacco. Uptown where the old produce Market used to  have they broken ground a no no. They done to have enough Money to even think about it yet. They re not picking up As much tax Money As they had anticipated. Its going to be a slow go. They were talking about opening up in �?T94.  be Lucky if they open in �?T95.�?� the contemporary indians Achilles Heel As is with Many major league teams is pitching. A the indians pitching has been rated pretty Good but it Hasni to been that Good a said Feller. A the potential is there the production has not been. The pitchers have been having injuries and they re just not winning consistently. We done to have enough starting pitchers. Very few bal clubs have enough starting  Feller agreed with my 90-year-old Grandfather on the Quality of today a ballplayers saying a a there a a Lack of Good ballplayers nowadays on most every  the stars and stripes fielder chasing Fosters 50-Homer level Bubuc Syfox staff writer Wiesbaden a West Germany a mention Cecil fielders March on 50 homers and George Foster swings into action. A a he son a Good Pace a Foster acknowledged during fridays autograph session by the ambassadors of baseball. A now he a heading into the latter part of the year and it will depend on stamina. And if he a playing lots of contending bal clubs they wont pitch to  Foster should know. He a one of Only 10 major league players to smack 50 Home runs in a season. He slugged 52 for the Cincinnati reds in 1977, and no one has done it since. They be come close. Andre Dawson and Mark Mcgwire hit 49 in 1987. Kevin Mitchell parked 47 last year. Still they  reach 50. Enter fielder. The Surprise of 1990. Here a a Guy who totalled 31 homers in limited duty with Toronto from 1985 to �?T88. After playing a year in Japan he joined the Detroit tigers and has gone Power crazy. His 42 homers Are already More than last years american league top Home run number�?36, by the Blue jays Fred Mcgriff. One month left in the season. Can fielder hit eight More a the key is being consistent file George Foster in 1981last player to hit 50 and being productive a Foster said while signing baseballs at the Wiesbaden a gym. A the can be consistent hitting singles but he has to hit the Long Ball without thinking of the Long  Foster recalled Mitchells giant leap of 1989 a similar to fielders. Mitchell had a Good shot at 50 but tailed off. A the was out there trying too much instead of letting it happen a said Foster. Kind of like his own experience in 1976. By August he had a decent Chance at claiming the triple Crown which no player had accomplished since bos tones Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. But Foster hit just one Homer in the last six weeks of the season. He finished with Only one jewel the rib title with 121. His .306 batting average and 29 homers finished Way Back. A i Learned from that year a said Foster whose .429 average in the �?T76 world series helped the big red machine to their second straight championship. A i wanted to focus on being consistent after that. I tried to hit the Ball hard and with my swing i had the Ball going out of the  you might say that. Fosters 52 homers in 1977 led to 149 runs batted in another number that Hasni to been equated in the last 13 years. Before Foster the last player to hit 52 homers was Willie Mays in 1965. The last one with so Many Bis was the dodgers Tommy Davis with 153 in 1962. Foster says when he reached 49 homers a i started focusing on it. I said a i can to stay at 49. In be got to go for 50.�?T a three games later he swatted no. 50 against the braves Buzz Capra on a Friday night sept. 23, in Atlanta. Fosters feat clinched his no most valuable player award in �?T77. Even so he remembers no endorsements pitched his Way. He maintains that after the 52 homers a it was the Best kept  up Detroit Scecil fielder. Has 42 homers this season there a no secret about Fosters lifetime statistics. Not to this 41-year-old alabamian. He easily rattles off his career numbers 348 homers four years batting .300, the sixth player to Lead the league in Bis three straight seasons. Fosters last season was 1986. He will be eligible for Hall of Fame election in january 1992. Will he make it a when you look at the stats i have a Chance a he said adding that he played on consistent winners a three world series teams in Cincinnati. A but the politics could  his 52 homers wont. How George sees the rest of 1990 Wiesbaden a West Germany a amps a George Foster played on Cincinnati a world series teams of 1972, 1975 and 1976 and was the National leagues map in 1977. He figures he has an idea of what it takes to win titles and awards. His predictions a a Pittsburgh Oakland world series. Is that being unfair Hiil to his old teams the reds and mets a a it a being realistic a he said. A the mets have to be More consistent. They Haven to won the important games. The pirates play Well against the reds. Both Are Young bal clubs but the pirates Are More experienced and experience counts in a Short series. The reds made a mistake letting Ken Griffey go. He was More of a Factor than people realize because he helped their Young  a american league map a Bostons Roger Clemens. A Al by Young a Oakland a Bob Welch. A no map a Pittsburgh a Barry Bonds. A no by Young a either the Metsy Frank Viola or the dodgers Ramon Martinez