European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 1-8the stars and stripes sunday May 26, 1991 by Doug Tucker a a map sports writer. Kansas City to. A the ornery undersized kid who used to get chased but of fruit Orchards for fun and trick older boys into letting him play on their team never thought it would come to this. But sometimes destiny has a Way of finding the Man. And nobody who knew him during a 17-year playing career was surprised Friday when Hal Mcrae 45, became the major leagues fifth Black manager. A Mac is the perfect Man for the Job the perfect Man Quot said Frank White a former Gold Glove second baseman and Long time teammate with the Kansas City royals a i doubt if there a one person who knows Mac who does no to expect him to be a  Long before Mcrae replaced the fired John wat ban As Field Boss the royals were energized by his hustling never say die style. He and George Brett who blossomed into stardom about the same time in 1974-75, stitched the fabric into every championship Flag that flies Over royals stadium. Mcrae lost his managerial debut to the twins 3-2 in Minnesota Friday night. A Mac brought a rare kind of toughness and leadership to our club As a player a former Pitcher Paul Splittorff said. A now he a being asked to bring that same toughness and leadership As a manager la a i can remember him barrelling into second base and breaking up those double plays and George Brett . In that Way a  Ewing Kauffman said. A a a. A Brett who last year won his third batting title May or May not be the Only Royal of that 1975-85 Era who makes it to the Hall of Fame. But without Mcrae there would probably not have been five american league West championships two pennants and the 1985 world series title for fans to enjoy. A there is no question that Hal Mcrae was absolutely instrumental in our Success Quot Kauffman said. Hal Mcrae chats with , Bat coach Adrian Garrett. Harold Abraham Mcrae grew up in a working class neighbourhood in Avon Park fla., where fruit Orchards proved a tempting playground for energetic kids a we used to get chased out of there All the time and when you re a kid and you almost feel like you can Fly that can be fun too a he once recalled with a laugh. He was a Tough kid not a big kid. But his willingness to mix it up and obvious athletic ability fooled older kids into letting him join them in organized baseball games before he was 12 years old. By the time he was playing baseball at Florida a amp a the Cincinnati reds came calling and began grooming him through their highly polished minor league Chain. A promising career almost came to an end during Winter Ball in 1968-69 when he broke his leg in four place s while sliding into Home plate and his abundant foot Speed was never quite the same. But about the same time Mcrae came to Kansas City in 1973, the designated hitter Rule came to the american league. The two were made for each other. In a 13-Ycar royals career in which Fie hit .293, Mcrae virtually defined the do position. His abilities persuaded other clubs to replace the aging sluggers they first plugged into the experimental spot with versatile threats like Mcrae who could steal bases hit for average and drive in runs. A. A 7. A. Quot a he never played less than full Speed. In the 1977 american league playoffs Mcrae crashed into new York Yankee second baseman Willie Randolph with such fury that umpires the next Spring talked about the a Mcrae Rule Quot and promised to Call out runners who left the base paths to break up double plays. He hit better than .300 six times including a career Best .332 in 1976 and led the major leagues with 133 Bis in 1982. /. / among teammates and opponents alike in the later years of his career he became known for his brains As much As his base hits. A people respect macs knowledge of the game a said White a because macs knowledge of the game is  a Mac is the Best hitting instructor i Ever had period a royals right fielder Danny Tartabull has said. Mcrae was also distinguished for a Quick challenging sense of humor. A Mac. Could walk up to somebody on the other team that head never met before in his life and Tell him he was ugly and they a both stand there and laugh and be friends a White said. A the has a natural Way with people. Its going to be fascinating to Sec what he can do with a team As a  eyes return to pro football Atlanta a the next time Deion Sanders makes an appearance in Atlanta Fulton county stadium he could be wearing a football uniform rather than baseball togs. The Atlanta braves sent Sanders to their class aaa International league farm at Richmond. Unless a roster position opens or the braves take Steps to retain Sanders he will leave baseball on july 31 and resume his nil Carcer with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have an exhibition game against Tampa Bay at the stadium on aug. 27, a. A the has the right to leave without penalty a said Barry Axelrod Sanders baseball agent. A if the braves wanted Deion to continue lying beyond july 31 they would ave to come to us and figure out a Way to make us Happy a Sanders has said if he a playing for the braves he would not report to the Falcons but if he a playing at Richmond he will leave for the nil teams training Camp. A a there a always a Chance something could happen a braves manager Bobby Cox said. A with injuries he could be right  Sanders hit .197 in 24 games before he was optioned to Richmond wednesday night. A they done to feel tin developing on the Bench a said Sanders who had not started a game since May 5. A i feel i can play at this level and play  Georgia tech wins without key players by the associated press Georgia tech stayed alive in the Mcaa Atlantic regional without two of its top players who were sitting in the Leon county jail when its 6-3 Victory Over coastal Carolina began. Atlantic coast conference player of the year Andy Bruce and teammate Darren Bragg were released on $500 Bond after being jailed briefly on two felony burglary charges. The yellow jackets had 16 hits on Friday and Marc Pisciotta 13-3 matched the school record for victories in a season. A a a a a a / a in other games in that regional Florida state eliminated Florida International 6-3 and Alabama Defeated St. Johns 52. / a a a. A a in the Central at Austin Texas it was Oklahoma state 9, Rutgers 4 Texas 16, Alabama Birmingham 3 and Long Beach state 6, Southern Mississippi 5 in 11 innings. A a a a a in the East at Gainesville Fla Furman eliminated Ohio University 7-2. Florida Knock out Jacksonville 3-0 and North Carolina state beat Missouri 3-1. In the Midwest at Wichita kan., California beat Baylor 8-3, Ohio state took rider 7-4, and Wichita state downed East Carolina 10-5. In the Northeast at Orono Maine Towson state blanked Princeton 5-0 Clemson eliminated Vitanova 8-3 and Mississippi state beat Maine 6-5. In the South at Baton Rouge la., South Alabama Defeated Oklahoma 5-4 in 10 innings Texas a amp a routed southwestern Louisiana 16-4, and leu had Nonaca baseball trouble with Northwestern la state 13-2. A. A. In the West  los Angeles Minnesota took Hawaii 5-3, Southern Cal beat Middle Tennessee state 7-5 and Creighton edged Pepperdine 5-3. In the West ii at Fresno calif., Cal state Northridge upset Miami fla., 13-6 Portland eliminated san Diego state 12-5 and Fresno state beat Stanford 4-2. Atlantic Eduardo Perez had four hits and four stolen bases including a steal of Home in the fifth inning As top seeded Florida state eliminated Florida International. The third game saw Tommy mils cad and Ben Short Combine on a three hitter for Alabama against St. John s. Short took Over with two on and no outs in the ninth and walked two to Force in a run but then struck out the Side for his 14th save. A. A r a a a a a a. East a. Freshman Charles Braswell pitched a six hitter As Furman 25-25 beat Ohio. In the second game Florida a Marc Valdes threw a four hit shutout and Herbert Perry had four hits to eliminate Jacksonville which was shut out for the first time in 109 games. Shawn senior and Jeff Pierce combined on a the acc hitter and North Carolina state 47-18 used three Solo homers to defeat Missouri 40-19. South South Alabama beat Oklahoma on Jay Simpsons second Home run of the game in the Bottom of the 10th inning. Simp son who had Only four homers All season hit his first one in the eighth to tie the score 4-4. Northeast Jeff Miller had two hits and two Bis for Clemson 58-8 As it Defeated Villa Nova 37-15-1. The score was tied 3-3 in the seventh when Clemson a Joe Deberry scored the go ahead run. The top seeded tigers added four runs in the eighth. Central Scott Talanoa a sacrifice Fly in the Bottom of the 11th gave Long Beach state a Raim delayed win Over Southern Mississippi in a game that took More than six hours to Complete. Midwest Jeff Andersons two run triple in the second inning lifted Ohio state Over rider. Brad Brown pitched a Complete game r. California against Baylor which scored All its runs on Home runs. West i a. Southern Cal held off Middle Tennessee As Corey Aurand went 3 for 4 with an rib double. In the first game Minnesota got 5 is innings of shutout Relief from John Lowery 9-4who allowed Only two hits and two walks while striking out six. West ii Cal state Northridge stunned top seeded Miami and Fresno state downed second seeded Stanford. Fresno states Robbie Saitz pitched a seven hitter for his first win since april 13 As the bulldogs remained the Only unbeaten team in the regional. For