European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 15, 1991 a a the stars and stripes b Page 21atlanta revels in braves new world by Carlos a. Campos Atlanta apr something strange is happening in the City known As a closer Seville a where lacklustre sports teams Are a tradition. Its August a and the braves Are in the thick of a Pennant race. This was the City that once boasted bumper stickers Reading a go braves a and take the Falcons with  fans were jaded after years of frustration As the braves compiled the worst record in baseball since moving from Milwaukee in 1966. Since then they be enjoyed a winning season Only seven times. A a it a a different atmosphere. Its fun a braves fan Howie Cohen said. A a in a a Glutton for punishment. In a also a Falcons season ticket Holder so i guess that makes me a double  since the All Star break the braves 22-10 record has catapulted them to one half game games from the Lead in the National league West. At the break Atlanta was 9 i games Back. And for a City starving for a team to believe in the braves have Given their fans Long accustomed to futility a guarded enthusiasm. Said one fan when asked if he noted any differences Between this year and last a Yea la a a  attendance at the Ballpark is Likely to break 2 million. At 1.47 million through the first two weeks of August it is Al no thinks braves Are for real Atlanta a the National league has made it official Atlanta is in a race for the no West title. The commissioners office contacted the braves recently a to Tell us we had better Start making plans for postseason play a said Jim Schultz the teams Public relations director after the braves crept to iv2 games behind the los Angeles dodgers with a Victory sunday Over Houston. It does t seem real that a team with three straight last place finishes could Rise from the Bottom to the top so quickly. In fact no club has Ever won the division after finishing last the previous season. The braves last won the no West in 1982, and their last winning season was 1983, when they finished second. The braves made it to first place on May 10. They stayed there Only briefly but have Hung around the top since. Ready More than half a million ahead of last years. The braves broke the 2 million Mark Only once in Atlanta in 1983. Being in a Pennant race is unfamiliar territory for a team that has been in Only four Pennant races in 25 years in 1969, �?T82, �?T83 and �?T84. A a it a kind of hard to believe because you get your Hopes up then they fall apart at crunch time a said Neil Goodman of Atlanta As he sat in a jocks amp jills a popular sports bar sipping a Beer and watching a recent braves game. A the whole town is behind them like in be never seen  fan fever has boosted sales of merchandise at the downtown braves clubhouse store by 100 percent Over last year said Bob Hope the teams merchandising director. Braves Caps the biggest seller at the store Are suddenly in Vogue. Fans clamor for Otis Nixon and Terry Pendleton items but no manufacturer could have predicted that Pendleton would Lead the league in hitting to it a that Nixon would steal the most bases in the National leaguer by far the biggest craze to hit Atlanta Fulton county stadium is a cheer the a Tomahawk  fans move their arms in a hacking motion As if they were holding a Tomahawk to the beat of a Tom Tom played Over the loudspeakers. A War cry accompanies the motions. A it lets the fans be in the game without doing the wave a said Jim Barry a former Americus ga., resident who drove from his new Home in Hartsville s.c., for a braves game. Said braves spokeswoman Charli Anderson a a it a kind of our War  even the players have caught on. At a recent game several players in the dugout were seen doing the a chop Quot in unison. Rick Mahler who before his release this week was the Only current Brave on the 1982 division winning team compared the 1991 braves to the 1990 world Champion reds for whom he pitched last year. The braves Confidence and abilities Are similar to those of the 1990 reds Mahler said. Atlanta has tried to shed its a losers Villez nickname by scoring sports coups a the 1996 summer olympics and the 1994 super bowl. Georgia techs undefeated football season in 1990 and Atlanta native Vunder Holyfield a heavyweight boxing title have been celebrated As other Steps toward sports glory. But championships in professional basketball football and baseball have been elusive. A regardless of All the other stuff a Goodman said a the Only thing holding us Back is a National championship in one of those  phenom rhymes with bomb Joe Charboneau went from a super Joe to just a Guy named Joe in three seasons. By Jim Donaghy a baseball writer Gary Scott was pegged As the Best third baseman to Wear a Chicago cubs uniform since Ron Santo. It turned out he  even beat out Luis Salazar. Not that Scott wont make it big someday. The cubs still like his future and admit their expectations just might have been a Little High. They just got excited after watching him hit .500 in Spring training while making All the plays. Looking at a less optimistic scenario Scott could also be another name to add to the list of phenom flops. It happens in every profession really. After All when was the last time Christopher Cross or meat loaf had a hit record last season the Houston astros thought Eric Anthony would be their next Jimmy Wynn. But he hit Only 10 Home runs and spent 44 games in the minor leagues. Anthony  get it going this year either. A a Eric a problem is that he strikes out too much a astros manager Art Howe said. A a it a a problem a lot of Young Power hitters have but its something they have to Cut Down on if they want to make  Dave Justice and Sandy Alomar jr., last seasons rookies of the year have both been troubled by injuries this year. Barring More injuries Justice and Alomar seem to still have a Bright future. Some phenoms of the past Only lasted a few years before fading into minor league oblivion. What do Sam Jethroe Harry Byrd Don Schwall John Montefusco and John Castino All have in common they each won the Rookie of the year. Byrd won 15 games for the Philadelphia a a in 1952, but the next season finished 11-20 to Lead the Al in losses. The indians thought they had a Star in the making when Joe Charboneau hit .289 with 23 homers and 87 Rols As Rookie of the year in 1980. The next season he hit .210 and continued declining because of Back problems. There were even songs written in Cleveland about a super  but in 1983, Charboneau was released by the indians minor league affiliate at Buffalo. Charboneau would sometimes Dye his hair strange colors and could open Beer bottles with an Eye socket muscle. Another colourful character was Mark a the Birds Fidrych who made the cover of National magazines in 1976 when he won the Rookie of the year award by going 19-9 for the Detroit tigers. Fidrych who often talked to the baseball won Only 10 More major league games after that because of Arm trouble. Some phenoms did no to even make it As far As Fidrych. On opening Day 1967, Bostons Les Rohr made his major league debut against Whitey Ford at Yankee stadium. Rohr 21, was one strike away from a no hitter when Elston Howard singled to right Center Field. Rohr beat the Yankees 6-1 in his next Start but would win Only one More game before disappearing. It Wasny to the first time Boston saw a phenom Flop. In 1945, boo Forriss went 21-10 As a Rookie and followed that season with a 25-6 record in helping the red sox win the Al Pennant. He also shut out St. Louis in the world series. Ferriss a Good hitter too became an instant Star and even made life Magazine. It All started to come to an end for the 6-foot-2 right hander in a game against Cleveland in 1947. A i tried to break off a real Good curve a Ferriss said. A i tried to get Way on top of it. Something happened to my Arm. I finished the game out 1 knew something had happened. We caught a train to Chicago that night and the next Day i  lift my  some phenoms never really got going in the major leagues. Steve Bilko for example had successive 50-plus Homer seasons for los Angeles of the Pacific coast league. In 1956, Bilko hit .360 with 55 homers and 164 Bis. In 10 major league seasons with six teams he totalled 76 homers. He hit 313 homers in the minor leagues. Steve Dalkowski never even got a Chance to pitch in the major leagues despite having one of the Best fastballs Ever. Signed by the Baltimore orioles in 1957, the left handers problem was control. In his first five seasons of minor league Ball Dalkowski averaged 17 walks Ana 15 strikeouts per nine innings 907 whiffs in 537 innings. Unlike Nolan Ryan Dalkowski remained forever  excluded from negro league reunion Cooperstown n y. A baseball a segregationist policy kept them from the big leagues but there a Little bitterness among the former stars of the negro league says National league president Bill White. A the amazing thing about these Guys is they re not bitter a White told the Syracuse Herald Roumal. A two Day reunion at the National baseball Hall of Fame of More than 75 former negro league players a about half of those still believed to be alive a ended tuesday in Cooperstown. For the players its been a time to revive forgotten friendships and Swap stories of past heroics not dwell on their exclusion from the major leagues. A we were major leagues in Black America a Edsall Walker said. A we had the richest owner in the business went everywhere first class and played Only the first class teams in the first class Ball Parks a said Walker who pitched for the Homestead Grays and Philadelphia stars. A fall they wanted was to play on that Field and play competitively. It was More than a game it was life a said Joe Black another negro leaguer who pitched for the Brooklyn dodgers after Jackie Robinson broke the color Barrier in 1947. Although Black leagues were in exis tence As Early As the 1880s, the National negro baseball league officially began ii 1920 and disbanded in 1950. The bes Black players of the time followed Robin son into the National and am Cicai leagues and the negro league no Longe could survive. Today 11 former negro leagues an enshrined in the Hall of Fame including Satchel Paige James a Cool papa Bel and Josh Gibson