European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 16, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday june 16, 1994 sports the stars and stripes Pago 35 Best of by Gary Shelton Vve knew he could hit. Forget the paltry average the abomination that left Ryne Sandberg As one of the few players in baseball not knocking the juice out of the Ball this season. We knew he could Field. In the minds Eye he always will be the lanky second baseman plucking the Ball from the air As it disappeared Over second base then turning and throwing it whip like toward first. Add up his career and nine Gold gloves May not have been enough. We knew he could throw and he could run a Little and he could turn the double play with the Grace of a dancer. We knew he had Power unbecoming a second baseman and we knew he was one of those special players who could beat another team All by himself. We knew As the Best of the cubs he was Sandberg always going to be in the All Star game and never in the world series. It was not until monday however that we saw the Best of Sandberg. It was not until he did the most amazing thing of All. He walked away. This is not what happens in baseball 1994. This is not what happens in professional sports at Large where the Only important statistics too often seem to be incentive clauses signing bonuses and saving accounts. Baseball 1994, is where a team has to pay Darryl Strawberry to take his drug habit and go away. Baseball 1994, is where a commissioner cannot Stop Steve Howe and his drug habit from yet another Chance. Baseball 1994, is where players retire Only when they run out of teams that fail to see they have Long since run out of Talent. Away commentary Sandberg did More than from the Chicago cubs on monday. He walked away from a Fortune. If you took the Money he could have pocketed by staying turned it into $100 Bills and stacked it in Loftfield you would have sworn he was walking away from Fenway Park instead of Wrigley. In this Day and age where older players bleed to squeeze out one More year this was something remarkable. This was a player showing us that part of his greatness was in his own standards and if his own play and passion for his game did not meet them then he would not stick around no matter the size of the paycheck. Know what the biggest lie in sports is it is when the athlete looks into the camera and says a when i can to play my Best anymore ill know and ill usually an athlete hangs onto his career As if it is the ledge of a Cliff. To let go Means to turn Loose of the Fortune and Fame. Sandberg could have stayed you know. This was his team the Way it once belonged to Ernie Banks and second base was his position the Way it was once Rogers Hornsby a. He could have kept them both As Long As he wanted and no self respecting cubs fan would have blamed him. He was paid $7 million a year. Lotto Money. And he was guaranteed his Check this year next year and the year after. There was even an option for 1997. Who walks away from Money like that Sandberg that a who. Yes Sandberg was in a slump. He was hitting Only ,238, and he had Only one hit in his last 28 at bats and he had been benched Over the weekend. But being in a slump does not mean the career has to be shut Down. If stars off to bad starts mean they should retire then such players As Howard Johnson Barry Larkin Terry Pendleton and Ozzie Smith would be gone too. Besides Sandberg hit .309 last year. No one thought he was through then. Sandberg could have rationalized his problems. This was merely a bad year. Sure. Everyone has one of those every now and then. He could have gone through the motions feigning the desire to compete. In baseball that is common enough. Next year if things did no to get better he could have blamed the manager for misusing him. Or the front office for not signing More players. He could have demanded a Trade to a contender. He could have blamed his teammates. He could have whined. He could have entered denial. He could have milked his employer for every Penny. None of it would have broken new ground. Instead he looked at himself. He was unhappy with Sandberg and he blamed Sandberg for it. He talked of being dissatisfied with his performance with being emotionally dry. There is Honor in that. Even As we prepare to miss him the Way we miss All great athletes whose eras inevitably pass the sadness is offset by the respect due someone who recognized that his time was up. It is a hard thing for an athlete to realize what he is no longer. To act accordingly is rarer still. Sandberg it turned out fit his teams uniform As if he do signed it and played his position As if he invented it. But in the end his refusal to hang around for a nay Check May have described his ethic As being his Best attribute. A what is Honor Worth these Days for Sandberg it was Worth millions. Partially because of that the memories of him will be too. And second base May never be the same. St. Petersburg Timet Clarke returns join Power position from wire reports Philadelphia Bob Clarke returned to Philadelphia wednesday not Only with the Power of president and general manager behind him but with the influence of part ownership. To get Clarke who first made his name Here As the Cornerstone of the a abroad Street bullies that won Stanley cups in 1974 and 1975, the flyers gave the Florida panthers an undisclosed amount of Money and a second round draft pick. Clarke had two years remaining on his contract As the panthers pm. Owner de Snider said Clarke also received a substantial part of the team but did not provide specifics Clarkes stint will be his fourth with Philadelphia. He started As the teams Ca Rcck scoring Leader served As general manager for four years and returned again for a Short lived tenure As a senior vice notes that the team would be honoured with a Parade and ceremony on Friday. The Parade will begin in Battery Park and proceed North along Broadway to City Hall where ceremony will be Cap proposed new York owners did the expected tuesday proposing a salary Cap to the major league baseball players association in Exchange for a 50-50 split of Revenue and elimination of salary arbitration. Under the plan which the Union is expected to resist players would become eligible for free Agency after four years of major league service instead of the current six. However players old clubs would be Able to match the highest offer until a player has six years of service. Tuesday obtaining outfielder Dwight Smith from the California Angels for a player to be named later. Smith 30, was to join the orioles on wednesday. He is batting .262, prior to the Deal Baltimore had Only three position players who hit sign sooner Cleveland a Oklahoma outfielder Chip Glass the map of last weeks College world series signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland selected in the 37th round Hom ered in Oklahoma a 13-5 Victory Over Georgia tech in saturday s title game. Put at 52-1.atlantic 10 hires woman a a a. A. A. Philadelphia a Linda Bruno became the commissioner of the Atlantic 10 conference tuesday. She leaves the big East conference after an 11-year tenure As associate commissioner. Celtics fire Gavitt Boston the Boston celtics fired Dave Gavitt As senior executive vice president on tuesday and replaced him with former celtics player . Carr Gavitt will remain with the team As a vice chairman of the Board with unspecified responsibilities. O Brien sets is Day Best sports a in an r r no Ruhr Iii a Parade set for rangers orioles obtain d. Smith new York a moments after the new York rangers won the Stanley cup mayor Rudolph w. Giuliani announced Baltimore a the Baltimore orioles finally got another left handed hitter Knoxville Tenn. A Dan of Brien set a world Best for the first Day of the decathlon with 4,738 Points tuesday in the Usa Mobil championship s. Of Brien won the 100 meters in 10,31 seconds ran 48.19 in the 400, cleared 7 feet vhf inches in the High jump went 25-71/2 in the Long jump and won the shot Central european time television baseball a California at Chicago White sox 2 . Friday radio baseball a new York Yankees at Baltimore 1 30 . Friday. A a to an to . Thursday 6 . 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Tonight 6 30 Abc nig Tiina 7 00 headline news 7 30 just for kids 7.50 sesame Street 8.50 Basic training the workout 9 20 Sci med head in tests 9 40 Sty Jessy Raphael 10 25 general Hospital 11 15 guiding Light noon headline news 12 30 profile 12 35 jeopardy. 1 00 Good morning America 3 00 just for kids 3 25 club connect 3 50 get the picture 4 15 Disney s utile Merma d 4 40 cheers 5.05 wheel of Fortune 5.30 entertainment tonight 6.00 headline news 6 15 an evening news 6 40 can sports lot ought 7.10 step by step season ends 7.35 Martin 6 00 Murphy Brown thursday 5 . 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Showbiz today 1.00 baseball California at Csc ago White sox 4.00 lbs evening news 4.30 can sports la Leigh s 00 aug world news tonight 5 30 Abc nig Tiina 6.00 headline nows 6.30 jus for kids 6 50 sesame Street 7.50 Basic training the workout. 8.20 slime health tests b 40 Salfity Jessy Raphan a 9 25 general Moe fall 10 15 guiding a Frt 11 00 headline news 11 30 profile 11 35 jeopardy noon Good morning America 2 00 just 1or kids 2.25 cud conned 2.50 get the picture 3.15 Disney s utile Mormur d 3 40 choirs a 4.05 wheel of Fortune 4 30 entertainment Tom tit 5.00 Hoad me nows. 5 15 an evening nows 5.40 can sports it eight 6.10 step by Slop season ends 6 35 Martin 7 00 Murphy Brown. The slur and stripes american to schedule is bated on the Tepetl information furnished by an to. Program end limes a re subject to change
