Tom S asked me to drive some of the kids to church. So Becky Craft, Lenny Saks and I took 11 kids to the Catholic Church downtown and attended the service. It’s very interesting because much of the service was in latin, I was so lost and spent a lot of time kneeling and getting up and shaking hands and I must have looked like the village idiot because I kept getting blindsided by the movement and motion. The church was very old and beautiful, lots of stained glass and icons, it was a good time. After church we stopped for ice cream and all the kids loved that. We made it back to camp at 11:30, I changed clothes and soon it was time for lunch.
In the dining hall I spotted Roger Dickinson and I pulled up a chair and we talked baseball. The all-star game is coming up and we agree that the American League is going to kick ass this year because they’re heavy with good hitters like Carew, Brett, Yaz and Reggie Jackson, but Roger argued that it wont be easy becaue the the NL has Sutton and is loaded with other great pitchers, Roger is bummed because the only Ranger that will play is Bert Campaneris. Anyway we were sitting there and Roger bet a camper that the AL would easily win…so we will see.
After lunch Bevin and I played Mark and Becky. On paper they should have won, they have better serves and better returns, but Bevin and I dug in, hit a bunch of service return lobs that split them and got em off the net. We played relaxed and we joked around a lot. I worked on making sure that I was thinking two shots ahead of each shot. In the end we won 7-5, I stretched out the back of my knee sliding but it’s okay now.
Later I played Bobby Dickinson in the second counselor tournament, he had me down 7-1 but I came back and won 5 straight games before he pulled out a 8-6 win. I had him running. I wish I had hit short angles early in the match…he didn’t handle the mouse traps I set for him. Mouse traps are short angle drop shots and cross court lobs and they worked like a charm. There’s no way I can stroke with the guy from the baseline so I have to give him junk.
After dinner Tom Sheridan and I had to get out and away from the dorms and the sound of slamming doors and kids, so we drove over to McConnellsburg. It was fun doing something out of the normal like going for a drive, we went to a diner and ordered corn fritters and cokes, we talked about the U of G and his frat and it sounds like those Georgia guys party down! We got back in time to put the kids to bed. When I got back Roger was in the upstairs lounge listening to a baseball game and arguing with Feinberg and Solomon about….baseball. Xavier was in the corner with his practice pads drumming away. Tom Vrana and the camper Rick were listening to Springsteen music, If I hear Born to Run one more time I will go insane. I love the song but they have taken it to another level,They never seem to tire of that song and the Thunder Road song.
Mark was reading when I got in, he was happy because he won his counselor tournament match against Andy Greenspan. He said his serve was on…I wish I was 6’4.…like him I would crush the ball…5’8 doesn’t cut it.
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As it turns out the NL killed the American League in the All Star game. Jim Palmer took the mound, but his performance would leave much to be desired. He only lasted two innings, gave up five runs on five hits, walked one and was the losing pitcher. Joe Morgan led off with a home run. Dave Parker singled and then scored on a George Foster double. Then Greg Luzinski homered for a 4-0 lead before the fans had even sat down.
The American League was determined to fight their way back and managed to score a few runs, but the National League continued it's winning momentum for the rest of the game. The always outspoken Sparky Anderson put the game's one-sided trend in perspective: "The only reason we're here is to kick the living hell out of those guys."
One of the most interesting stories around this meeting was the pregame spat between Billy Martin and Nolan Ryan. When Frank Tanana was unable to play because of injuries, Martin asked Ryan to fill in. Ryan, irked at not being selected in the first place, refused. Martin fumed and announced he would never select Ryan for any future games.
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