Bums reach 60 victories before July, with or without King July 1, 1998
Vero Beach, FL (AP) - The Vero Beach Bums (60-19) have continued their
mastery of the Defiant League of the PVBL, reaching 60 wins faster than any
other team -- by far. Their nearest competitor, the Phoenix Gila Monsters
of the DL Data, have "only" a 50-25 record.
"We've made the season boring so far," said Vero Beach owner Jason Gohlke.
"We're just looking for a chance to avenge the honor of the Defiant League
again this year. Sorry, Dan Shapiro, but any teams that come to Vero Beach
this October will probably end their seasons there. I would welcome the
chance to beat the Groundhogs one more time this fall, as we did last year.
He's a great owner and they're a great club, like most of the clubs in the
DL, but we are determined to win." Gohlke spoke in response to Punxatawney
Groundhogs owner Dan Shapiro's comments last week.
The Bums started a three game series at home against cellar-dweller
Sacramento on June 29th. The Bums won the first game against Sacramento
6-2 in Willie Adams' first start since coming off the DL with a minor
injury. He showed staying power, pitching 7 innings and giving up 2 runs
on 5 hits and two intentional walks. The Bums' offense was led by LF Ron
Gant, who went 3 for 3 with a home run, taking up the slack for the injured
Jeff King. The Bums also stole 5 bases, two by Gregg Jefferies. Jefferies
got the start at first in place of King.
King has been placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. "It's not
as serious as his back injury last year," said Bums manager Phil Garner.
"He'll be back in a couple weeks."
Knights starter Myles Tauscher lasted just 4 innings and gave up 2 runs to
even his record at 5-5. John Hayes finished the game and yielded the
go-ahead run and 3 insurance runs against his former team.
Garner added, "Congrats to A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez, Duluth Bjork shortstop]
for that 3-homer game today -- that was impressive."
In the second game of this three-game series, the Bums won 8-4 behind Kevin
Ritz, who earned his sixth victory despite giving up 3 runs, 4 hits, and 5
walks in 7 innings. The Bums didn't need much better pitching than that,
however, due to an incredible 9-extra base hit performance. All-star 2B
Rex Hudler had about as good a game as possible, going 5-for-5 with 3
doubles, 2 triples, and 4 runs scored. "My slugging percentage sure went
up today," commented Hudler. "But of course I only care about winning
games."
CF Marquis Grissom batted in 5 runs on two homers, bringing his season
total to 13. Omar Vizquel and Brian Jordan -- now batting three-four in
the order, a new arrangement due to King's injury and a new permanent spot
in the order for Vizquel -- each went 2 for 4 with a double.
"It suits me fine," said Vizquel on moving from leadoff to third in the
order. "At least I'm not hitting 9th or something. Hud's the man -- he's
stealing bases, hitting dingers, he can do it all."
"Realistically, we're all pretty interchangeable at the top of the order,"
said Grissom, who has moved up from #3 to #2 and has responded well. "As
far as getting on base, Hud, Omar, and I can all do the job, as can a lot
of guys on this team." In fact, the top seven in the Bums' batting order,
including King, are hitting between .285 and .308.
