Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, April 7,1999
Major League Baseball
Final baseball season begins at revolutionary, aging Astrodome
Astros will leave Houston landmark after 34 years of play
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — They could have used shovels for the groundbreaking, but this called for Texas flair.
The guests fired Colt.45 pistols into a vacant lot, marking the start of Harris County Domed Stadium, otherwise known as the Astrodome.
The man behind the project. Judge Roy Hofheinz, modestly suggested the stadium be dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World.
That was 34 years and several facelifts ago. Now the Astrodome is losing its oldest tenant.
The Houston Astros move to a 42,000-seat downtown ballpark with a retractable roof next season. The team began its long goodbye last night, with Sammy Sosa and the Chicago Cubs in town for the 1999 opener.
"It's sad from one standpoint, but that's got to be tempered with the excitement of moving into a new facility." Astros president Tal Smith said. "I think the Astrodome lost a lot of its character when they took down the scoreboard and changed the configuration of the exterior."
The exodus began in 1997, when the NFL's Houston Oilers headed to Tennessee even after the $2 million scoreboard was removed to satisfy owner Bud Adams* demand for more seats.
Next year, the Astros will play on real grass for the first time since the earliest days of the Astrodome, whose opaque center-field glass prompted the invention of Astroturf.
The new home will be ready for opening day in 2000. Left behind will be the building where the Astros won division titles the last two seasons.
They also were six outs from the World Series against Philadelphia in 1980 and lost to the New York Mets in the 1986 playoffs.
players.
Before the air-conditioned Astrodome, fans had to tolerate the mosquitoes and sapping heat of Colt Stadium. Now it's back to the elements again, with the option of clos
ing the roof in unacceptable weather. In Houston, that could mean most of July. August and September.
The first major league game at the Astrodome was April 9, 1965 — Astros vs. Yankees.
"Mickey Mantle was the first batter, and they told him to take the first pitch, so they could keep the ball," recalled Ron Brand, then the Houston catcher. "Mantle said, 'I'm too nervous to swing anyway.' I couldn't believe he would be nervous but it really was an exciting time."
The Astrodome cost $31.5 million, a figure that couldn't meet some salary demands today. The Ballpark at Union Station, the downtown stadium's working title, will cost $265 million.
Smith was the Astros' liaison during construction of the Astrodome, which opened the era of modern stadium design. He is also in charge of this move.
"It doesn't seem like 35 years ago, but it was one of the most impressionable events in my life that I had the chance to be associated with it," Smith said. "I was with that project from the time it was a hole in the ground until completion."
The Astrodome's future depends on Houston businessman Bob McNair's efforts to land a franchise to replace the Oilers.
McNair has approval for a new football stadium on the same property. If he gets a team, most of the events previously held in the Astrodome will move to the new facility.
That would relegate the Astrodome to conventions and trade shows. If McNair is unsuccessful, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo would consider renovating the Astrodome.
Until Mark McGwire's assault on the home-run record, ex-Astros Jimmy Wynn and Doug Rader had the longest upper-deck shots at the Astrodome. When the stadium was renovated, Wynn got the original seat marking his home run. He now has it in his home
"I knew it was going out, I just didn't know how far until I got back to the dugout," Wynn said. "My teammates pointed to exactly where it hit, and I just stood there a few seconds and said, 'Wow.'"
David Howard injured again
ST. LOUIS — Nobody could blame David Howard for believing that there's a huge black cloud following him around.
The Associated Press
It's been a typical spring for the St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder, who's hurt — again. As soon as he emerged from a large group of candidates to win the second-base job, he injured his groin running the bases after his third hit in the final inning of spring training.
"He was playing very well," manager Tony LaRua said.
So, in exchange for padding an average that was immediately wiped out on opening day, he landed on the disabled list for the eighth time in nine seasons.
"The best thing would probably have been if I'd have made an out," Howard said. "Just popped up,
After what happened in Monday night's opening 10-8 loss against Milwaukee, he wondered whether he should have just gone home after getting that piece of news.
struck out, something, then I wouldn't have been on base."
In the fourth inning, right-handed hitting teammate Placido Polanco was so far behind on a fastball from David Weathers that he lined it into the Cardinals' dugout down the first-base line. Howard glanced up and the ball was about to bean him right between the eyes.
He ducked out of the way just in time but gashed his face on a chair and missed the next several innings getting stitches. After the game he looked as if he had gone a couple rounds with Evander Holyfield.
1000s with Willie
The irony of that situation is Polanco, recalled from the minor leagues on Monday, who got the
opening-day start at second base
"Oh man, what's going to happen next?" Howard said. "I was telling some of the guys that I might as well put on a catcher's mask. That's perfect, just perfect."
perfect, just perfect.
It's been that kind of career for
Royals in 1991 but has played more than 100 games in a season only once.
1991 but has played more than 100 games in a season only once. In 1992, a back injury landed Howard, the son of former major-league pitcher Bruce Howard, on the dl for 2 1/2 months. In 1993 he missed three months with a bout of Bell's Palsy and a strained right
hamstring. In 1996 he became the Royals starting shortstop and played 143 games, but the next two seasons he was on the disabled list three times for a shoulder injury that eventually required rotator cuff surgery.
Last year, he was done for the year on July 3 and played in only 46 games, batting .245 with two homers and 12 RBL.
The latest injury doesn't appear to be a huge setback. Howard even came to the park Monday hoping he could tape it up and try to play.
Still, he's having trouble coping with it because he had reported to training camp in the best shape of his career, and there was no warning before the injury. Howard, known for light hitting and slick fielding, had even flexed his muscles this spring with four home runs, including two in one game.
Clemens fizzles out in debut as Yankee
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — Roger Clemens kicked the mound in disgust with his right foot. Tony Phillips' homer had just destroyed his aura of invincibility.
Two innings later, Clemens headed to the dugout to watch his new team lose a soggy season opener.
Clemens was nearly unhittable for the first 42-3 innings of his debut with the New York Yankees on Monday night against the Oakland Athletics, despite a 47-minute rain delay between the second and
third innings.
Trying to extend the 15-game winning streak with which he closed last season for the Toronto Blue Jays, Clemens had allowed only a drag bunt single by Jason McDonald in the third inning and
Clemens: Struck out eight, walked five in Yankees opener
nag struck out seven of the 17 batters he had faced.
But, after walking Miguel Tejada on a full count with two outs in the fifth, Clemens gave up Phillips' game-tipping shot to right field.
"I was a little quick on my slide step," Clemens said. "He's got that zone down where he's very dangereous."
Derek Jeter's 410-foot homer to center field in the top of the seventh put the Yankees ahead 3-2 and gave Clemens another chance for the win, but again the five-time Cy Young Award winner could not hold the lead.
after throwing 107 pitches. The bullpen then blew Clemens' chance for a win.
Jason Giambi's run-scoring groundout of Mike Stanton tied the game 3-3, and Matt Stairs followed with an RBI single off Stanton. John Jaha then doubled off Jeff Nelson to drive in Oakland's fifth run.
"Tony got us going," Giambi said. ("Clemens) was dealing and it was tough, but Tony kind of broke the string. That kind of put a light at the end of the tunnel for us when it was kind of getting dim."
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Clemens walked Phillips and was taken out of the game
The game finally ended at 10:27 a.m. after a second rain delay of 1 hour, 21 minutes that prevented the Yankees from batting in the ninth.
Clemens, traded to the Yankees in February by the Blue Jays, struck out eight and walked five while allowing four hits in his debut for New York.
"I was very excited to take the mound," he said. "I'm pretty jacked up for every start. But taking the field with these guys is very special."
Clemens remained two short of the AL record of 17 consecutive wins shared by Dave McNally of the Baltimore Orioles in 1968-69 and Johnny Allen of the Cleveland Indians in 1936-37. The major league record is 24 by Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants in 1936-37.
"I've never seen anybody so high to win a ball game as Clemens was in the dugout for the first inning," said Yankees interim manager Don Zimmer, a Red Sox coach, during part of Clemens' 13-year tenure in Boston. "He was like a wild lion.
in Boston. He was like what he said "When the game started, he looked like he was pitching for a World Series win. He's some competitor."
Albert Belle steps up, leads Baltimore to opening-day win
The Associated Press
BALTIMORE — He's much larger than life, standing far above the expressway traffic with a huge black bat in his hands and a grin across his face.
"Why is Albert smiling?" the billboard reads. "Because it's 364 to left-center."
Albert Belle, the Baltimore Orioles' poster boy for the 1999 season, didn't plant his first homer in those beckoning Camden Yards seats in left-center.
Instead, Belle marked his first formal day with the Orioles by launching an opposite-field drive over the 25-foot scoreboard in right field.
It was hardly the most distant shot of his career, but the home run was immense in importance. The three-run homer, which gave the Orioles the lead for good Monday in a 10-7 victory against Tampa Bay, set off a celebration by the sellout crowd that caused the ordinarily sullied slugger to take an impromptu curtain call.
He also managed to produce a genuine smile or two.
That's exactly what the Orioles were hoping for when they signed Belle to a five-year, $65 million contract in December. Team officials knew the risk of thrusting him into a town that likes its heroes wholesome (i.e. Johnny Unitas and Cal Ripken), but the Orioles also figured the fans would love the guy if he hit the cover off the ball.
At least for one day, it was smiles all around.
"Everybody on the team benefits with Albert in the lineup," said Brady Anderson, who also homered. "When you have a
proven RBI and home run hitter at cleanup, it affects everyone."
the three players in front of Belle — Anderson, Mike Bordick and Will Clark — all did their part by getting on base. Belle then showed why he has had at least 100 RBI in each of the last seven seasons, going deep with two runners on and later adding an RBI single.
With Belle leading the way, the
Orioles
proved
they could
win when
M i k e
Mussina
has an off
day and
when their
bullpen sputters. Baltimore was resilient without Cal Ripken and relentless against everyone the Devil Rays shoved onto the mound.
Ripken, baseball's Iron Man, was lifted for a pinch hitter in the third inning because of a stiff lower back. If he hadn't willingly ended his record consecutive games streak at 2,632 last year, the injury would have been front-page news.
It's still worth noting, however, because he was treated in a hospital Monday and might have to go on the disabled list for the first time in his 18-year career. The third baseman is questionable tonight against the Devil Rays at Camden Yards.
"He's day-to-day," Orioles spokesman John Maroon said yesterday. "Our training staff will monitor the situation and base their decision on how he feels today and tomorrow."
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