PACT The US and North Korea are close to agreement on getting rid of communist nation's nuclear program. Page 5B
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 1995
SECTION B
'93 teammates on their way to 'the bigs'
The 1993 Kansas baseball team, the most successful in school history, may soon be known for more than their team record 45 wins and first ever trip to the College World Series.
By Dan Gelston
Kansan staff writer
"All I really want to do is pitch," he said. "It hasn't been too much of an adjustment, although the mental part of the game has to be a lot stronger."
Three members, key to Kansas' resurgence in the early '09s, have seen their dream of playing professional baseball materialize by playing minor league baseball. Chris Corn, Darryl Monroe and David Meyer, all members of the 1993 team, have traded in their comfortable lives at KU for grueling road trips and a season more than twice as long as the college one.
After some early season work as the club's set-up man, Corn has taken over the closer role, earning six wins and seven saves. Greensboro manager Tey Hillman likes what he's seen of Corn thus far.
Corn was the pitching ace of the '93 staff, winning nine games and pitching the opener of the College World Series. He followed that season with another nine-win performance his senior year and was drafted in the 21st round by the New York Yankees. Although Corn proved he could be a staff's ace, the Yankees had other plans for him.
"I'm having a great time down here," Corn said. "My teammates, the coaches, my manager — they're all doing a great job, and I'm loving it."
Hillman said the key to Corn's success is that he's a four-pitch pitcher with good control. Corn can throw a curveball, changeup and slider, but it is his faster-than-90-mph fastball that has gotten his opponents' attention.
"The biggest and best thing is his mental psyche," Hillman said. "He's always prepared; he always knows exactly what he wants to do when he gets into the ball game."
This year the Yankees assigned him to their Class A club, the Greensboro Bats of the South Atlantic League, and converted him into a reliever. For Corn, there hasn't been much of an adjustment.
These professional baseball players are proud to have been Jayhawks...
Corn has struck out 59 batters in just 44 innings and is keeping runners off base by holding opposing batters to a .171 batting average. These are two important stats for a late-inning specialist.
One man Corn kept off base the three times he faced him this year was his former Kansas teammate Darryl Monroe. Monroe is beginning his climb up through the majors with the Fayetteville Generals, the Detroit Tigers' Class A farm team.
| PLAYER | TEAM | AVG | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Jeff Berlinger | Arkansas Cardinals | .335 | 206 | 53 | 69 | 4 | 21 | 13 |
| Darryl Monroe | Fayetteville Tigers | .298 | 191 | 32 | 57 | 1 | 12 | 11 |
| PLAYER | TEAM | W-L | ERA | SV | IP | H | BB | SO |
| Chris Corn | Greensboro Yankees | 6-4 | 1.64 | 7 | 44 | 26 | 14 | 59 |
| David Meyer | Tampa Yankees | 2-4 | 6.49 | 0 | $52^{½}$ | 79 | 28 | 26 |
| Steve Renko | Midland Angels | 0-1 | 7.71 | 1 | $9^{½}$ | 13 | 7 | 8 |
| Curt Schmidt | Ottawa Expos | 3-0 | 2.55 | 4 | $17^{½}$ | 11 | 4 | 12 |
| Curtis Shaw | Edmonton Athletics | 2-2 | 3.24 | 0 | $33^{½}$ | 23 | 33 | 21 |
| Scott Taylor | Oklahoma City Rangers | 2-5 | 4.15 | 0 | $56^{½}$ | 62 | 19 | 31 |
| James Walker | Fredrick Orioles | 0-1 | 16.20 | 0 | $1^{¾}$ | 2 | 2 | 3 |
After a rough start to his pro career in the rookie league, Monroe has blossomed this year, showing the Tigers the talent he displayed at Kansas. As a Jayhawk, he hit 348 with 172 RB during his four-year
"Knowing that I'm getting an opportunity at getting a chance
Monroe has also experienced a change of positions, going from center field to left field and also has been batting at the beginning of the Generals' order.
worker, and he's a student of the game. He's really been an asset to us."
Part of Monroe's success is due to what he learned at Kansas.
"I'm living out a dream,and I'm having a great time doing it."
"Knowing myself as a player and always triving to improve the proba-
"He's got a real great attitude," Lowry said. "He's a good, hard
to play in the big leagues keeps me going," Monroe said. "I'm living out a dream, and I'm having a great time doing it."
Darryl Monroe
Fayetteville Generals left.fielder
It's easy to enjoy yourself when you're having success like Monroe's, who is hitting at a .288 clip in 55 games. Monroe also has enjoyed success stealing bases — he has 11— including a perfect 6-for-6 performance in April which earned him a gold watch from the team. On June 19, he will play in the South Atlantic League all-star game. Former Tiger and current Fayetteville manager Dwight Lowry said that Monroe's work ethic would help him progress.
bly the two biggest things I learned at Kansas, and I use that here," Monroe said. "There are no guarantees in this game," hesaid. "You can never predict what's going to happen. If I play well enough then eventually they have to move you up."
As for a major
league career, Lowry offered no promises but said that Monroe would go as far as his bat would take him.
It's quite possible that in a few years the Yankee pitching staff will be comprised of two former KU players. Southpaw David Meyer, who won seven games during his 1994 senior campaign, may join Corn. Meyer is playing for the Tampa Bay Yankees, another Class A farm team, in the Florida State League.
Meyer, who shuffled between the starting rotation and the bulpen during his four years at KU, has found a home in Tampa as a starting pitcher.
Tampa manager Jake Gibbs said
"He gets up in the strike zone too much, and he has to be more consistent as far as getting ahead in the count," Gibbs said. "He can be a successful starting pitcher."
For their efforts, the players get $1,000-$1,100 a month and a $50-per-day food allowance on the road. The teams play 142 games in only 150 days, taking a toll on even the best-conditioned ball players.
"It can get boring and tiring after a while," Corn said of life on the road. "You got bored sitting in the hotel room. There's no place to go."
Although the daily struggle of balancing baseball with academics isn't there, both Corn and Monroe are trying to finish up the three remaining credits they need to graduate. They are taking correspondence courses, which they hope to complete by September.
Kansas also has seen some other recent graduates of the baseball program enjoy some success in the pros.
Jeff Berblinger has batted over 300 most of the season for the Arkansas Travelers of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. Steve Renko, Curtis Shaw, Scott Taylor and Jimmy Walker all are in the minor leagues and the Montreal Expos' Curt Schmidt even has been in the majors for a brief time.
The careers of Corn and Monroe seem brightest, but sometimes it takes more than talent to make it to the maiors.
"If you can't see yourself there, you'll never make it," Corn said. "You've got to believe in yourself."
Jayhawks chosen in baseball draft
By Gerry Fey
Kansan Editor
Two more Kansas baseball players were picked in the latest amateur draft two weeks ago, increasing the total number of former Jayhawks in the major leagues to 11.
Junior pitcher Jamie Splitoff was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round, while the Chicago White Sox took senior third baseman Brent Wilhelm in the 28th. Both have signed contracts with their respective clubs, Kansas coach Dave Bingham said.
Although Splitterfif will forego his senior year of eligibility, Bingham said both players were on track to graduate.
Although the two went relatively high in the draft considering no limit exists on the number of rounds, Bingham said that he thought Splittorf would have been picked higher.
"With Split, I thought he might go higher, but everybody in the draft thinks that going in," he said.
Wilhelm and Splittorff were unavailable for comment as they have left for their respective clubs.
Bingham said that both players had the work ethic necessary to make it all the way to the major leagues and out of the minors. Wilhelm also has something valuable to a minor league player — maturity.
"With Bren, he's really improved in his four years at Kansas," he said. "Brent going through college baseball makes him able to survive the ups and downs. Baseball is a game of failing and adjusting. You need mental toughness as well as ability."
Bingham said that recruiting players out of high school was made easier by having players from Kansas get draft
Jamie Splittorff
Rrant Wilhelm
"That's one thing they want to know when we talk to them," Bingham said of the recruits. "They want to know that other kids made it from here. I know all the guys that come in have goals to go to the pros and we want them. But we also want guys who value their education and both Split and Brent do."
"I'm just really pleased to have those two guys go through our system."
Michael Schulze / KANSAN
Former Kansas basketball player Rex Walters answers questions Monday at Roy Williams' basketball camp. The boy's basketball camp will run from Monday to Friday at Allen Field House.
Dave is not alone. Thousands and thousands of kids across the country hear that same pop each summer.
What's wrong with America's game?
Like most 10-year-old boys, my little brother Dave loves sports.
But lately, I've noticed something. After Dave's Little League baseball games, it's not long before he ties on his Nike high-tops just like the ones Charles Barkley wears. He puts on a pair of baggy navy shorts just like the ones Michigan's basketball team teams. Finally, he dons a t-shirt just like the ones the Kansas
When summer rolls around, Dave pulls out his baseball glove and heads down the street to play catch.
The sound of a grass-stained baseball popping into the well-worn mitts can be heard clearly from my parents' front porch.
CAMPUS EDITOR
men's basketball team wore after winning the Big Eight Championship last season.
On Saturday, June 3,14 games were played in the Major Leagues. Weekends are generally a good time for attendance. Families and working folks can get out to the games. However, in five of those 14 games the stadiums were less than half full, and only one game's attendance was within 1,000 of a sell-out — in Cheve-
And the black socks — Dave denies it, but I think we wear them because of Jacque Vaughn's black ankle braces.
Dave is not alone. Kids are trading in their bats and gloves for basket-balls, soccer shoes, hockey sticks and footballs. The overwhelming love people had for baseball, America's favorite pastime, is fading.
When the season opened and stadiums were practically deserted, most people, including myself, thought it would get better over time.
This has been most evident from the meager attendance that Major League Baseball teams are drawing.
But baseball's declining popularity solely cannot be blamed on the strike. Remember that the National Hockey League suffered through an owner-imposed lockout this season. Unlike baseball, hockey maintains its following.
We were wrong.
So what's happening with baseball?
Some of what's happening is sim-
land, where the Indians faced the Toronto Blue Jaws.
And attendance doesn't seem to depend on a team's success either. I saw the New York Mets play the division-leading San Francisco Giants on Thursday. The 60,000 seats in Candlestick Park dwarfed a crowd numbering just under 11,000.
If those things don't happen, come some summer day in the future when my brother goes looking to play catch, Dave will be alone.
This drop in attendance and interest could easily be blamed on the baseball strike. A love of money snuffed out a season that promised to be record-breaking and one of baseball's best.
For example, six players, including Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey Jr., were on course to hit 50 home runs. This mark only had been reached 18 times in all of baseball's history.
I can't offer any quick fixes for baseball. But it helped itself out last week with some rule changes suggested by former-Major League umpire Steve Palermo. Baseball's owners cut the time allowed between innings by 40 seconds and will not allow batters to set out of the batter's box once the pitcher steps on the rubber — a healthy first step to bringing fans back to the game.
Making the game affordable and the players accessible is also a must. Fans need to feel a tie that draws them back to the game.
ply the game itself. There isn't the continuous action that basketball and hockey boast.
Spectators love the action. Basketball's slam dunk or hockey's breakaway goal sure beats watching a pitcher stroll back to the mound, shake off two or three signs from his catcher, check a runner at first base and then throw a pitch.
North vs. South, Big 12 agrees to playoff
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — Big 12 chief executive officers yesterday approved a football playoff game between the North and South division champions that will bring at least $550,000 to each school in the new league.
School presidents and chancellors also agreed to a revenue-sharing formula that allows football powers to keep their gate receipts and rewards schools for first-year NCAA basketball tournament appearances.
"We have more work to do, clearly.
but I think what you're seeing is steady, systematic and substantial progress," said Iowa State President Martin Jischke, head of the league's CEOs.
The playoff, which had been opposed by the coaches, was proposed by the league's athletic directors and faculty representatives.
The school presidents, who have final approval on all major issues, approved the idea 11-1. Nebraska Chancellor Graham Spanier, who was not available for comment, voted against it.
Jischke said he believed Spaniier's concerns mirrored those of the league's coaches, who fear losing a playoff game could knock their team out of a major bowl or a national championship game.
The cities interested in hosting the playoff are Dallas, Kansas City, San Antonio, St. Louis, Houston, Denver
The coaches also contend that more money could be raised getting a second team into the major bowls each year, but Jischek expects the revenue from a playoff game to be higher than estimated.
and Irving, Texas.
The presidents also continued discussions on possible sites for the conference headquarters.
The Big Eight offices are located in Kansas City, Mo., while the Southwest Conference is based in Dallas.
The cities being considered are St. Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Denver and Lubbock, Texas.
The presidents plan to make a decision by Dec. 1.