Lerch Wins His 1^st, Phillies Regain Lead

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - "Sure I was ticked off," said Randy Lerch, who hadn't pitched since May 18.

Lerch, winless in six decisions, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday night 6-3 and lifted the Philadelphia Phillies back into first place, just ahead of the World Champion Bucs.

Mike Schmidt drove in two runs with a first inning homer and Bake McBride accounted for a pair with a single and a double.

But the big plus for the Phillies was the emergence of Lerch as a winner, since the club already has two starters, Larry Christenson and Nino Espinosa, on the disabled list.

"I got skipped a couple of times when I thought I should have pitched,” said Lerch, a 25-year-old lefthander the Phillies have always thought would be the next Steve Carlton.

"I should have pitched even though I was 0-6, but maybe Dallas was right," said Lerch.

Manager Dallas Green said he had sidetracked Lerch the last 10 days because he felt the pitcher was working with a lack enthusiasm and aggressiveness, and that a rest to think things over might help him.

"He threw the heck out of the ball tonight," said Green. "Randy used the inside of the plate more. He had been working too much outside.”

Lerch's biggest inning was the eighth, when he gave up a single and a double, putting runners at second and third with none out. He retired the side, striking out Bill Robinson on a pitch Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner said was the best the Phillies pitcher threw all night.

Lerch described the important eighth inning.

"I knew Tim Foli didn't strike out much, but I overthrew first two pitches,” Lerch recalled. "I said to myself, ‘Just get him out.' When I did, it built momentum.

"I have a lot of success against Dave Parker and got him and let it all hang out against Robinson,” Lerch concluded. 

Green said he left Lerch in during the eighth because he felt it was a key situation for the pitcher.

"If he could get them out, it could mean a great deal to him. I wanted him to pitch out of a jam.”

The last victory for Lerch was Sept. 20, 1979. also over the Pirates, against whom he is now 5-4 lifetime.

Lerch needed ninth-inning relief help from Ron Reed after giving up a two-run homer to Lee Lacy, his second of game.

The Phillies took a 3-0 lead in the first as Pete Rose opened with a double and scored on McBride's single. Schmidt then followed with his major league-leading 14th homer.

The Phillies increased their lead to 5-1 in the fourth when Rose doubled home Lerch and McBride followed with his RBI double.

Pittsburgh scored its first run of the game in the second on Lacy's second homer of the season.

Rose scored two runs to pass Charlie Gehringer (1,773) for 12th place on the all-time list and hit a pair of doubles to jump past Hank Aaron for sixth on the all -time two-base hit list with 625.

Future Phils

Philadelphia’s Next Stars Learn Their Craft In Reading

By Jeff Young, Intelligencer Journal Sports Writer

READING — Even the most dedicated, most devout will agree that this age of agents, court struggles and labor-management wars has taken its toll on the thoughts and emotion of the baseball fan.

Be that as it may, successful teams continue to break their attendance records, and the game never looked healthier. Credit goes to players and owners alike for being at least intelligent enough to realize what a strike might have done to that health.

But if you're one those who've felt like their own little strike and staying away from the ballpark, maybe you've taken a drive or two up Route 222 to this town, where you can still see a game without dollar signs clouding your vision.

You won't see a Mike Schmidt home run or one of Larry Bowa's defensive gems, but you could see the Phillies' next cleanup hitter or starting catcher. You could even see the guys who will replace Fred Lynn and Jim Rice with the Boston Red Sox.

That is a considerable element in the charm. however limited, of the minor leagues – which remain vital to the game even though they are decreasing in number. And in the Reading area, more people are beginning to appreciate that charm.

"I think they've accepted us and realized we're running a solid operation. We've also gotten more involved in community organizations," explained Joe Buzas, the energetic owner of the Phillies' Class AA Eastern League franchise and one baseball man who was looking forward to a strike.

Actually, looking forward isn't exactly how Buzas put it. "I would've been intrigued to see how it worked out," he said, knowing that a strike could only bolster attendance figures in Reading. "But it would've hurt us in the long run, because interest would've been lost in baseball."

Instead, interest is on the upswing in Reading, where pro baseball history dates back to 1884. The franchise has been affiliated with the Phillies since 1967, and it has belonged to Buzas since 1977.

When the 61-year-old Buzas returned to Reading that year – he had owned a Red Sox franchise there in 1963-64 – he took over a club that was $55.000 in debt. Loose management had yielded such results as lawsuits over unpaid hotel bills from a road trip to Canada (Trois-Rivieres) during the '76 season, and attendance fell from 71.152 that year to 40.021 in '77.

But this franchise, which Buzas bought the right to operate for $1, was merely his 42nd team in a 23-year hobby that became his life and his livelihood. He knew well what it would take to survive in Reading.

"It's involvement," he said. *Knowing what you're doing, knowing how to improvise as you go along. Knowing how to operate within your means.”

All that knowledge ties into the most important ingredient – hard work and more hard work. Buzas' full-time payroll consists of himself and two others – general manager Mark Helminiak and business manager-public relations director Julian McCracken Jr. In addition to their front office-type duties, each is well versed in such areas as working on the playing field, taking tickets or grilling hot dogs at the Municipal Stadium concession stands.

Buzas roughly estimates his working week at 100 hours, when the team is at home. It's a fact of minor league life that he learned and accepted long ago. Philadelphia provides players and uniforms, plus a share of the meal money, but it doesn't pay Buzas' bills. Or his salary.

So to make a living as a minor-league owner, he works. He isn't doing as much of the physical work these days, due to a sciatic nerve problem in his back, but Buzas is by no means ready for retirement. "I'd like at least 14 more years,” he smiles. "As long as I have my facilities, I'm going to continue.”

And under his ownership, interest in the Reading Phillies has been renewed. Atten- dance rose to 65,813 in 1978. and again to 84,200 last season, when Reading finished second in the six-team EL.

This year the Eastern League includes eight franchises and two four-team divisions. Reading's Southern Division rivals include the Bristol Red Sox (Boston). Waterbury Reds (Cincinnati), and West Haven White Caps (Oakland). The Buffalo Bisons (Pittsburgh), Glens Falls White Sox (Chicago), Holyoke Millers (Milwaukee) and Lynn Sailors (Seattle) comprise the Northern Division.

In being so close to the parent club, Reading must deal with another fact of minor-league life. For economic reasons, most big-league clubs have located their Class AAA or AA farm close to home. The Bristol, Conn.. franchise is another such example.

That proximity to the big time might seem to harm Reading's drawing power, but Helminiak doesn't subscribe to that theory.

"To me, it's an asset,” insists the general manager, who joined Buzas in 1977 after two years working as a groundskeeper in Davenport, Iowa. “Every time the (Philadelphia) Phils win, to me it's a high-tide effect. We'll have 50 extra people in the ballpark."

Helminiak, McCracken and Buzas have done whatever they can to compound that high-tide effect. This season they'll have some 80 promotions in 70 home dates (early rainouts lower the average season to 60), including assorted giveaways and a selection of preliminary games featuring high school and American Legion teams from Berks County as well as Lancaster County.

This season also has seen the addition of a nightly trivia question contest, with free tickets to a future game awaiting the winner, and for the second straight year, 12 more pages in the program - which leads the league at 44 pages. “We have 99 new ads this year." said Buzas proudly.

On the field, the job remains the same while the workers come and go. Most of last year's team moved up to the Class AAA level at Oklahoma City, and manager Jim Snyder was replaced by former major league infielder Ron Clark, who is in his third year and third position in the Phillies’ farm system.

“Our job, on this or any other minor league level, is player development. We're here to get the players to the big leagues as quickly as possible," said Clark, who managed Class A clubs at Spartanburg, S.C., in 1978 and at Peninsula (Carolina League) last year.

Clark, who is pursuing his own aspirations as a big league manager, said the priority of player development doesn't interfere with trying to win ballgames. "You can teach a helluva lot easier in a winning atmosphere," he emphasized.

Creating that winning atmosphere, however, depends much more on the players themselves. Clark explained that managers and coaches do little maneuvering through the first third of the season, giving the players a chance to find themselves, before incorporating changes they feel necessary.

“When you get young kids, they're usually scared to make mistakes." Clark said. "We try to stress that they'll learn by those mistakes – the good ballplayers will.

“This level is the getting-off point. This is where they either get off and go home or move up.”

Those who have moved up from Reading include a fair share of major-league stars, including Mike Schmidt. Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa and Bob Boone among the current Phillies regulars, and pitchers Randy Lerch, Kevin Saucier and Dickie Noles.

Seeing this kind of young, unfinished talent in its developing process is part of why Buzas loves his work. But it's not the biggest part.

"Come to think of it, it's still the thrill of winning a ballgame," he said. "Any time we have a good or average night at the gate and we lose, I feel depressed. Then I'm over it, when I get home and think of tomorrow.”

One thing he doesn't have to worry about, though, is getting bored. There's always something to think about – like how to have more of those good nights at the gate.

Buzas Loves Being The Boss

By Jeff Young, Intelligencer Journal Sports Writer

READING — His own hopes of the dream were cut short by a shoulder separation, but Joe Buzas has made up for it. In 23 years as a minor-league owner and operator, he has helped nearly 350 others make it to the big time.

Among those 350 are the likes of current Boston Red Sox stars Fred Lynn and Jim Rice, who played on Buzas' 1973 Junior World Series-winning Pawtucket club. But he names another of the Bosox as his favorite.

That is shortstop Rick Burleson, "because he worked so hard to get there, I knew he was going to make it." And that reasoning tells much about the makeup of Joe Buzas.

He owned his first franchise in 1957, a Red Sox farm in Allentown, which remains his home. He remains the only person ever to own and operate three franchises at one time, and today he continues to operate the Bristol club as well as the Reading Phillies.

"Right now I wouldn't trade this franchise anything in baseball.” says Buzas, who has turned down front office jobs with the Mets, Red Sox and Braves, mainly because "I've been my own boss for so long,"

A native of Alpha, N.J., Buzas graduated from Phillipsburg High School in 1936 and was a four-sport participant at Bucknell, where he was honored as the greatest all-around athlete in school history.

Signing with the Yankees after graduation from Buzas college, played from 1941 1947. through He cracked the Yankees' opening day lineup in 1945, but the shoulder problem quickly ended his playing career.

Buzas began managing in the Puerto Rican Winter League, where he spent 10 years. "In 1950 I went to Philadelphia to see my first World Series, and I talked to Tommy Richardson, the Eastern League president. I told him I'd like to own a baseball franchise.

"In 1956 he calls me and tells me about the Syracuse franchise, which was available. I was in the contracting business then.”

That was the beginning. And for the last 19 years, Joe Buzas hasn't worked a day at anything outside of baseball.

Key Phils Players, Ticket Information

By Jeff Young, Intelligencer Journal Sports Writer

Following are thumbnail sketches on the Reading Phillies’ key players and Manager Ron Clark, with accompanying information on tickets and directions to Reading Municipal Stadium:

Key Players

Bob Dernier – outfielder, age 23, bats R, throws R – Hit .301 at Helena in 1978 and .291 with 77 SB at Peninsula last year…. Hitting .263 with 25 SB entering Tuesday night's game…. Converted infielder.

Ozzie Virgil – catcher, age 23, bats R, throws R – Great improvement this year (.314, 10 HR, 41 RBI entering Tuesday) after .231 season at Reading last year….Hit .303 with 29 HR, 98 RBI at Peninsula in '78.

Jorge Bell – outfielder, age 20, bats R, throws R – Hitting .295 entering Tuesday. - Batted .305 with 22 HR. 102 RBI at Spartanburg last year, after .311 season for Helena in '78.

Wayne Williams – outfielder, age 23. bats L, throws R – Brought .307 average and 25 RBI into Tuesday's game…. Hit .235 at Peninsula last season.

Tom Lombarski – first baseman, age 20, bats L, throws R – Hit .306 with 5 HR. 70 RBI at Peninsula last season…. Entered Tuesday's action with .246 average.

Mark Davis – left handed pitcher, age 19. Posted 11-9 record. 3.20 ERA at Spartanburg last year…. Holds 5-3 record, 5.74 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 58 innings this season.

John DeVincenzo – right-handed pitcher, age 24 – Went 10-5 with 1.75 ERA at Spartanburg in '79…. Led club with 2.90 ERA entering Tuesday, and holds 3-0 record in relief work.

Don Fowler – right-handed pitcher, age 23 – Club-leading 5-2 record and 4.21 ERA in 57.2 innings…. Was 3- 5 with 5 saves, 1.50 ERA in 48 innings at Reading last year.

Manager

Ron Clark – Former major league infielder, broke in with Twins in 1966, also played for Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A's and Phillies... Began managing in 1978 at Spartanburg (W. Carolinas League), and guided his club to first-place finish in first half. His Peninsula club finished third in Carolina League last season.

Directions

From Lancaster, take Route 222 North into Shillington, pick up 222 bypass in Shillington to Route 61. Exit on Route 61 South (Centre Ave.), which leads directly to Reading Municipal Stadium.

Tickets

Box seats are $2.50 for adults. $1.50 for children. Reserved (general admission) seats are $2.00 and $1.00. To obtain by mail, send check or money order payable to Reading Phillies, Box 5010, Reading, Pa. 19612. Enat close stamped, self-adressed envelope. Tickets can be bought in person at Municipal Stadium. For group inJohn formation or game times, call (215) 375-XXXX.

Christenson Has Surgery

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Pitcher Larry Christenson of the Philadelphia Phillies underwent surgery Wednesday for removal of bone spurs and chips from his pitching elbow.

Team physician Dr. Phillip Marone pronounced the surgery successful and said Christenson would remain in the hospital for another day or two.

The operation was one of a series undergone by the righthander in the last two years.  Last season he broke a collarbone in a fall from a bicycle and later had a spur removed from his shoulder.

As a result, he missed most of the 1979 season, posting a 5-10 record with a 4.50 ERA.

Christenson has been placed on the 60-day disabled list and if he pitches at all this year, it will be in the last six weeks of the season.

He had won three games without a loss to start the season, before the elbow problem developed.  He is the second Phillies’ starter sidelined this season.  Nino Espinosa has been out since the opening day of the spring training with an ailing shoulder.

Lerch Helps Phils Into 1^st

First Win for Randy

By John W. Smith, Asst. Sports Editor

PHILADELPHIA – Calling on Randy Lerch to pitch this spring has been about as safe as camping in Washington State or waving a “Viva Castro” banner in Key West.

But Wednesday night Randy Lerch won his first game since Iran was our friend by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 and lifting the Phillies back into first in N.L. East by four points.

Lerch had started eight games for the Phillies.  They had lost all eight, six of them tagged to Lerch’s record.  They even lost the one game in which he appeared as a pinch-hitter, meaning they were 21-7 without him and 0-9 with him.  It’s been the kind of spring John Connally could appreciate.

The lean left-hander not only beat the World Champions, but he went into the ninth with only one run against him, Lee Lacy’s second-inning homer.

Then he gave up a double to Bill Madlock and another homer to Lacy, and Ron Reed had to come on for the final three outs.  But this was merely a minor flaw in the production.

So what made the difference in what Manager Dallas Green agreed was “not your typical Randy Lerch game?”

Let us count the reasons:

Frustration Building

Green was ready to credit the fact that he had Randy miss his last turn.  “His frustration was building with each game,” reasoned Dallas.  “He’d lost his concentration, and with it the ability to throw the ball.  We wanted him to think about it.

Randy wasn’t so sure about that.  “I didn’t learn anything in the bullpen.  It was even tougher getting skipped because Larry had gotten hurt.  But it worked, so I guess maybe Dallas was right.”

Green also talked about not being happy with Randy’s approach to pitching.  “I thought he had a lack of enthusiasm for pitching – a lack of what I call demeanor on the mound.  It’s being aggressive vs. being reticent.  The other team can pounce on that.  Tonight he had a professional demeanor and approach.:

Randy was even less sure about that.  “I don’t like it when he talks about emotion.  I’ve got to be myself out there.  Aggressive?  Yeah, I’ll go along with that word.”

Then there was the two-pronged benefit in the first inning.  Lerch set down the Pirates 1-2-3, on two strikeouts and a routine grounder.  The Phillies also went 1-2-3 against Don Robinson:  Pete Rose double, Bake McBride RBI single, Mike Schmidt two-run homer.

There have been very few firsts like that for Lerch in his career.  “The top of the first certainly helped,” said Green.  “And the 3-0 lead allowed him to relax that much more.”

“Things just kept building for me,” agreed Lerch.

There was also his defense.  “Tonight when I made a mistake, they hit it at somebody,” said Randy.  “Manny (Trillo) saved me twice (in the third an fourth.”  Garry Maddox also made a fine catch with a man on in the seventh.

Green also thought Lerch used the inside half of the plate more effectively than usual, but Randy was in disagreement there, too.

Lerch did cite attitude at two key stages.  One was at the very start.  “I’ve been overthrowing some times, trying to make the perfect pitch,” he said.  “What I did tonight was try to be loose, and to think that I’m not gonna get hit, instead of worrying that I will.”  (See aggressive, above.)

The other was in the eighth, when pinch-hitter Manny Sanguillen singled and Omar Moreno doubled on the first two pitches, and Tim Foli went 2-0.  A walk would bring up Dave Parker as the tying run with nobody out.

“I stepped back and settled down,” said Randy.  “I was trying to strike Foli out with the first two pitches, and he hardly ever strikes out.”  On the third pitch, Foli grounded out.  Randy also got Parker on a grounder to him and Bill Robinson on a strikeout, forcing the runners to die on base.

“I had the feel that that was a key situation for him,” said Green.  “It was a good time to give him a shot to see what he could do.  Besides, we didn’t have our bullpen ready yet,” he added.

Moreland Catches

Another factor?  Green decided to rest Bob Boone and let Keith Moreland handle Randy.  “The last game I won was against Pittsburgh (2-1 last September 20),” Lerch recalled, “and Keith caught that one.”

Do we have another designated-catcher brewing?  “No, I’m not gonna get into that,” said Dallas.  “If I feel like catching Keith the next time, I will.  If I don’t, I won’t.”

“With Bob Boone around, I’m not gonna catch every fourth day,” said Moreland.  “He’s the best there is.”

“This was a big game for me,” Lerch summed up.  “I felt forgotten a little bit.  Hopefully my status has changed.  It’s so big, I haven’t felt the effect yet.”

So what if Randy disagrees with Dallas?  He disagreed with him in the eighth when Dallas ordered a suicide squeeze with Larry Bowa on third, Trillo on first and one out.  He disagreed long enough he practically told the Pirates it was coming, even if he didn’t give the answering sign.  But he got the bunt down and got the sixth run in.

PHIL-PHILLERS – Rose and McBride hit consecutive RBI doubles in the fourth (after Trillo had singled) to make it 5-1…  Phil Garner’s error on Trillo set up the final run… Rose’s two-runs lifted him to 12^th on the all-time list at 1,774 and his two doubles to sixth at 625.  He also had a single, a steal, and two fine stops of ninth-inning grounders…  The Phils totaled nine hits in the first four innings off Robinson, only one thereafter…  Moreland had two wasted singles…  Schmidt, who hit the facing above the mezzanine in left for No. 19, has 24 RBIs and 10 homers for May; last May he hit 11…  Lerch gave 10 hits, but walked nobody.  He did pitch two good games in losses to the Mets and Cards this spring; his ERA is now 4.89…  Some things about Green Lerch likes:  “If Ozark were managing, I’d have half as many innings in now,” he said.

Rose Suit Settled

CINCINNATI (AP) – The paternity suit filed against former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose by Terryl Rubio was settled out of court in Tampa, Fla., two weeks ago, Ms. Rubio’s attorney said Wednesday.

The 26-year-old divorcee charged in the suit that Rose fathered her daughter, Morgan Erin Rubio, who is now 2 years old, while he was a member of the Reds and residing in the Tampa area.  Rose now plays for Philadelphia.

She filed the suit in February 1979 in Cincinnati after she claimed Rose stopped child support payments.  The suit later was transferred to a Tampa court.  She had insisted her daughter was born in Cincinnati in March 1978.

Rubio asked for child support and hospital expenses in the original paternity suit.

Her attorney, Gerald Herms, said the case was settled out of court.  He refused to discuss details of the settlement.