Wilmington Evening Journal - October 30, 1980

Phillies add four from minors to roster

PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies have added Julio Franco and Wil Culmer to their 40-man roster.

Franco was the most valuable player in the Carolina League and Culmer was the league's batting champion.

Also added to the Phils' roster yesterday were first baseman Len Matuszek of the Phillies' Oklahoma City Triple-A farm club and Reading shortstop Ryne Sandberg.

The Phillies released outfielder Mike Anderson and veteran Tim McCarver, who moved from the broadcast booth to the dugout in September to become the first catcher to play four decades in the major leagues.

The team also assigned infielder John Vukovich and pitcher Dan Larson to Oklahoma City in the American Association.

Franco, a 22-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, hit .325 for the championship Peninsula farm team, which finished with a 103-40 record. He drove in 99 runs to lead the Carolina League and was runner-up in runs and hits to teammate Culmer.

The 21-year-old Culmer, from the Bahamas, finished the year with a .369 batting average, hitting .413 in the second half. Culmer also led the league in runs, hits and total bases, was second in doubles and third in home runs.

Matuszek, .305 with 28 extra base hits, Including seven home runs, and 35 Ri3I in 67 games with the 89ers.

Sandberg, 21, hit .312 with 71 RBI and 31 stolen bases with Reading.

Letters

Boswell story hit

I would like to take exception to what Thomas Boswell. wrote, that nobody likes the Phillies but the Philadelphia area fans. This World Series had the largest television audience in history. The New Yorkers loved it even though the Yankees were swept out of it by the Royals. Los Angeles loved it even though the Astros beat them by a wide margin in the tie-breaker game. So where does Boswell get this stuff?

Behind his desk at the Washington Post he makes up this dribble. Perhaps the Phillies of 1980 are not the Philadelphia Athletics of 1929, or the Yankees of 1927, or the Big Red Machine of four years ago; but they are the best in 1980. He digs up the five errors in the clincher in Montreal. He doesn't mention that the game was held up for 4½ hours because of a monsoon and was played in frigid conditions. Regard less of what Boswell says, the Montreal series and the playoffs were as exciting baseball as has ever been seen, and a vast audience saw it on the tube, because it was the best show on the tube. Philadelphia has a proud sports history. Maybe this was the first World Series win for the Phillies but don't forget the World Series had been won by the Philadelphia Athletics five times and the league pennant nine times.

In contrast how many times did the Washington Senators win a pennant? How many people turned out to see them play in both Griffith Park and Robert Kennedy Stadium?

The Delaware Valley deserved this World Series win and most of the nation took the 1980 Phillies to their hearts regardless of what some of the media, both written and broadcast, had to say.

Samuel Kagel

Wilmington