Allentown Morning Call - January 1980

Luzinski thinks brother has best ability in family

CHICAGO (AP) – If Greg Luzinski is any judge of talent, the Chicago White Sox may have plucked a plum from the winter draft pie when they chose his brother Bill.

"As he always said to me, he thinks I have the best ability in the family," the baby of the Luzinski baseball breed said yesterday.

The sophomore at Miami Dade North Community College in Florida was picked on the first round of the amateur free-agent draft Tuesday by the White Sox, who had the seventh selection.

Luzinski, of the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, said he was pleased to be tapped by the White Sox but wants to wait for their Offer before deciding whether to sign or go back into the June draft pool.

"I've talked to my brother Greg about signing and he said just wait," Luzinski said in a telephone interview. "He was pretty happy. I think he was a little surprised I went as high as I did. I kept telling him in the fall I'd get drafted and he laughed."

Luzinski, 20, started college last January after most of the team had been selected and batted just .210 while learning to play third base.

This fall he went back to the outfield, his high school position, and surged to .305.

"Coming from up north, it's been a change. You see good sliders and good curves all the time here. I've really had to adjust to that. It's like playing Class A ball," he said.

"I understand he has good power," said White Sox' vice president Roland Hemond. 

“We try to draft because we think someone has major league ability in the future," he added. "We select on the player himself and not because of association of family. What often happens, though, brothers and fathers who are in baseball spend very little time with their families and may not be able to teach them that much." 

Besides Bill and Greg, brother Rich, now 25, caught the baseball bug and played one season in the Philadelphia organization before a car accident waylaid his career, said Bill. 

"Maybe we just had a certain blood. We had the ability to play baseball," said Bill. "We always played ball with my uncle when we were young. We'd play at my grandma's house and get the ball in the flowers and she'd get mad." 

Bill, like brother Greg, bats and throws righthanded and plays left field. But he said he doesn't feel any added pressure to excel because of his 29- year-old brother's success with the Phillies. 

"When you're trying to be an all-star like your brother it's not too easy to do. But you've got to give it a heck of a try," said Bill, a 185-pound, 6-footer. "There's no question I always going to have the comparison between the two." 

But he feels he might have some advantage over Greg. "He might be a little stronger than me, but I can run well for my size. I can get a good jump on a ball and cut off balls that maybe he couldn't get," said Bill. 

"I'm progressing each year.  I'm getting stronger and hitting the ball well. I think I have as much ability as him, if not more."

Abe’s Got The Answers (excerpt)

ABE, Pete Rose gave his $20,000 award from the Aqua Velva company to the Phillies' coaches, trainers and clubhouse men because he joked about a tax break. How does Rose "make a great tax break" by giving the money to the people who helped him out. He thought he gave it to the coaches because of all the time they spent with him. 

K.G., Bethlehem   

Pete had to be making a funny about the tax break to downplay the gift. The money was given because of the help Peter received from the Phils staff IRS would be keeping an eye on Pete if he wasn't joking. When money is given to an individual, it's not like a charity, tax has to be paid on it. A cash gift such as Pete's has a $25 limit when it comes to paying taxes. Pete will have to pay the tax on the gift and the people who received it might also have to pay a piece to Uncle Sam.

Phillies Caravan to appear in Allentown next Tuesday

Area baseball fans will get a preview of the 1980 season when the Phillies Caravan comes to Allentown next Tuesday. The Kiwanis Club of Allentown will host the players, Phillies officials, press, and its own members at a lunch at 12 noon at the Jewish Community Center, 22nd and Tilghman Streets. 

Carl R. Kresge, Kiwanis president, announced that players Pete Rose, Larry Bowa, Greg Gross and Randy Lerch will be accompanied by their new manager, Dallas Green. Club vice-president. Bill Giles, and Paul Owens, director of player personnel, will also attend the lunch. The Phillie Phanatic will perform and Harry Kalas, who broadcasts the team's games, will be the master of ceremonies. Matt Gillespie will be the Kiwanis chairman of the day. 

Kresge said plans are being made to accommodate 400 persons for the lunch. Reservations at $7.25 each will be accepted from the general public on a first-come basis and can be made by calling the Kiwanis office, 437-5534.

Baseball talks continue

NEW YORK (AP) – Talks continued yesterday in stalled negotiations between the Major League Players Association and baseball but there were no indications of any progress. 

"We've been talking for 10 weeks with little or no progress," said Marvin Miller, executive director of the Players Association. 

Miller said discussions with Ray Grebey, who now heads baseball's Player Relations Committee, the owners' negotiating team, have followed the pattern of past negotiations. 

"The talks are in the same stage now that they were at this time four years ago, seven years ago and 10 years ago," said Miller. "It really doesn't seem to matter if they change representatives. Their tactics always remain the same. They stall along until there is a crisis from the point of view of time." 

That crisis could approach soon. Teams are preparing for the opening of. spring training. The New York Yankees have the earliest start with some players due to report Feb. 14 to the team's complex at Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 

Player representatives met last week and some have sat in on the negotiating sessions. Among those present at talks this week were Bob Boone of the Philadelphia Phillies, National League player rep, and Mike Marshall of the Minnesota Twins, who represents AL players.