Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2017)
SPORTS WEEKEND, JULY 29-30, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS MLB Cooperstown ready for Raines, Bagwell, Pudge By JOHN KEKIS Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Tim Raines played in the major leagues for more than two decades, and yet one at-bat still sticks in his mind. Nervous about making the Montreal Expos’ roster after two brief call-ups that didn’t work out so well (one hit in 20 at-bats), his performance on Opening Day 1981 in Pittsburgh erased any doubt. Raines led off the game with a walk, stole second on the fi rst pitch to the next batter and scored after the errant 2017 Hall of Fame Inductions • Sunday, 10:30 a.m. • Cooperstown, NY • TV: MLB Network • Online: BaseballHall.org throw to second eluded the outfi elders. A star was born. “I think that was the beginning of the type of player Tim Raines could be,” Raines recalled. “It kind of got me going. I think if I would have struck out and not do anything offensively that game, I’m not sure what would have happened to my career. I hadn’t really proven to anyone what type of player that I was. It kind of just took off from there.” His baseball journey ends Sunday in Cooperstown, when the 57-year-old Raines will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Joining him are Jeff Bagwell and Ivan Rodriguez, along with former Commissioner Bud Selig and retired Kansas City and Atlanta executive John Schuerholz, both elected by a veterans committee. Raines received 86 percent of the vote by the Baseball Writers’ Associ- ation of America to easily top the 75 percent threshold needed. That tally came on his fi nal year on the ballot, an oversight that’s diffi cult to fathom in retrospect. The switch-hitting Raines batted .294 and had a .385 on-base percentage in his 23-year career, fi nishing with 2,605 hits, 1,571 runs and 808 stolen bases. The stolen bases is the fi fth-highest total See HALL OF FAME/2B AP Photo/Mary Altaffer In this 2017, fi le photo, Hall of Fame inductees Jeff Bag- well, left, Tim Raines, center, and Ivan Rodriguez, poses for a photo during a news conference, in New York. MLB Seattle native Conforto helps Mets beat Ms’ New York outfi elder hits pair of home runs in homecoming By TIM BOOTH Associated Press SEATTLE — Michael Conforto returned to his hometown and hit a pair of solo home runs, Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson had two-out RBI singles in the eighth inning and the New York Mets rallied for a 7-5 win over the Seattle New York Mariners on Friday night after wasting a four-run lead. Playing his fi rst professional game at Safeco Field, Conforto Seattle excited the 30 or so friends and family he left tickets for with the fourth multi-homer game of his big league career. Conforto, who grew up in nearby Redmond, homered leading off the third inning against Ariel Miranda. He connected again in the eighth against lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski, lining the 7 5 Staff photo by Kathy Aney Matthew Miltenberger, of the Pendleton Swim Association, competes in the boys 13-14 100-meter breast stroke Friday during the Inland Empire Long Course Championship at the Pendleton Aquatic Center. The swim meet continues through Sunday at the Pendleton Aquatic Center. Read More on Page 3A Swimmers descend on Aquatic Center College Football Taggart boldly taking on challenge of rebooting Oregon Oregon head coach Willie Taggart speaks at the Pac-12 NCAA college football media day, Thurs- day, July 27, 2017, in the Holly- wood section of Los Angeles. AP Photo/ Mark J. Terrill First-year coach lays out plan at Pac-12 media day By GREG BEACHAM Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Willie Taggart realizes he only has the keys to Oregon’s football machine because it broke down last season. So while the coach is respectful of the Ducks’ history and eager for the opportunity to take charge of a marquee program, Taggart clearly isn’t afraid to make any major changes he deems necessary to compete in the Pac-12. “Anytime you come into a new program, changing the culture is probably the biggest thing and the hardest thing to do,” Taggart said Thursday during Pac-12 media days in Hollywood. “They have been doing it a certain way for a while, so it’s hard changing behaviors. But that’s the most important thing that we’re doing, is trying to change the culture, change the behavior to the way that we want it to be, not necessarily how it was before.” One particular change will catch everyone’s eye this fall, although Taggart doesn’t consider it to be a big deal: The Ducks — long considered the most fashion-forward football team in the land with their splendid Nike gear — won’t wear a new uniform combina- tion every week, the coach said. Another difference seems pretty hard to fathom: The Ducks redefi ned up-tempo offensive football over the past decade, but quarterback Justin Herbert says you haven’t seen anything yet. See OREGON/2B See MARINERS/2B Rays, Mariners swap relievers Associated Press SEATTLE — The Tampa Bay Rays continued to bolster their bullpen for the pennant race on Friday, acquiring reliever Steve Cishek from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for versatile right-hander Erasmo Ramirez. It was a surprising deal Cishek between teams that are competing for the same thing, a wild card spot in the American League. Tampa Bay began the day with the second wild card spot in the AL, with Seattle 3 ½ games behind. Cishek had appeared in 23 games this season for Ramirez Seattle after recovering from major offseason hip surgery. Cishek was 1-1 with a 3.15 See TRADE/2B Sports shorts Preds lock up Johansen for 8 years NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Nashville Predators have signed top center Ryan Johansen to an eight-year, $64 million contract, the largest deal the franchise has ever handed out. General manager David Poile announced the deal Friday. Poile noted he’s been looking for a No. 1 center for years and believes Johansen is poised to become an elite player in the NHL. Now the Predators have him under contract at an average of $8 million a year through the 2024-25 season, Johansen and linemates Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson are signed for the next fi ve years. The 24-year-old Johansen tied for the lead in scoring with 61 points over 82 games this season. He had 13 points in 14 playoff games this spring before acute compartment syndrome ended his postseason in the Western Conference fi nal. “It’s scary. I can’t imagine going through that. You wouldn’t wish that on anyone. When I hit it, I knew I hit it good. My heart went in my throat. You know it could happen to me, too, if a pitch would ever get away. When I saw the replay, I felt so bad.“ — Luke Voit The St. Louis Cardinals’ fi rst base- man hit a line drive up the middle that richocheted off of Arizona pitcher Robbie Ray’s head in Friday’s game. Ray never lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital for further testing but was released and will be put into concussion protocol. Seahawks, Chiefs exchange backup linebackers RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Kansas City and Seattle have swapped linebackers, with D.J. Alexander joining the Seahawks and Kevin Pierre-Louis being sent to the Chiefs. The clubs made the trade Friday on the cusp of training camp for both teams. Alexander was a Pro Bowl selection last season as a special teams player for the Chiefs and played sparingly on defense. He had 16 total tackles in the regular season on defense and made one start. Pierre-Louis never matched his potential with the Seahawks. An exceptional athlete, Pierre-Louis struggled with injuries and with inconsistent performance when he got on the fi eld. Pierre-Louis appeared in 34 regular-season games with one start. He had 43 total tackles playing outside linebacker for the Seahawks. THIS DATE IN SPORTS 1751 — The fi rst Inter- national World Title Prize Fight takes place in Norfolk, England. The champion, Jack Slack of England, beats M. Petit of France in 25 minutes. 1996 — Record-setting sprinter Michael Johnson sweeps to victory in an Olympic 400-meter record 43.49 seconds while Carl Lewis leaps into history in Atlanta. 2003 — Boston’s Bill Mueller becomes the fi rst player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a game and connects for three homers in a 14-7 win at Texas. Contact us at 541-966-0838 or sports@eastoregonian.com
