2002 DAILY NEWS BERNIE MILLIGAN NOTEBOOK: THERE'S NO SHORTAGE OF TALENT.Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer There are nine positions on a baseball field, but there are 10 shortstops on the Bernie Milligan Game's West roster. West coaches Joe Gordon For other persons named Joe Gordon, see Joe Gordon (disambiguation). Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18 1915 - April 14 1978), nicknamed "Flash", was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and Cleveland of Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. and Matt LaCour of El Camino Real El Camino Real (Spanish for The Royal Road or The King's Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain:
Yet, it's intriguing and none too surprising to see so many shortstops in the 26th annual all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games , which is Saturday at Birmingham High of Lake Balboa. Shortstops are traditionally the most athletic, and often as a result, the best players. When selecting the team, LaCour and Gordon didn't take position into account. They wanted the best players, so Ryan Braun
Ryan Joseph Braun, nicknamed The Hebrew Hammer of Granada Hills, Ryan Barba of Chatsworth, Brad Boyer of Camarillo, Casey Gordon of Simi Valley, ECR's Christian Hariot, Cleveland of Reseda's Robert Marcial and Blake Sharpe of Moorpark might play out of position. Part-time shortstops John Arisohn of Simi Valley (third base), Raul Campos of Birmingham (pitcher) and Calabasas' Justin Segal (pitcher) likely will play their positions. Gordon said most of the 30-player West roster will play three innings, likely meaning only three will play shortstop. That's OK with Sharpe. He said he'd be willing to play either second base or third base. Sharpe played second as a sophomore, then switched to shortstop. But he never has played third base. ``I'll play wherever,'' Sharpe said. ``I haven't really played third, but I can learn how.'' For what it's worth, Gordon didn't play his position in the 1990 game. He was a second baseman who played third base. --Return engagements: Gordon and Canyon coach Adam Schulhofer have Bernie Milligan experience - as players. Schulhofer played in the 1988 game for Canoga Park, the last year a Canoga Park player appeared in the game. Gordon played in the 1990 game and in the special alumni game last year. Both have fond memories of their game. Schulhofer enjoyed listening to former Dodger Roy Campanella speak at the banquet. Campanella talked about the importance of going to college and continuing one's education, which Schulhofer did at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Gordon remembers being very sick but refusing to let his illness - which later was determined to be mononucleosis mononucleosis /mono·nu·cle·o·sis/ (-noo?kle-o´sis) excess of mononuclear leukocytes (monocytes) in the blood. chronic mononucleosis chronic fatigue syndrome. - prevent his enjoyment. --Switched again: In the interest of competitive balance, Kennedy of Granada Hills will be part of the East team for the second consecutive season. The boundary is the 405 Freeway, and Kennedy is west of the freeway. But since it's the closest school west of the freeway, its players are switched to the East. This year, Adam Geery is affected. AT A GLANCE What: 26th Bernie Milligan All-Star Baseball Game. When: 3 p.m., Saturday at Birmingham High School Birmingham High School is a public coeducational high school in the neighborhood/district of Lake Balboa in the San Fernando Valley section of the city of Los Angeles, California. The school is a part of District One of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). , Lake Balboa. Who: Standout baseball players from the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and environs. Did you know: More than 31 major-league players have participated in the annual game, sponsored by the Daily News. CAPTION(S): box Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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