ROOKIES IN CLASSIC BATTLE SOME CLASSIC CASES OF NERVES.Byline: Timothy Dwyer Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. Jay Buhner ``My legs are going to feel like rubber, and my stomach's going to be gurgling Gurgling is a characteristic sound made by unstable two-phase fluid flow, for example, as liquid is poured from a bottle, or during gargling. , and my cheeks are going to be drawn so tight that I won't be able to breathe,'' Buhner said. ``If they roll three balls a pawnbroker's sign or shop. See also: Ball up to me, I know I'm just going to swing at 'em.'' Buhner entered the game in the fifth inning. The Phillies' Ricky Bottalico It worked Tuesday night for Bottalico. And that was bad for Buhner. Buhner walked slowly to the plate. Very slowly. He stepped into the box. Bottalico wound and threw. But Buhner, who was so worried that he would swing at anything, did the opposite. The fastball from Bottalico came in at 95 mph and Buhner froze. Strike one. He took another ball before flying out to center. Buhner will remember his first trip to the plate forever. You walk around clubhouses filled with the best players in the game, and what all the hitters remember vividly is their first time up in an All-Star Game. And the nerves. ``It's rare when a guy plays in his first All-Star Game and he can put aside his feelings,'' said Tony Gwynn
n. Baseball The player who defends right field. Noun 1. right fielder - the person who plays right field outfielder - (baseball) a person who plays in the outfield , who has appeared in 12 midsummer classics. He remembers his first at-bat, of course. ``San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , 1984,'' he said, smiling. ``Dave Steib was the pitcher and he threw me a breaking ball and I still haven't seen a ball break that much in all the games I've played since.'' He struck out. But he is quick to point out that he went 1 for 3 and stole a base. Before that first time up, he had a bad case of the shakes. ``You play 85, 90 games before the All-Star break and then you go in and guys say it is just another game,'' said Gwynn, who couldn't play Tuesday night because of a right-heel injury. ``But when they go up there to hit for the first time, they'll be shaking.'' Gwynn said one of the things he enjoyed most about the All-Star Game was watching the other players and how they react. He said that the guy with one of the worst cases of pregame jitters jitters 'Butterflies' Psychology An episode of nervousness or anxiety that often precedes a public event; jitters is a type of performance anxiety which may affect actors in a stage production–stage fright or soloist musicians; it may respond to anxiolytics was none other than John Kruk Kruk was raised in Keyser, West Virginia in Mineral County, the state's Potomac Highlands. . One of the wonderful things about baseball is how many of the players act as unofficial historians of their sport. They tell the old stories about the old games, and each time they tell them they get a little more juicy. Gwynn, after all, surely exaggerates when he talks about the curveball that got him that first time up. But that's OK, because myths are made on nights like these. Not everyone gets nervous like Buhner. Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967 in East Chicago, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball outfielder. He bats and throws left-handed. He currently plays left field for the Cleveland Indians, with whom he has spent 10 seasons during three separate stints. said he remembered his first plate appearance well. He led off the game two years ago in Pittsburgh and struck out. But not because of nerves. ``I get nervous about an hour before the game and get it out of the way,'' he said. Chipper Jones, the Braves' third baseman, made his first All-Star appearance Tuesday night. Before the game, he took a bat to Gwynn and asked for an autograph. ``I'm still a fan,'' Jones said. ``I can't help it.'' And when he was asked if he would be nervous when he made that walk from the on-deck circle to the plate, Jones shook his head. ``I don't think so,'' he said. ``I think playing in the World Series helped me last year. I can't imagine that I'll be more nervous than I was the first time I came up in the World Series.'' Jones came up in the second inning. He dug in his left foot, then stepped out of the box and took a couple of practice swings and moved back in. He took the first pitch for a ball. He dug in again and cocked the bat. Charles Nagy wound and fired, and Jones, who has the sweetest swing, knocked the ball into center for a base hit. He wasn't nervous at all. And that didn't surprise Gwynn. ``I like to watch guys,'' he said, ``and there are some who come in here and nothing bothers them. I remember Gary Sheffield came to his first All-Star Game and he was walking around like it was just another regular-season game. And then he went out and nothing fazes him. ``Some guys just thrive on the pressure. Like Ozzie Smith and him,'' he said, pointing to Barry Bonds. |
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