Pinch Runner

Cal Ripken stood next to second base before the start of the fifth inning of yesterday's game. The fans cheered as Prince's "1999" blared from the speakers. The JumboTron showed highlights from Ripken's career.He didn't think about the significance of the streak. He didn't think about playing in his 1,999th consecutive game. He just tipped his cap to the fans and went back to his position."I really don't know what it means or what it stands for," Ripken said after the game. "I'm just someone who has always grinded it out."

Year G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO Avg OBP Slg 1981 23 39 1 5 0 0 0 0 1 8 .128 .150 .128 1982 160 598 90 158 32 5 28 93 46 95 .264 .317 .475 1983 162 663 121 211 47 2 27 102 58 97 .318 .371 .517 1984 162 641 103 195 37 7 27 86 71 89 .304 .374 .510 1985 161 642 116 181 32 5 26 110 67 68 .282 .347 .469 1986 162 627 98 177 35 1 25 81 70 60 .282 .355 .461 1987 162 624 97 157 28 3 27 98 81 77 .252 .333 .436 1988 161 575 87 152 25 1 23 81 102 69 .264...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Pinch runner Dario Tena scored when Hagerstown catcher Angel Martinez dropped the ball, giving the Augusta Pirates a 1-0 victory over the Hagerstown Suns in a 12-inning Single-A South Atlantic League game.With one out in the 12th, Danny Clyburn tripled to the left-field corner and Tena was inserted as a pinch runner. Trey Beamon hit a grounder to first, scoring Tena when Martinez mishandled the throw home.Winner Marc Pisciotta (5-2) pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out one.Reliever Ken Robinson (2-4)

Quarterback Drew Bled soe announced his retire ment after 14 seasons in the NFL. Bledsoe's agent made the an nouncement ... and then sacked him for old times sake. I still won't trash the Jaret Wright trade, considering the Ori oles didn't surrender a whole lot to get him. Chris Britton would have been this year's Sendy Rleal or Todd Williams. But there were plenty of whispers that Wright's shoulder was about to blow - sort of like an alarm clock after it's been hit with a hammer. Imagine springs flying all over the place.

Davey Johnson was right. At least that's the opinion of almost 60 percent of the callers who responded to a Sundial question asking whether the Orioles manager should have removed Cal Ripken for a pinch runner in Wednesday night's game against the New York Yankees. Of the 1,693 responses, 997 were in favor of Johnson's decision and 696 were against it.Pub Date: 5/04/96

On the field: The wounded continue to mount in the Orioles' outfield. Pete Incaviglia was used as a pinch runner for DH Jerome Walton in the seventh inning when Walton came up limping. In the at-bat before Walton, left fielder B. J. Surhoff pulled a groin muscle running to first.In the dugout: Davey Johnson started Eric Davis for the first time since April 15 and he and Rafael Palmeiro gave the Orioles their first back-to-back homers this season.In the clubhouse: "He's going to get things rolling.

Faced with its biggest test of the season, the North Carroll softball team solved its hitting problems yesterday. Shedding a week-long offensive slump, the No. 12 Panthers unleashed a nine-hit barrage and beat visiting Urbana, 4-0, in Hampstead. Senior pitcher Lisa Tunney gave up just two hits and struck out three Hawks while improving to 6-2 on the mound. Offensively, the North Carroll bats tagged three runs on Urbana junior right-hander Stephanie Lovett, who had allowed just two hits in a 1-0 loss to the Panthers on April 7. "I think we came out today knowing that we had to prove something to ourselves," said junior second baseman Trisha Brown, who went 2-for-4 and had a hand in two of North Carroll's runs.

CHALK ONE up for an old saw that's oft ignored in pro sports, but still very true: "There's no I in team." The Anaheim Angels baseball club is in the final week of a heated pennant race. Before last night's games, they were just one game behind the Oakland A's with six games left. It's crunch time. So what do the Angels do? They suspend one of their key players, left fielder Jose Guillen, for the rest of the season - possible playoff games included. The much-traveled Guillen was hitting .294 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI. But he also has erupted in a string of emotional outbursts - the last, very public one being after Angels manager Mike Scioscia took him out of their Saturday game for a pinch runner.

Quarterback Drew Bled soe announced his retire ment after 14 seasons in the NFL. Bledsoe's agent made the an nouncement ... and then sacked him for old times sake. I still won't trash the Jaret Wright trade, considering the Ori oles didn't surrender a whole lot to get him. Chris Britton would have been this year's Sendy Rleal or Todd Williams. But there were plenty of whispers that Wright's shoulder was about to blow - sort of like an alarm clock after it's been hit with a hammer. Imagine springs flying all over the place.

Cal Ripken's post-game autograph sessions have ended "indefinitely," according to club officials.Ripken signed autographs for one hour and 45 minutes Friday night and many times during the season. The demand Friday was so great that the line snaked out of the stands and onto the concourse.Too many fans went home disappointed, and too many police officers are required to maintain security, according to Orioles public relations director John Maroon.K? "There are just too many logistical problems," Maroon said.

Loewen keeps it going In his last extended start of the spring, Orioles left-hander Adam Loewen pitched six solid innings yesterday, allowing one earned run on three hits and a walk in the Orioles' 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. His only blemish came in the fourth inning when Michael Cuddyer hit a one-out double and then scored on Justin Morneau's single up the middle. "I felt like in the third I kind of hit a wall," said Loewen, who is 3-1 with a 1.42 ERA this spring.

CHALK ONE up for an old saw that's oft ignored in pro sports, but still very true: "There's no I in team." The Anaheim Angels baseball club is in the final week of a heated pennant race. Before last night's games, they were just one game behind the Oakland A's with six games left. It's crunch time. So what do the Angels do? They suspend one of their key players, left fielder Jose Guillen, for the rest of the season - possible playoff games included. The much-traveled Guillen was hitting .294 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI. But he also has erupted in a string of emotional outbursts - the last, very public one being after Angels manager Mike Scioscia took him out of their Saturday game for a pinch runner.

The River Hill softball team put David Vitagliano's mind at ease. The No. 12 Hawks opened defense of the county championship they shared with Atholton last spring by easily defeating No. 15 and visiting Howard, 7-1, in Clarksville yesterday. Before the season began, Vitagliano, who has coached River Hill for the past seven years, was worried about his squad's ability to manufacture runs. But the Hawks posted five runs and all five of their hits - all singles - in the first two innings against the Lions in the season opener for both.

The River Hill softball team put David Vitagliano's mind at ease. The No. 12 Hawks opened defense of the county championship they shared with Atholton last spring by easily defeating No. 15 and visiting Howard, 7-1, in Clarksville yesterday. Before the season began, Vitagliano, who has coached River Hill for the past seven years, was worried about his squad's ability to manufacture runs. But the Hawks posted five runs and all five of their hits - all singles - in the first two innings against the Lions in the season opener for both.

No longer willing to play short-handed, the Orioles put Ryan Minor on the disabled list yesterday and brought up infielder Ivanon Coffie from Double-A Bowie. Minor hasn't been available since being scratched from the lineup before a July 1 game at Camden Yards, when he pulled a rib cage muscle while hitting in the indoor cage. Major League Baseball rules allow the Orioles to backdate the move 10 days, but it will be at least another week before he's ready to play. Syd Thrift, the Orioles' vice president of baseball operations, said Minor would go on a rehab assignment before rejoining the club.

Faced with its biggest test of the season, the North Carroll softball team solved its hitting problems yesterday. Shedding a week-long offensive slump, the No. 12 Panthers unleashed a nine-hit barrage and beat visiting Urbana, 4-0, in Hampstead. Senior pitcher Lisa Tunney gave up just two hits and struck out three Hawks while improving to 6-2 on the mound. Offensively, the North Carroll bats tagged three runs on Urbana junior right-hander Stephanie Lovett, who had allowed just two hits in a 1-0 loss to the Panthers on April 7. "I think we came out today knowing that we had to prove something to ourselves," said junior second baseman Trisha Brown, who went 2-for-4 and had a hand in two of North Carroll's runs.

ARLINGTON, Texas -- If you must take a one-way trip to Rochester, you might as well do it with an attitude as exemplary as Damon Buford's.Optioned to the Triple-A Red Wings before last night's game, Buford didn't trash the organization, the clubhouse, his locker, the manager or the general manager.He didn't trash anyone or anything. Instead, he welcomed the demotion."It's kind of like I can't lose either way," Buford said. "If I stay here, I'm in the big leagues, and that's great. If I go down, I'm playing every day, and that's great, too."

Manager Phil Regan isn't entering the Baltimore mayoral race anytime soon. And it's a good thing.Regan suggested before yesterday's game that Cal Ripken should take a day off."I think probably a lot of people will disagree with me," Regan said. "I think as Cal goes on, it would help him to take a day off. Not before the 6th, though."The decision will most likely be Ripken's. Although Regan makes out the lineup card, Ripken has a lot of input in when he does or doesn't play."I've asked him to come out of games," Regan said.

Eugene Kingsale hit his first professional home run last week after 1,028 at-bats, a monstrous drive at Double-A Bowie that belied his slight frame. That may have been the highlight of his season.Not anymore. It was trumped yesterday by the excitement of joining the Orioles, who added three players to their roster.Kingsale was plucked from Bowie and brought to the majors for the second time. The switch-hitting outfielder appeared in three games with the Orioles in 1996 as a defensive replacement and pinch runner.

Their manager referred to it as simply good, ol' Oriole Magic. The clubhouse looked at last night's unlikely 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals as nothing less than preordained.Jeffrey Hammonds topped a four-run uprising against Royals closer Jeff Montgomery with a two-out, two-strike, two-run single that lifted the Orioles to a 4-3 win before the remnants of 39,435 at Camden Yards. Within a span of eight hitters and 31 pitches, the Orioles reminded anyone still watching that good teams can discover ways to win in odd places.