1972 ALL-STAR GAME
Pinson Nettles: West Wins Thriller
Mantilla Homers in His Former Ballpark
ATLANTA (June 29) -- Graig Nettles hit an RBI double in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie and Johnny Bench tacked on a two-run double in the ninth as the West All-Stars rolled to their third straight win.  San Francisco's Bob Moose (10-3, 2.27) and Washington's Andy Messersmith (10-1, 2.71) got the starts, and the Moose blinked first, as Vada Pinson delivered a leadoff home run -- a 413-foot blast on a full count -- to put the East ahead 1-0.  The West took the lead in the top of the third on Ken Singleton's two-run blast after Rod Carew reached on Al Hrabosky's error, but the East knotted it up 2-2 on Al Oliver's RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth.  The East went ahead again in the bottom of the fifth, tapping Chicago's Bill Singer for a single and a double and Rick Wise held the lead through the sixth inning.

With Detroit's Ken Holtzman on the mound, former Hilltopper Felix Mantilla homered, to a mixed ovation from the sellout Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium crowd, tying the game 3-3.  The West went ahead for good in the top of the eighth, when Oscar Gamble singled and Nettles doubled off Washington's stud ace John Strohmayer, for a 4-3 edge.  Ron Reed got into a jam in the bottom of the eighth after a single and two errors, but pitched out of it by striking out Ed Charles and Elliott Maddux with the tying run on third.

Manhattan's Cecil Upshaw then picked up where he left off last year (when he blew a two-run lead in the eighth to take the loss), allowing two hits and walk to expand the West's lead to 6-3.  The West's pitchers were stellar in the last five innings, as six pitchers combined to allow just three hits and one walk.  Dallas' Reggie Cleveland and Los Angeles' Ken Tatum were particularly stellar, striking out four of the last six batters of the game.

Pinson took MVP honors for his three hits, including the leadoff homer, and Mantilla was the only other batter with multiple hits.  Ron Reed got the win, Strohmayer was charged with the loss, and Tatum got the save.  The West remains undefeated in the 1970s (3-0) and levels the all-time series at 5-5.

Chicago, Atlanta Neck and Neck at Halfway Point
The Chicago Colts and Atlanta Hilltoppers, the league's top two teams, finished the first half 1-2 in the West Division with just one game separating them.  Chicago got some stellar pitching from former Outlaw standout Stan Bahnsen, who was 4-0, 1.74 in June.  But the entire Colts rotation was red hot: Bob Friend (3-1, 1.75), Wilbur Wood (3-1, 1.82) and Bill Singer (2-1, 1.61).  The Colts broke out of a 5-7 funk with four straight wins to end the month, including a three-game sweep at Dallas.  Wood pitched seven shutout innings in a 9-1 win, Bob Friend anchored a four-hit shutout, and the "Bahnsen Burner" went the distance for a two-hit shutout to improve to 7-0 and later won Pitcher of the Month.

Atlanta meanwhile split six games with San Francisco, but otherwise was 11-3 since June 6.  The offense has been all Torre and Bando in June.  The two sluggers rank in the top four in batting, home runs, and RBIs, and each hit over .400 with 11 home runs in June, fueling an offense prolific enough to give Tom Timmermann a 4-0 record despite a 4.55 ERA.  Ron Reed was the first Topper to reach 10 wins, in a 5-2 win at Sportsman's Park June 24, and went on to get the win in the All-Star Game five days later.  The Colts were 14-9 in June, but Atlanta was 15-8 and managed to close to within a game while keeping San Francisco at bay and the Maroons feeling blue.

Griffins Fail to Exploit Mons' Slump
The Detroit Griffins missed a golden chance to gain ground on the East-leading Washington Monuments by losing 9 of their last 13 and five in a row.  The Flyin' Lions lost seven of those nine losses by two runs or less, courtesy of the second worst bullpen in the league.  Pedro Ramos hit a colossal slump with a 8.06 ERA in his last four starts and Dick Allen hit just .195 in his last 22 games.  Detroit was 0-5 against Washington and Boston in June after going 7-5 against its top divisional rivals in April and May. 

The Monuments have been inconsistent and have failed to pull ahead of the struggling Griffins and Federals.  Washington put together six straight wins over Detroit and Los Angeles June 12-17, but then was swept by St. Louis and split six games with Manhattan and Cleveland.  Andy Messersmith was 4-0, 2.36 in June and is 10-1 overall, but fifth start Bob Sadowski is 1-4, 7.06.  #2 hitter Ray Fosse, who hit .309 with 106 RBIs just two years ago, hit just .172 with 3 RBIs in 22 June games.

Boston was the East's top team in June (14-9), riding the scorching bat of Orlando Cepeda, who hit 16 HR and 38 RBI in 23 games.  Cepeda's 37 homers at the All-Star Break is the most in league history, by a mile, and he needs only 14 dingers in the last 82 games to set the single-season record.  Manny Sanguillen (.342), Rocky Colavito (.329), and Chuck Hinton (.327) also wielded heavy lumber in June, and the Feds remain the second best offense in the league.  Al Hrabosky is the hottest relief pitcher in the league, with a 0.44 ERA and five saves in his last 15 games.

IL Expansion Moves Forward
ATLANTA (June 30) -- League officials--who were widely expected to unveil the UL's 1974 expansion teams during this week's All-Star Game festivities--instead announced the imminent selection of the Triple-A International League's four expansion cities.  The IL will add a quartet of new clubs in 1974: two to replace teams expected to make the jump to the big league, and two more to bring the numbers up to 14.  Seattle has been tipped as one of the leading candidates for an expansion team.  The Northwestern metropolis was home to the Totems, San Francisco's AAA affiliate, from 1962 to 1967 before relocating to Portland in 1968 after a string of weak finishes and poor attendance. 

League officials today revealed the once closely held short list of 16 IL candidate cities.  The list includes one former UL city (Louisville), two former IL cities (Seattle and Buffalo), and two current American Association cities (Memphis and Birmingham), which are attractive options because the UL/IL expansion probably will require the contraction of the Double-A circuit from six to four teams.  Buffalo, like Seattle, lost its minor league team in 1968, when the Bisons moved to St. Paul and changed their name to the Twin Cities Trappers.  The league has given no guarantees to Seattle or Buffalo that their clubs would be replaced, and Seattle is occasionally mentioned as a potential UL expansion city.  The IL short list include five western cities (Vancouver, Phoenix, Seattle, Edmonton, and Albuquerque), six Midwestern cities (Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Columbus, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Louisville), and five southern cities (Jacksonville, Miami, Memphis, Nashville, and Birmingham).  The four cities are expected to be announced on Aug. 1 after owners have weighed in and made their preferences known.