ALL-STAR GAME ISSUE
Wild Wild West
Home Bats Come to Life to Reverse East Rally
LOS ANGELES (July 4) -- It was a game of two halves, with three runs in the first four innings, and 14 scored in the next four, as the West Division stars turned back a 7-6 deficit to win the 13th UL All-Star Game in the highest scoring game in a decade.  All indications were that the game would be a pitchers duel, with the hometown starter, Outlaw Fritz Peterson mowing down the six batters he faced in order, striking out Mike Schmidt, Tom Grieve, and Bobby Grich.  The East's Bill Gogolewski scattered three hits but still managed two scoreless innings, as did John d'Acquisto and Ed Farmer, who pitched the third.

The scoring started in the fourth, when Steve Carlton took the hill for the East and gave up three hits and two walks.  St. Louis' Mike Hargrove drove in a pair with a double and Larry Hisle added a sacrifice fly.  Manhattan's Steve Garvey hit an RBI double off Jon Matlack in the fifth to put the East on the board, but the home teamed double their run tally in the sixth off a feckless Vida Blue.  The 6-1 lead was short-lived however, as the East exploded for a six-run seventh to take the lead.  Jim Kern and Dennis Leonard walked five batters, and Dave Rosello and Claudell Washington each doubled, as the West saw their lead vanish.  But after Leonard left the game, the West's last three pitchers, Ed Figueroa, Rawly Eastwick, and Randy Moffitt, held the East scoreless for the last two innings and the offense rallied.  Denver's John Wockenfuss tied the game with a bases-loaded single off Burt Hooton, and LA's Chris Speier walked in the winning run.  In the 8th, Torre's homer and Parker's RBI double, his fourth hit of the game, were icing on the cake.

The West Stars are 5-1 since 1970 and now lead the all-time series 7-6.  Joe Torre becomes the fourth player to homer in two All-Star Games (with Vada Pinson, Felix Mantilla, and Billy Williams), but the first to do it in games 11 years apart, and the first to do it in the same stadium.  Dave Parker is the first Hilltopper to win All-Star Game MVP since Harmon Killebrew and Joe Morgan took back-to-back honors in 1965 and 1966.  Next year's game returns to Griffith Stadium, where the Midsummer Classic will be part of the nation's Bicentennial celebrations.

Dave Hamilton Fires No-Hitter in 3rd UL Start
LOS ANGELES (July 13) -- There have been several unlikely no-hitter in UL annals--Hal Brown in 1955, Jim Maloney in 1964, and Dick Bosman in 1969 come to mind--but Detroit's Dave Hamilton has set the new standard for no-hitters out of the blue.  It is rare that a converted reliever pitches a complete game, much less a shutout, much less a no-hitter.  But this is an unusual year for the Detroit Griffins, the UL's Cinderella club. 

Hamilton, a 26-year-old rookie who was the 55th overall pick in 1972 and spent the last three seasons in Toronto and Twin Cities of the International League, no-hit the Outlaws today, striking out nine, the most K's in a no-no since Whitey Ford in 1964.  Hamilton has a 7-1 record and 3.43 ERA, in 34 relief appearance and three starts.  The Seattle native showed flashes of greatness in his first start, tossing 5.2 shutout innings against San Francisco on May 1, and has been generally effective but not dominant out of the pen.  Hamilton's was the 19th no-hitter in league history, and the first by a Detroit pitcher.

UL No-Hitters

Jul 27, 1953	Early Wynn, New York
Apr 14, 1954	Tom Gorman, Brooklyn
Aug 2, 1955	Sam Zoldak, St. Louis
Aug 16, 1955	Hal Brown, San Francisco
Apr 24, 1959	Johnny Antonelli, Louisville
Jun 12, 1961	Lew Burdette, Brooklyn
Sep 7, 1962	Bob Anderson, Manhattan
May 6, 1964	Ray Sadecki, Manhattan
Aug 6, 1964	Whitey Ford, Washington
Sep 19, 1964	Jim Maloney, San Francisco
Jul 29, 1967	Don Larsen, Cleveland
Aug 21, 1969	Dick Bosman, San Francisco (perfect game)
Jun 15, 1970	Tom Seaver, Manhattan
Apr 11, 1972	Bob Moose, San Francisco
Jul 8, 1972	Bill Singer, Chicago
Apr 30, 1973	Larry Dierker, Los Angeles
Jul 24, 1973	Jim Palmer, Cleveland
Aug 25, 1974	Bill Parsons, Chicago
Jul 13, 1975	Dave Hamilton, Detroit