Show Sports Sports Mirror By John Moone Mooney Telegram Sports Editor The years turned back a few summers Sunday as some of ot the Pinney baseball team members sw swapped old yarns with Claude Engberg former sandlot catcher for Salt Lake teams The occasion occasion occasion occa occa- sion was to have been a victory dinner celebrating Salt Lakes Lake's victory over Magna Garfield but f since the fried chicken was all ready to be eaten the fete went wenton on as scheduled even though Salt Lake lost 5 I am m now going to give you a astory astory story for your column Engberg interrupted the bull session You may nay not know it it but one of ot the players in this gathering used to have quite a bunch of home town rooters scouting him every time he pitched Several years cars ago the ball club dub received a flood of letters from Lake Point or some such little town demanding that a kid pitcher be given givert a tryout in Salt Lake Finally we wrote the kid to come down for a tryout tryout tryout try- try out Just to see if he was half halt as ns good as his press notices in In- In isted Well we were practicing on Friday and Saturday and playIng playing playing play play- ing a game on Sunday so the kid was to work with the team for two da days s 's in la practice just to if he had the stuff to The day set for his first workout workout workout work- work out was rainy and cold and we didn't have a workout slated but remembering that this kid was due to show up I grabbed one of the boys and we wandered down to the I i park parle Well here was this lanky kid and he was strictly a busher if I ever saw one I walked over and made nade the Introductions and told the kid he could throw a couple of easy onesI onesI onesI ones I remember our conversation went like this Now kid this Is no day to be pitching so take It easy have a couple of days to toa prove Drove yours yourself ell so dont don't try any a k fancy stuff Just lob em in Well he throws a couple of easy ones and then he back rams that foot at a cloud and PI BL That ball caught me by surprise and tore the mitt off my catching hand I will say that in my day I was wasa a 0 fair catcher and even caught Lefty Gomez Comer in a couple of exhibitions ex ex- but I never neer saw anythIng anything anything any any- thing like that one That just about ended the i workout as far as I am concerned concerned concerned con con- aM aAd this kid sticks with the club The first game he works in was a nightmare for me inc Hed He'd fan one and walk two Every pitch was head high and Inside I finally tried to steady the kid but he kept firing them high At last I waddled out to the mound and said Listen kid they cant can't hit that fast one anyway so sp bring it down a little All An your pitches are too high and youre you're walking all the batters except those that strike out 4 Mr Engberg this kid an- an I cant can't keep em down Where I used to pitch we threw from a hole not one of those little hills you make me pitch from The fans were beginning to get restless with all these free walks to fi first t. t Engberg continued continued continued contin contin- and some were clamoring clamorIng clamoring clamor clamor- ing to take the wild man out I could hear the muttering in the stands but this kid had a couple of home town rooters backing him up and I heard one of them say sar Dont get to fretting about Kenny enn this is the first park he ever pitched In where there vere were fences around it You might expect this kid to have have been quite a rube and only lasted hasted a 8 few weeks in the league Engberg closed but those days were different weren't they Kenny Ken ny i And Kenny Price one of the mound aces of the Salt Lake Pinney Pinney Pin Pin- ney staff just laughed as he grabbed another piece of fried chicken |