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Show Tuesday, May 7, 1996 THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah — Page DS Experimentwith low Lenzi overcomes Olympic letdown strike zone appears to aim for another diving gold to have struck out By BEN WALKER AP Baseball Writer Baseball's big experiment with lowstrikes, it seems, has struck out. Hitters, pitchers, catchers, managers, coaches and even some umpires ali seemto agree — the effort to dropthestrike zone below the knee has disappeared “Mythis not even a closeinterpretation, It never happened. It Never was going to happen,” Kansas City pitcher Tim Belcher said. “It was just a waste of paper and memos.” The idea surfaced before the exhibition season when baseball announced that, in an effort to quicken games, umpires would be instructed tocall strikes on pitches at the hollow beneath the knee. In the past, the zone started a couple of inches higher, at the top of the kneecap. “TL saw the bulletin in’ spring training, where they were going to lower it. T saw it in a few games, where the umpires did establish the ball down andit looked like a lower strike thanit was in the past, but I think it’s gone away,” Los Angeles third base coach Joe Amalfitanosaid “Its like a lot of other thi that didn’t stay around long. when they'd (the owners) sit around in the wintertimeandtry to figure out ways to speed up the game, he said If lower strikes are helping to hurry games, it’s hardto tell, The averagetime of nine-inning games through the weekend wa 2 hours, 52 minutes. Last year. whenbaseball tried to get hitters to stay in the batter's box and asked managers to make changes morerapidly, the average was 2 hours, 54 minutes. “LT haven't noticed any change at all.” Texas third baseman Dean Palmer said. “Umpires have been doing it so long that they have their own strike zones andthey're not going to change them.” “Some umpires will call the low strike because that’s the way they've be done it, but other who haven't beencalling the low strike jokes about how | didn’t need a life preserver because I'd float. It eS KAUFMAN Detroit Free Press aren't going to change,” he said Asked whether the emphasis on calling lower strikes has had an effect, longtime AL umpire crew chief Larry Barnett said, “*! don’t think so.” NL umpire Bob Davidson said he’s noticedaslight change among his colleagues. “Baseball wants everybody to try it.” he said, “From what I've seen, everyone is trying to make an honesteffort to dothat.” “I've workedthe plate five or six times this year and I'mtrying to call that pitch,” he said. “When I'mgoing good behind theplate, 1 think I've called that pitch anyway.” ATLANTA — The phone's gotta ring, Mark Lenzi thought as he flopped arcund on the couch in his Aan Arbor, Mich., apartment three months after the 1992 Summer Olympics. Surely there's a demand out there for a diver who was an Olympic gold medalist, a guy who had taken a limo to “The Tonight Show,” a guy who had been on “Regis & Kathie Lee,” a guy whomkids had recognized at the 7-Eleven. It’s gotta ring. Olympic gold medal. That's big. right? How many people out there can say they have an Olympic gold medal? Any minute now, it’s gonna ring. Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s. They're always looking for sports stars to endorse their products, right? They would love to have an All-American, blueeyed, born on the Fourth of July, wrestler-turned-diver in commercials. They call. Just be patien Big money is on the way. And so, Lenzi waited, and waited, and waited Day after day. month after month, well into 1993. He would sleep in. onthe couch andwatch TV forfive, six, Then again, if there was a big change, it would be easy to tell: More batters would be beefing about close calls, and that hasn't happened. “I know the guys on our team haven't been coming back to the dugout complaining about any changes,” Kansas City’s Bob Hamelinsaid. Agreed Dodgers third baseman Mike Blowers: “As far as the pitches down are concerned, 1 don’t think there's been anything that’s been down-downthat somebody’s called a strike and you're shocked.” Dodgers manager Tom Lasorda sees it the same way. “L haven't seen any difference in the strike zone, and | don't see how that’s going to speed up the me. [| don’t think they should even mess with it” he said. “It don’t mean anything unless they call it, And to me, it seems like they're calling the samepitchesas they did before.” Cincinnati catcher Eddie Taubenseesaid he’s seen a shift'in the strike zone this season. Butit’s not with lowerstrikes. “The only thing I've notic really, is umpiresure trying to g the inside corner more. They are trying to change alittle bit,” he said “There's been umpires tell me, Eddie. give me a good look at the inside pitch.” That means they're trying.” was embarrassing, but it helped mot ate me They weren't laughing long. It took Lenzi less than three months trop to 145 pounds and regain form Next month in more than a proud feeling eady has enrolled in me Sinn 4 classes a versity for the Lenzi became interested in the weat ier during flight school I'm a lot more matur s and a lot ba pier,” who moved from As Bloomington, Ir complete his Mark Lenzi waves after winning gold in diving at the 1992 Olympics. Life after the gold wasn't all Lenzi expected, but he’s rebounded from disappointment to contend for gold again in 96. sevenhours at a time, sometimes not even bothering to switch channels His evenings were spent in bars, often reliving his glorious Olympic moment with anyone who caredtolisten Only one call ever came, for an ill-fated movie called “Pumphouse.” The guy sent the corny script, Lenzi returned his call, and the deal fell through. Lenzi kept waiting for more offers “LT thought | was God's the world,” said Lenzi, among the Olympie hopefuls in Atlanta fora press briefing recently. “It's so easy to fall into that trap. 1 went from a small-town kid in Virginia toriding a limo to “The Tonight Show.” Youtrain so hard for so long. and you expect that gold medal is going to chang your life forever. But it doesn’t Sometimes, it makes your life worse. The day comes when nobody gives a heck who you are, and | wasn’t prepared.” The post-Olympic blues, they indianapolis will try to make the « team. He is determi at as gold medalist. but this time, he isn’t expecting any Lenzi call it, and Lenzi had a severe case So severe that he gained 35 pounds. which really shows when you're 5-feet-4. So severe that he considered giving up the medal as collateral for a loan. So severe that he is proposing that the U.S. Olympic Committee provide counseling for Olympians-to-be, to warn them of the depression that so often follows their achievement of a lifetime 1 was totally depressed, a real mess.” said Lenzi, 27. who estimates his springboard medal earned him about from a couple of speaking engagements. “I had no motivation to do anything. I felt 1 had accomplished everything | could inlife, and there was nothingleft for me to do. | hit rock bottom.” One day, he woke up with a hangover at 2 p.m., looked at his face in the mirror and didn’t like what he saw: a pathetic soul who wanted the world’s pity ar nd Coroy. He and it was only then that Lenzi stopped feeling sorry for himself. He pulled out of his funk with the help of friends and former ne through similar problems. He enrolled in flight school in Santhepilots in his class beg to teach them tricks off the side of the pool, and once Lenzi got tarted, he realized how much he He returned to Ann Arbor last Apnil to train with coach Dick Kimball. Lenzi was so heavy, he said, he didn’t fit in a Speedo. He climbed onto the diving board in “This is a vain sport, and | out, aa great bounce off the board and make a huge splash. Guys made March. he broke Greg | | 4-scar-old world scoring r points for 35 with the HTH ( Md. Loug 755.49 Lenzi’s c score was d one of t history of the rst Americ yard 4 tition andthe ¢ » exceed 100 4 3 1/2 somersault t ational char and people “Why's Lenzi ¢ these dives” But it all pays « ee of d ifficulty highest would ask. he said. “I don’t dive to be sec o win re or not Lenzi survives the Olympic tials, he will urge U.S. Diving and the “US Olympic Cc nittee address the pest-Olympic blues with the “96 team. 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