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Dick StuartHappy WithI ,ot Of Yenscthiitsle;itt'beSt!trlt;caChcliknbisw’l A1 te:nilRcsenitomofBiprBYMURRY CHASS Associated Press Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Dick Stuart, the major leagues, first repatriate, isn’t exacLly .thrilled with his present status, but he’s as happy as 13 million yen can make a guy.; . Stuart-apparently changed in some ways during his two-year sojourn in' Japan, blow he talks about his fielding instead of his •hitting, and he counts his money in yen.The big first baseman, now a i part-time player with the Cali-j 1 forma Angels, decided to try' .Japanese baseball after spending nine years in the majors with Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia, the New York Mels and Los Angeles.“The first year over there was okay, hut not eh second,” the 36-year-old Stuart said during the Angels’ weekend trip to New York. “I couldn’t adjust to their war life. I got tired of living over there and want to come back.“I contacted the Angels, and they offered me a job and a good salary.”The salary has turned out better than the job. Stuart says he’s making 13 million yen, which translates roughly to S35,000, not bad for a guy who hatted only ,217 in Japan last year.As for the job—on which he’s hilling .154—he said. ”1 just do what I'm told. J’m happy to have a job. I play against left-handed pitchers and pinch hit. Thai’s a rough job.”Asked if he is satisfied with his status, Stuart, who always had disliked pinch hitting, said, “that’s beside the point.”What is to the point, though,at least in Stuart’s opinion, is his fielding. Never known for his fancy play at first, the man dubbed Dr. Slrangcglove said, with a straight face and apparent. sincerity:“My fielding is one of the few Hungs I have left now, that I do well. 1 learned a lot about fielding in Japn. They're very dc-jVl fense conscious over there be- uPIsemfilOYI’ddrmstinclt;0Mtlci4'0!a:p:aSibefrtlt;cause they don’t have many good litilers.“When I used to be in the majors, I concentrated on my hilling. Now I get a beck of a kick out of making a good play at first.”Then the eyes on the straight face smiled just a bit, and he added:“I have a fast glove and a slow bat.”And a Jot of yen.sPaPnrlcte
Newspaper Details
Danville Register
Danville, Virginia, US
Wed, May 21, 1969
Page 19
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
CT, USA 30 Jul 2019
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