Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 9, 1991                   TAG: 9104090121
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BEN WALKER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SPIRIT RAINS ON OPENING DAY

President Bush went to Texas to throw out the first ball as the Rangers, owned by his eldest son, took on Milwaukee at night. That was the only one of eight games that had major-league umpires - they settled their two-day strike in the morning, but it came too late for them to reach the ballparks in time.

Instead, amateur umpires filled in until the regulars return today. Replacements were in Baltimore, where Vice President Dan Quayle made the first pitch before Chicago played the Orioles.

Fans at sold-out ballparks in the United States and Canada saluted servicemen and servicewomen from Operation Desert Storm.

In New York, Navy Lt. Robert Wetzel was one of four Persian Gulf veterans to throw out the first ball before the Mets played Philadelphia. Wetzel, whose A-6E fighter was shot down over Iraq, spent 45 days as a POW.

"I dreamed of good things," he said, "things that I would experience when I got home, things like going to a ball game with my brothers."

In Kansas City, Air Force Lt. John Marks of Overland Park, Kan., got a standing ovation when he threw out the first ball at Royals Stadium. Marks and his partner on an A-10 Warthog attack jet were credited with knocking out 33 Iraqi tanks in one day.

At Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Air Force Capt. Steve Tate of Watersmeet, Mich., made the first pitch to a loud ovation. He was the first allied pilot to shoot down an Iraqi fighter in the Persian Gulf War.

Right off the bat, however, it was raining. The first game of the year between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers began in wet weather and the traditional National League opener in Cincinnati was twice delayed by drizzle.

Still, the Reds received their World Series rings from owner Marge Schott, one week out of the hospital after a near-fatal infection. The Reds made the celebration complete, beating Houston 6-2.

Detroit's Alan Trammell hit the first homer of the season, and Boston newcomer Jack Clark connected for the first grand slam.

Clark's shot helped Clemens and the Red Sox beat Toronto 6-2. Clemens, last seen being dragged from the mound in last year's playoffs after being ejected by Cooney, is appealing a five-game suspension.