THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070517
PAGE: B1 SECTION} LOCAL EDITION: NORTH
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KITTY HAWK LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
At least one big-league arm will be in the park when Babe Ruth baseball begins its 1995 season tonight.
Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry will throw out the ceremonial first ball when Bambino division teams start their chase for the pennant.
``Our coaches and kids are stoked,'' said Bill Walker of the Babe Ruth Outer Banks League. ``Gaylord Perry is one of the all-timers. He's one of the people who laid the foundation for the game. He's one of those players who comes from an era in which the fan still had value.''
Walker said he simply called Perry, and asked him to do the honors at the league opener. About 300 players are in the Outer Banks league.
``He is just good folks,'' said Walker. ``He said he would be glad to help. It's a great thing.''
Perry, a native of Williamston who recently moved to the Outer Banks, won 314 games in the major leagues, ranking him 15th on the all-time list. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 1972 as a member of the Cleveland Indians.
``I've always made an extra effort to help in the neighborhood where I lived,'' Perry said. ``It's something you're expected to do. My son played Babe Ruth baseball. I know it's a good organization to have in a community.''
Perry said he expects the major league players and their bosses to make an extra effort to win back disenchanted fans after the long baseball strike.
``I'm sure that players and owners are going to do whatever they can to get kids and their parents back to the ball park. They're going to be working to show kids they do care. They took away a portion of the game we love. But I think people will go back to the park. I want to see baseball again myself.''
This is not the first time Perry has pitched in to help youth baseball in Dare County. Along with former New York Yankee great Jim ``Catfish'' Hunter, Perry endorsed the county's successful effort to land the 1996 Babe Ruth Baseball World Series for 16- to 18-year-old boys.
Perry will be the featured guest at opening ceremonies, set for 6:30 tonight at the park behind Kitty Hawk Elementary School. An 11- to 12-year-old game is set for 7 p.m. A full slate of games is set for Saturday. ILLUSTRATION: Gaylord Perry
by CNB