U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : LOS ANGELES--1991 : MEMORABLE MOMENTS

MARK LANGSTON

Baseball

Nearly 12 years after he won a baseball silver medal for the West team in Colorado Springs, Angel pitcher Mark Langston has clear memories of the 1979 Sports Festival.

“I remember I had a very good time,” said Langston, who participated in the Festival after his freshman year at San Jose State. “And I remember we should have won the gold medal, but we didn’t. We were 3-0 going into the gold-medal game and ended up losing the medal to a team that was 2-2 when we were 3-1--and (we) lost that last game by one run. I could never understand that.”

His disappointment in the title game aside, Langston enjoyed the competition.

“I had a great time, and I got to see a lot of other events, like boxing and other Olympic-type events,” said Langston, who has led the American League in strikeouts three times and is in his second season of a five-year, $16-million contract with the Angels. “It was fun and a good experience.

“I still have my little silver medal somewhere,” he said, smiling. “But I just remember trying to figure how we didn’t win the gold medal.”