The Amateurs’ Last Hour : The Next U.S. Baseball Team Trying to Unseat Cuba Is Likely to Have the Help of Professionals

Quaint as it seems, they are amateurs.

The Team USA that will try to keep Cuba from winning the gold medal in America’s pastime on American soil does not include any professionals. Many of them soon will be, true enough- eight were first-round major league draft picks in June.

But next to the Cubans, who walk onto the field with the easy confidence of grown men, the American baseball players look like talented, awkward boys.

Unlike basketball with its Dream Team, Olympic baseball is still ostensibly the province of amateurs--though the Cubans are merely state-sponsored professionals, some of them well into their 30s.

This could well be the last time the United States tries to beat the world’s only remaining Big Red Machine with college kids.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ll have professionals in Sydney [in 2000],” said Team USA Coach Skip Bertman, noting that last year an International Baseball Federation vote to allow professionals in the Olympics failed by only three votes. “It can’t be major leaguers because the season won’t be over, but you can put minor leaguers in there. The other idea is you could use the major leaguers by playing in the Winter Olympics. Then you’d have everybody’s Dream Team.

“It is the Olympics and with the fashion they’re going, you should have your best players. We’ve been together almost six weeks. Cuba has been together 3 1/2 years. It doesn’t work for us, using college kids.

“We’ve got [eight] first-round draft picks. If we were able to stay together a couple of years, we could play with Cuba. In six or seven years, we could win the American League West.”

That might not be too far afield. The U.S. team includes the first four players taken in this year’s draft: Clemson pitcher Kris Benson (Pittsburgh), San Diego State first baseman Travis Lee (Minnesota), Wichita State closer Braden Looper (St. Louis) and Clemson pitcher Billy Koch (Toronto).

Southern California is well represented, with Cal State Fullerton outfielder Mark Kotsay and Titan catcher Brian Loyd, USC outfielder Jacque Jones, UCLA third baseman Troy Glaus and Bruin pitcher Jim Parque.

Cuba is not quite as dominant as in the past. The defection of Rolando Arrojo, the team’s top pitcher, the week before the opening ceremonies was a substantial blow. (Since Rene Arocha defected to play for the Cardinals in 1991, more than a dozen quality players have followed.)

The Americans finished a disappointing fourth in the 1992 Games, but served notice last summer that defending gold-medalist Cuba shouldn’t be shining the ’96 golds just yet by sweeping a four-game exhibition series in Millington, Tenn.

Bertman now says that Cuba was unfit and unmotivated then, and that the Cubans were more ready to play this summer, when they took three of five from the United States, breaking the Americans’ 39-game winning streak with a 5-1 victory in the opening game behind the pitching of the soon-to-defect Arrojo. The teams will meet again July 28 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium--and once more, perhaps, in the medal round Aug. 1 and 2.

South Korea and Japan are the other medal contenders, but “the No. 1 team in the world is Cuba,” Bertman said. “They’re awesome.”

When Cuban pitchers struck out 23 batters in the first two games of the latest exhibition series, Bertman said, “they made us look like children.”

Next time, the United States probably will send men.

“I think they should keep it for amateurs,” said UCLA’s Glaus. “I think if the pros play, it will be like the Dream Team in basketball. It will turn into only a question of how much they’re going to win by. The Cubans are a great team, but they’d get skunked against our pros.”

The outlook in some additional sports:

Archery

July 28-Aug. 2

Stone Mountain Park

South Korea is the dominant nation in archery. The once-powerful United States--which still has won more medals in the sport than any other country--was shut out in 1992, and the Americans’ only real hope for a medal in Atlanta is in the men’s team competition.

Upsets during the selection process left the U.S. men and women without their most accomplished athletes. Neither Jay Barrs, the gold medalist in 1988, nor two-time Olympian Denise Parker will be in Atlanta. That leaves the United States with a distinctly youthful team. Justin Huish of Simi Valley, 21, and Rod White, 19, will be joined on the men’s team by Butch Johnson, 40, a 1992 Olympian who finished 18th in the individual competition. On the women’s team, 17-year-old Lindsay Langston is the newcomer among 1980 Olympian Judi Adams, 37, and El Monte’s Janet Dykman, 42.

Badminton

July 24-Aug. 1

Georgia State University

The rising star of U.S. badminton, Kevin Han, came to New York from Shanghai in 1989, making ends meet by working as a busboy and delivering Chinese food by bicycle. But Han is seeded only 32nd at the Olympics--an indication of how far the United States lags in the sport, which is popular in Asia and parts of Europe and is considered the national sport of Indonesia.

Indonesia could potentially sweep the men’s medals behind favorite Joko Suprianto, Heryanto Arbi and Allan Budi Kusuma, who won the gold in Barcelona. Denmark’s Poul-Erik Hoyer-Larsen has the best chance of breaking Indonesia’s grip. In the women’s competition, 1992 gold medalist Susi Susanti of Indonesia faces a challenge from China’s Ye Zhaoying.

Canoeing and Kayaking

Slalom

July 26-28

Ocoee River, Cherokee National Forest, Tenn.

Sprint

July 30-Aug. 4

Lake Lanier, Gainesville, Ga.

When paddlers take to the waters of the Ocoee River in Tennessee about 130 miles north of Atlanta, it will be the first time the Olympic whitewater events have been held on a natural riverbed. (Government officials have spent millions to manipulate the dammed river, however.) The flatwater paddling events will be held at Lake Lanier.

The U.S. team won’t be the same without retired flatwater racer Greg Barton, who won medals in each of the last three Olympics, including two golds in 1988.

Among the American medal contenders is Scott Shipley, who will duel Germany’s Oliver Fix on the 25-gate whitewater slalom course--something along the lines of a slalom race in skiing, only with rocks and rushing water.

There are plenty of family ties among the American delegation. David Hearn, a contender in the single canoe, was a 1992 Olympian and the current world champion. His sister, Cathy, a kayaker, was a 1992 Olympian as well, as were flatwater racers Michael and Alexandra Harbold, who have been married since 1991.

Equestrian

Three-Day Event: July 21-26.

Dressage: July 27-31 and Aug. 3.

Show Jumping: July 25, 29 and Aug. 1 and 4.

Georgia International Horse Park, Conyers, Ga.

The safety of the horses is a concern because of the heat and humidity, and events will start as early as 7 a.m. as a precaution. In addition, the endurance portion of the three-day event has been shortened, a prudent move considering that at least seven horses have died in the event over the years--three in the 1936 Berlin games, two in Rome in 1960, and two more in Mexico City in 1968.

The welfare of the horses was also at the heart of an international controversy over a ban against those that test positive for piroplasmosis, a potentially fatal tick-borne disease that is common in Europe and Latin America but has been largely eradicated in the U.S.

Government officials finally relented, allowing horses that test positive to enter the country provided they are segregated during their stay. However, they are barred from the three-day event because of fears they could encounter ticks on the cross-country course and spread the disease.

Europeans won all but four of the 18 medals in Barcelona, where the U.S. claimed two bronzes.

American Bruce Davidson--a five-time Olympian--is one of the world’s top riders in the three-day event, which consists of dressage, endurance and show jumping. The international powers are Great Britain and New Zealand.

The top U.S. show jumpers are Olympic veterans Anne Kursinski and Michael Matz, a survivor of the 1989 crash of United Airlines Flight 232 near Sioux City, Iowa. Peter Leone overcame a broken hand and collarbone suffered during the selection process to make the team, and Leslie Burr Howard, a member of the U.S. gold-medal winning effort in 1984, has returned. The defending champion is Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum.

Germany is the team favorite in dressage, led by two-time individual gold medalist Nicole Uphoff-Becker. American Michelle Gibson is an emerging star after a strong season in Europe, and Robert Dover will represent the United States for the fourth time.

Fencing

July 20-25

Georgia World Congress Center

This comes up only every four years, but to refresh the memory, the three weapons in fencing competition are foil, epee and sabre.

The U.S. women’s foil team could contend for a medal and is led by Ann Marsh, whose world ranking of 10th is the highest ever by an American. Mostly, though, fencing is the province of the French, Italians, Russians and Hungarians.

Americans have won only 19 fencing medals in the 100 years of modern Olympic history, in contrast to France’s 95. The last U.S. medal was in 1984, when Peter Westbrook took the bronze in sabre. Westbrook, 44, is back for his sixth Olympics. (Teammate Michael Marx is competing in his fourth in epee.) Nick Bravin, a Los Angeles native, will compete in his second Olympics in foil.

Many of the 1992 gold medalists will be in Atlanta, including France’s Eric Srecki in epee, Hungary’s Bence Szabo in sabre and France’s Phillip Omnes in foil, though Dmitry Chevtchenko of Russia is the world champion in foil.

Until this year, women’s competition was limited to foil. Giovanna Trillini of Italy, the individual gold medalist in 1992, will try to repeat. Women will compete in epee for the first time in Atlanta, but there still is no women’s sabre event.

Field Hockey

July 20-Aug. 2

Morris Brown College and Clark Atlanta University

The United States has never won a field hockey medal outside of Los Angeles, where the men won the bronze in 1932 and the women in ’84. Neither team qualified for Barcelona, but both received automatic berths as the host country this time.

The American women hardly needed the leg up. They are ranked third in the world with an experienced team that includes four 1988 Olympians--Tracey Fuchs, Barb Marois, Marcia Pankratz and Patty Shea. Australia and Argentina are the top contenders, and South Korea, which is billed as the fastest team in the world, could be a spoiler.

Germany won the men’s gold in 1992, followed by Australia and Pakistan, which won the most recent world championship. The U.S. men, led by Larry Amar and Marq Mellor, face a tough draw, competing in a pool with Pakistan, Germany and India, a somewhat diminished but still daunting power.

India still owns one of the most impressive streaks in Olympic history. From 1928 through 1956, India won six gold medals and 30 consecutive games, outscoring its opponents, 197-8.

Judo

July 20-26

Georgia World Congress Center

The word judo in Japanese means gentleness, which doesn’t seem to fit with such techniques as Shime-waza (strangulation), Tomoe-nage (whirl throw) or Tani-otoshi (Valley drop throw).

Heavyweights tend to be in the 300-pound range, but one of Japan’s darlings is Ryoko Tamura, who won the 1992 silver in the 106-pound division at the age of 16. The pink hair ribbon she wears in imitation of a Japanese comic book character is her good-luck charm--and since she won 73 consecutive matches after the Olympic final, who’s to argue?

The Japanese dominate the sport, but American half-middleweight Jason Morris claimed a silver in 1992, only the seventh U.S. judo medal ever. Lightweight James Pedro could win the next.

Middleweight Liliko Ogasawara and extra-lightweight Hillary Wolf are among the best U.S. women (Wolf also has gained notice for acting in the “Home Alone” movies). The most acclaimed of the women competitors, though, is Israel’s Yael Arad, who in 1992 won her country’s first Olympic medal, dedicating the silver to the Israeli athletes killed in Munich in 1972.

Modern Pentathlon

July 30

Wolf Creek Shooting Complex (Shooting), Georgia World Congress Center (Fencing), Georgia Tech Aquatic Center (Swimming), Georgia International Horse Park, Conyers, Ga. (Riding, Running).

First off, of course, there is nothing modern about it. Unless you consider the frantic pace competitors will undertake as the competition--which once covered five days--is squeezed into a single day. Merely reaching all the venues could be challenging for the athletes--much less shooting, fencing, swimming, riding horseback and running their way to the gold during a 12-hour stretch.

With only about 5,000 participants worldwide and a decidedly oddball reputation--a mere triathlon somehow seems more dignified, involving neither guns nor swords--modern pentathlon will have to struggle to maintain its place in the Olympics, much as synchronized swimming will.

The top-ranked American is Michael Gostigian, who has won four national titles in a row and was ninth in Barcelona, where the United States finished fourth.

Dmitri Svatkovsky of Russia is the favorite.

Rowing

July 21-28

Lake Lanier, Gainesville, Ga.

Their prowess is little known outside rowing circles, but the U.S. women’s eight has an air of dominance. Not only the prohibitive gold-medal favorite, the U.S. women have a chance to break the six-minute barrier in the 3,000-meter race. (Canada won the gold in 6:02.62 in 1992.)

Led by Betsy McCagg--whose 6-foot-2 identical twin, Mary, is also on the squad--the women are coached by Hartmut Buschbacher, who guided the East German crew to gold in 1988.

In the single sculls, Canada’s Silken Laumann returns after her dramatic bronze medal in 1992. Laumann suffered terrible leg injuries only two months before the Barcelona Games when she was rammed by another boat in a warmup area. Doctors told the gold-medal favorite she would need six months to recover, but after five operations, she made it to Barcelona walking with a cane, and finished third even though she couldn’t stand for long period.

Thomas Lange of Germany has won the last two men’s single scull titles, but Itzok Cop of Slovenia could provide stiff competition.

Another distinguished oarsman is Great Britain’s Steven Redgrave, who will team with Matthew Pinsent to defend the gold in coxless pairs. Should Redgrave win another, it will mark the fourth consecutive Olympics he has won a gold medal.

Shooting

July 20-27

Wolf Creek Shooting Complex

This, interestingly, is a sport dominated by Americans.

The United States has won more shooting medals than any other country, and only American swimmers and track and field stars have won more golds for the United States than shooters.

A trio of Southern Californians could contend for medals: Josh Lakatos of Pasadena in trap, Bill Meek of Riverside in rifle and 17-year-old Kim Rhode of El Monte, the youngest shooter ever to earn a berth in the Games, in double trap.

Other American medal hopefuls are Lance Bade in trap shooting, Army Capt. Glenn Dubis in rifle and Connie Petracek in pistol.

Among the most prominent international competitors are China’s Yifu Wang, Germany’s Ralf Schumann and Italy’s Roberto Di Donna, all pistol shooters.

Attempts to make the sport more spectator-friendly have resulted in an elaborate electronic scoring system and giant video screens that flash the location of every shot and update the scores and standings.

Softball

July 21-27, 29-30

Golden Park, Columbus, Ga.

Softball makes what seems like a long-overdue debut in the Olympics, though it’s easy to forget that even baseball didn’t manage medal status until 1992.

To say the U.S. women’s fast-pitch team is dominant is an understatement. In the last 10 years, the United States has only one loss in international competition, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of China last year.

Dot Richardson, 34, an orthopedic surgeon who is considered the best shortstop in the sport’s history, has waited the longest for softball to be part of the Olympics. Pitcher Christa Williams, 18, hasn’t needed as much patience.

The U.S. pitching staff is truly remarkable, full of hard throwers who have dozens of no-hitters to their names. Lisa Fernandez, who got her start at St. Joseph High in Lakewood, threw 11 no-hitters during her career as a four-time All American at UCLA. Also a third baseman, she is an outstanding hitter as well. Michele Granger, who starred at Placentia Valencia High and set the NCAA strikeout record at Cal, had to find creative ways to train while living in Alaska after her husband found a clerkship with a State Supreme Court judge. With the snow piled high outside, Granger resorted to pitching in the classroom of a church building.

Synchronized Swimming

July 30, Aug. 2

Georgia Tech Aquatic Center

Synchronized swimming is perhaps the most lampooned of sports, but Olympic expert David Wallechinsky notes that it nevertheless is “more physically demanding than shooting, dressage, or playing right field in a baseball game.”

There have been sharp cutbacks in the number of medals to be awarded in Atlanta, with the single and duet competitions eliminated in favor of a new team event.

The United States has been ranked first in the world since 1991 and faces competition only from Canada. Becky Dyroen-Lancer leads the American team, and is one half of the answer to a trivia question: Which two competitors are sisters, marking the third consecutive Olympics there have been related teammates on the U.S. synchro team?

The rest of the answer is Suzannah Bianco. (The last set of sisters that were both on the Olympic team were Karen and Sarah Josephson, gold medalists in duet in 1992.)

Table Tennis

July 23-Aug. 1

Georgia World Congress Center

The Americans could use a Forrest Gump. Instead, the six-member team is dominated by U.S. citizens born in China, where 60 million people play the game.

China swept every event at the most recent world championships. Deng Yaping, a 4-foot-10 woman who won two gold medals in Barcelona, was named her country’s sports figure of the year in 1995. Kong Linghui is the men’s world champion, but to win gold he’ll have to outdo a Swedish interloper, Jan-Ove Waldner, the gold medalist in Barcelona.

Americans have never won a medal in table tennis and have no prospects in Atlanta. However, a native Georgian, Jim Butler of Augusta, is the top U.S. competitor.

All three U.S. women were born in China--Lily Yip, Wei Wang of Pasadena and Amy Feng, who was sent to a special sports school at the age of 11. Ranked 26th in the world while still a teenager, she became a U.S. citizen this year, four years after marrying and moving to the United States.

In a sad sidelight, Brazil’s top player, Claudio Kano, died in a motorcycle accident July 1 in Sao Paulo, just as he was about to leave for the United States. Kano, who popularized the game in Brazil, was 30.

Team Handball

July 24-Aug. 4

Georgia World Congress Center and Georgia Dome

The U.S. men’s team continues to pluck athletes from other sports in an attempt to boost its competitiveness. This year’s crop includes John Keller, a former University of North Carolina football player, and Derek Brown, who was a basketball player and track athlete at LaSalle. Still, the men--who didn’t even qualify for the Olympics in 1992 and got a host-country berth this time--have a long way to go before being medal contenders.

The American women, on the other hand, are not that far off. The United States tied for fourth in 1984, finished seventh in ‘88, and sixth in ’92. Chryssandra Hires is the star of a team that includes identical twins Tami and Toni Jameson (Tami is the goalkeeper). South Korea has won the last two women’s gold medals, and Hungary and Denmark are also strong.

France is an intriguing team on the men’s side, led by a flamboyant player with an unlikely name for a Frenchman--Jackson (Action) Richardson. France is the reigning world champion but won only bronze in Barcelona. Russia will compete in place of the gold-medalist Unified Team, and silver-medalist Sweden is also strong. Croatia, making its Olympic debut as a nation, could win a medal.

Yachting

July 22-Aug. 1

Wassaw Sound, Savannah, Ga.

Conditions are expected to be challenging off the coast of Georgia near Savannah, where sailors already have had to interrupt their preparations to tow their boats inland as Hurricane Bertha passed the Georgia coast. Afternoon thunderstorms are a common occurrence in the area, but on the other hand, sailors won’t face the pollution that drew complaints at Barcelona’s Parc de Mar venue, where the garbage ranged from refrigerators to dead rats.

Ten events will be contested on the waters of the Atlantic. The United States won nine medals in Barcelona, and American sailors who could contend again include Star class gold medalists Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel, 470 silver medalists Morgan Reeser and Kevin Burnham, and sailboarding silver medalist Michael Gebhardt--whose gold-medal hopes were sunk when a piece of garbage, a plastic bag, got caught on his board at the crucial point of a race.

Other American medal contenders include windsurfer Lanee Butler of Dana Point, as well as Nick Adamson, a former UC Irvine sailor, in Laser class.