Midwest League 1978

All-Star Game

All-Stars 11, Omaha Royals 7

Waterloo, Iowa, Tuesday, June 6, 1978

The 1978 Midwest League All-Star Game was played at Municipal Stadium in Waterloo on June 6, 1978. A team of the league's best players, selected by the league's managers, faced the American Association's Omaha Royals.

The Stars won a slugfest where virtually everyone who came to the plate got hits. The Royals held a 6-4 lead after the fourth, only to have the MWL nine reply with five runs in their half of the frame. Burlington's Bill Foley knocked in three runs for the winners; Omaha's Dave Cripe had a double and a homer for the losing cause. Rusty McDonald of Clinton was the winning pitcher for our guys; George Throop earned the Royals' loss.

Box Score

OMAHA                        AB R H BI      ALL-STARS                       AB  R  H BI
German Barranca (OMA/KC) 2B   3 1 1 1       Leo Sutherland (APP/CWS) CF      4  2  2 1
Dave Cripe (OMA/KC) 3B        5 1 2 1       Harry Chappas (APP/CWS) SS       4  0  1 1
Darrell Parker (OMA/KC) LF    3 2 1 0       Bill Foley (BUR/MIL) C           4  1  2 3
Randy Bass (OMA/KC) 1B        5 1 1 0        Evon Martinson (CLI/LAD) C      1  0  0 0
Art Kusnyer (OMA/KC) C        4 0 1 1       Moe Hill (WR/MIN) DH             3  2  2 1
Jim Gaudet (OMA/KC) DH        4 0 1 2        John Hanley (APP/CWS) DH        1  0  0 0
Rudy Kinard (OMA/KC) RF       3 0 0 0       Curt Etchandy (APP/CWS) 3B       3  1  2 0
Luis Silverio (OMA/KC) CF     4 1 1 0        Jeff Bertoni (QC/CAL) 3B        2  0  1 0
Michael Denevi (OMA/KC) SS    2 1 1 0       Angelo LoGrande (WAT/CLE) 1B     5  0  1 2
George Throop (OMA/KC) P      0 0 0 0       Don Hubbard (WAT/CLE) RF         3  1  1 0
 Steve Hamrick (OMA/KC) P     0 0 0 0        Chili Davis (CR/SF) RF          1  0  0 0
 Randy McGilberry (OMA/KC) P  0 0 0 0       Kevin Bass (BUR/MIL) LF          2  1  2 0
                                             Craig Hedrick (CR/SF) LF        1  0  1 0
                                            Mark Van Bever (CLI/LAD) 2B      0  2  0 0
                                             Jerry Dybzinski (WAT/CLE) 2B    1  1  1 0
                                            Ross Baumgarten (APP/CWS) P      0  0  0 0
                                             Jeff Franklin (WAU/NYM) P       0  0  0 0
                                             Dave LaPoint (BUR/MIL) P        0  0  0 0
                                             Rusty McDonald (CLI/LAD) P      0  0  0 0
                                             Mark Esser (APP/CWS) P          0  0  0 0
                                             Bud Reichard (WR/MIN) P         0  0  0 0
 TOTALS                      33 7 9 5                                       34 11 16 8

Omaha             005 100 100 -  7  9 1
All-Stars         130 501 10x - 11 16 3

 E - Kinard, unknown (3). DP - All-Stars 2, Royals 1. LOB - Royals 7, All-Stars 9.
 2B - Cripe, Kusnyer, Chappas, Foley, Etchandy, K.Bass. 3B - LoGrande. HR - Cripe.
 SB - Silverio 2, Denevi, Sutherland, Dybzinski. SH - Van Bever.  SF - Barranca,
 Sutherland.

OMAHA             IP  H R ER BB SO
Throop (L)       4.0 11 9  7  1  2
Hamrick          3.0  5 2  2  2  3
McGilberry       1.0  0 0  0  0  0

ALL-STARS         IP  H R ER BB SO
Baumgarten       2.0  1 0  0  1  1
Franklin         0.1  4 5  5  1  0
LaPoint          1.1  3 1  1  2  0
McDonald (W)     1.1  0 0  0  0  2
Esser            2.0  2 1  1  3  5
Reichard         2.0  0 0  0  0  2

 HBP - by Throop (K.Bass). WP - LaPoint, McDonald, Esser 2. PB - Kusnyer.

 Umpires - Jerry Serrone, Larry Young, Kevin Walton, Terry Mann.

 Time: 2:41.  Attendance: 1,519.

Notes, Issues, Sources, and Mysteries

• Based on the box score in the 1995 Midwest League Yearbook, with help from a game account in the June 7, 1978, edition of the Waterloo Courier, which had a box score. The team selections were published in the May 28 edition of the Burlington Hawk-Eye.
• Appleton manager Gordy Lund led the All-Star squad, with coaching assistance from Cotton Nash of Quad Cities, Woody Smith of Waterloo, and Dick McLaughlin of Clinton. John Sullivan, Omaha's (and formerly Waterloo's) manager, was unable to take part as his mother had suffered a stroke; pitcher Jerry Cram took Sully's place.
• KC Royals' pitcher Steve Busby was originally scheduled to start this game for Omaha on a rehab start, but a schedule change had forced manager John Sullivan to use him the day before. Busby did attend the game.
• An Odd Play: Kevin Bass dropped--apparently deliberately--a sacrifice fly in the third. The batter was ruled out (Infield Fly Rule, perhaps?); two runners scored. Guess you had to be there.
• No official game MVP was selected.
• Selected, but did not play: Daryl Bailey (P, Burlington), Pat Alexander (P, Cedar Rapids), Brad Havens (P, Quad Cities), and Carl Nicholson (P, Waterloo). Moe Hill's participation in this game was a bit of a surprise, as he'd been ill for several days preceding the contest.