Article

 

UM 7, FSU 3

 

Walkie-talkie flap mars milestone win

 

Jim Morris' 500th win at UM is marked by FSU coach Mike Martin's accusation that the Hurricanes used a walkie-talkie to steal signs.

 

BY MIKE PHILLIPS

 

How do you measure 500 victories?

 

They came so quickly for University of Miami baseball coach Jim Morris, who reached No. 500 at UM on Saturday night against the man who gave him his first job in college ball.

 

But instead of celebrating after UM rallied to beat Florida State 7-3 in front of a season-high crowd of 6,328 at Mark Light Field, Morris had to field questions about Walkie-Talkie Gate.

 

FSU coach Mike Martin, who hired Morris as his first assistant in 1980, held up the game for 15 minutes in the bottom of the sixth as he argued with umpires, saying he heard UM stealing signs ''on our walkie-talkie,'' Martin said.

 

''Why were two pitches called on our frequency on our walkie-talkie?'' Martin said after the game. ``I heard it clear as day -- one was a changeup, and one was a fastball.''

 

Martin said he had heard about UM using TV broadcats to steal signs, from two college coaches: Arizona State's Pat Murphy, whose team played in the regionals at UM in 1997, and Georgia Tech's Danny Hall, whose team played here last season.

 

''They called me, but I wouldn't believe either one of them,'' said Martin. He also said he heard of the sign-stealing from two former UM assistants: ''You can ask Turtle Thomas and Lazer Callazo,'' Martin said.

 

But Martin believed it Saturday. He asked the umpires to go into the UM locker room to check the TV there. The umpires returned laughing a bit, met with both coaches and resumed play.

 

The incident only fueled what is already one of the hottest rivalries in college baseball. Maybe presidential candidate John Kerry can sort out the mess; he might visit today for the final game of the series.

 

''What I want to know is which one of our kids had the walkie-talkie in his pocket,'' Morris said. ``If we were stealing signs, we didn't steal too many of them. We didn't have that many hits. We scored more runs at FSU [last weekend] than we did tonight.''

 

And the TV in UM's locker room? ''We tape every game,'' Morris said. ``The [umpires] said they didn't see what he was talking about.''

 

Morris said the fourth-ranked Hurricanes, who have won four in row against FSU (25-13), rallied because Seminoles starter Mark Sauls was tiring in the sixth. UM (28-7) scored a run in the fifth when shortstop Roger Tomas, the ninth hitter in the lineup, singled in Richard Giannotti. UM took the lead when Gaby Sanchez hit a three-run homer, sending Sauls' first pitch of the sixth inning (and 70th of the night) over the left-field wall for his third homer of the year. Erick San Pedro grounded out, and Martin came out of the dugout with his accusations.

 

UM scored three more runs in the seventh after Tomas hit a one-out single.

 

Morris has 500 wins in 11 seasons with UM. He picked up his 1,000th career win earlier this year against Georgia Tech, where in 12 years there he turned the Yellow Jackets into a national power.

 

Like that win, Saturday's was special for Morris. ''This is a great rivalry,'' he said. ``It always has been and hopefully it always will be. It may get even better now -- now that Walkie-Talkie Gate is part of the subplot. . . .''

 

 

 

UPSET: FSU coach Mike Martin argues with the umpires, asking them to check the TV in UM's locker room for evidence of sign-stealing in Saturday's game. AL DIAZ / HERALD STAFF

No comment :mischief2

I just had to laugh when I read this. I don't know if it's a sore loser at his best or just another cheater. But it's funny either way.

CRY

I really can't imagine why a college baseball team would do this. I seriously doubt that every player and coach on the Canes would even stand for such a thing. It's a regular season game, and it's freaking college baseball. I know it's important to those involved, but come on...

 

That guy really should apologize because he's got to realize he's being completely ridiculous.

Like there would even be time to catch a sign on a television in the clubhouse, call it out on a walkie-talkie, and then have it realyed to the hitter somehow before the pitch comes. I think Old Man Martin has lost his marbles just like Old Man Bowden.

I agree, Ross.

In the time it takes for a signal to be caught on the tv, interpreted by the man in the tv room, sent on the walkie talkie, gotten by the dugout, relayed to the third base coach, and relayed to the runners and hitters, you could have thrown 4 pitches.

That some funny stuff right there. I'm a Seminole fan but I think that this is a little over the edge.

What a bunch of cry babies!! As Mad Dog likes to say "Get your @$$ kicked? Say you got your @$$ kicked" :lol