Los Banos Rotary Club History
Tiger Baseball Team Feted

Coach Carlyle Loftin and his Tiger baseball team were honored at a 20-30 Club dinner in the Hotel Oberon Monday evening.

Lions and Rotary Club members and other interested local citizens also attended. M. D. Wheat, Rotary Club president, was the principal speaker.
After the dinner Loftin introduced members of his Joaquin league southern section champions and presented 20-30 Club gold baseballs to Joe Padilla and Jerry Hardaway. Floyd Hughes, honorary team captain, presented Loftin with a gift certificate from the team.

Wheat, a former catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, advised the boys who plan professional baseball careers that they must love the game, play it at every opportunity, and play as part of a team rather than as an individual star. "If you want a professional baseball career, you've got to work for it," Wheat said, "because every kid in the United States seems to want to be a major league ball player."

With regard to place hitting, Wheat said the best batters hit according to where the pitcher throws the ball rather than to any spot predetermined by the batter. He explained that a good righthand hitter would not try to pull an outside ball into left field, but would hit it naturally to right field. Likewise, he explained the best hitters would drive an inside ball to left field if they were right hand batters.

L. J. Spindt, principal of the local high school, spoke briefly of the California Interscholastic Federation, of which the local school is a member. Spindt emphasized the CIF did not attempt to make school athletics better for the spectator or big gate receipts. Rather, Spindt said, the CIF tried at all times to protect the students and do what was best for their interests.
Mike Dambrosio led the assemblage of several songs. John Torre, Lions Club president, was introduced and acknowledged the introduction on behalf of his organization.

Dan Bambauer of the 20-30 Club was master ceremonies at the dinner.

June 6, 1950

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