Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 18, 1995                   TAG: 9506210028
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: E-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TORONTO                                 LENGTH: Short

ALOMAR GLOVES RECORD

Alomar set an American League mark for second basemen Saturday with his 90th straight game without an error in Toronto's 4-3 win over Texas.

Jerry Adair held the AL record of 89 for Baltimore in 1964 and 1965. Ryne Sandberg holds the major league record with 123 for the Chicago Cubs in 1989 and 1990.

``I feel very proud of what I've done,'' Alomar said. ``I take a lot of pride in my defense. People talk about hitting all the time, not defense, but now I'm in the books because of my defense.''

Alomar, a five-time All-Star and career .299 hitter, made his last error on July 24, 1994. He handled six chances on Saturday.

In the second inning, he ranged far to his left, chasing down Ivan Rodriguez's grounder before spinning and throwing out Rodriguez by a step.

``I go for every ball,'' Alomar said. ``Sometimes, if guys are going for records, they don't go for the ball. But I play hard all the time. I dive if I have to dive, because I'm not going to let a record slow my game.''

Alomar said he wasn't going to become preoccupied by Sandberg's mark.

``If it happens, it happens. If not, then it wasn't meant to be,'' Alomar said. ``I'm not going after his record. I'm just going out there trying to play good baseball. ...

``If I didn't have the record,'' he said, ``maybe people won't remember how good a defensive player I was when I retire.''

Keywords:
BASEBALL