Saturday, August 16, 1997

Conkle retires, to attend law school

By MARK WILSON / Abilene Reporter-News

Troy Dean Conkle of the Abilene Prairie Dogs retired from baseball after pitching Friday night, but he may be back in the game some day - behind the scenes.

Conkle, who has been accepted into law school at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, is leaving Abilene this morning. He has a get-together to go to in Fort Worth Sunday, and will go through orientation Monday.

After five years of pro baseball, the 27-year-old Prairie Dogs' player/coach decided he wanted to bury his nose in law books for the next few years.

"It was time to make the decision and go ahead and go," said Conkle, who also served as pitching coach under head coach Britt Bonneau last season at Abilene Christian University. "I'm awfully nervous about it. I haven't done anything but baseball for about 25 years. It will be a lifestyle change, for sure."

Shortly after arriving at Scott Field Friday for his final baseball game, Conkle said his emotional state was 'nervous and emotional," and that he was a little bit scared.

Conkle isn't sure what area he will specialize in as a lawyer, but thinks there could be a place for him in baseball litigation or a related capacity.

"I don't think I'll ever be totally out of the game," said Conkle, who entered Friday night's game with a 6-3 season record. "There's also a business side to it. That's definitely an option."

Conkle got married two months ago, and former Cooper and Prairie Dog baseball player Scott Malone was one of the groomsmen.

His wife's brother, who is now an assistant attorney general in Louisiana, was in law school when Conkle was graduating from Northwest Louisiana State University.

"That's one of the reasons I'm going to law school," Conkle said. "All he did was reinforce my interest in law."

Conkle said he looks forward to his extended education, and will even view law school as another form of competition. As for negative images of some lawyers, Conkle can only speak for himself.

"Everybody sees the crooked people in everything," Conkle said. "I feel like I have a good ethical code I live by, and hopefully that will never be said about me."

Abilene manager Barry Jones said that there will be no replacement for Conkle this late in the season.

Jones found out Conkle was leaving baseball only a week ago, but wasn't shocked.

"It was no big surprise," Jones said. "There are a lot of guys going back to school. It's part of the game."

Jones will just have to take up the slack.

"This kind of puts a little pressure on me," said Jones, noting that he had always been able to count on Conkle to not miss anything from his seat in the dugout. "He was my eye through the lineup. All I missed, he saw.

'Any time you have a Troy Dean Conkle on your ballclub, it's an advantage. He's a student of the game, and he works hard. It will be a big loss for the team. Everybody likes Troy Dean Conkle."

Conkle said having a pro career was a blessing, and has enjoyed his stay in Abilene since being traded from Tyler last season. Because of the trade, he was able to be a part of the Prairie Dogs' 1996 championship season.

"This place has been great to me," Conkle said. "Last year when I was traded over, I got to go from worst to first.

"Barry and the front office have been tremendous to me and they gave me a chance to win a ring last year. I've had a blast. I can't tell you enough about this city and how much I've loved it."

Regardless of whether Conkle ends up becoming involved in baseball as an attorney some day, he's already going to be closer to some major league action.

"We're going to live just down the road from the Ballpark in Arlington," said the Arlington native.

Call him the K-Man

Abilene pitcher George Preston Jr. struck out 10 batters Thursday night in the team's 10-8 win over Lubbock. That was the most strikeouts by a Prairie Dog starter this season - and he did it in only six innings. He allowed six hits andfour runs.

McClure watch

Abilene outfielder Jason McClure went 2 for 3 Thursday night against Lubbock, raising his batting average to .386. That moved him past Brian Warner of Rio Grande Valley, who slipped from .389 to .384 Thursday night.

McClure is still chasing Jorge Alvarez, who was batting .393 for Amarillo when he left went home to the Dominican Republic. It is believed that Alvarez will have more than enough plate appearances at the end of the season to qualify for the Texas-Louisiana League batting title.

McClure continues to tear up Lubbock pitching. He entered Friday's game with an incredible average of .535 (31 hits in 58 at-bats) against the Crickets this season.

Probable starters

The likely starting pitchers for today's final game against Lubbock are Jamie Glore (0-0, 1.42 earned run average) for Abilene and Brian Madigan (4-5, 5.54 ERA) for the Crickets.

Backpack night

The first 1,000 kids 14 and under entering tonight's 7:05 game will get a free Prairie Dogs backpack. The promotion is sponsored by First American Bank, KTXS-TV, and Y-99.