Sport: Youngest Rookie

To the big-league baseball scout, the ideal pitching prospect is a sturdy six-footer who can fire fastballs all through the long, hot afternoon. Such a pitcher was Iowa Farm Boy Bob Feller, who came off a sand lot at 17 and struck out 348 batters for the Cleveland Indians in 1946. Such a pitcher also is moonfaced Michael Jones, a $3,000-bonus rookie who plays for Johnson City, Tenn., a St. Louis Cardinals class D farm club. A rangy (6 ft., 174 Ibs.) right-hander with a smoky fastball, shy Mike Jones has yet another distinction: at 16, he is the youngest player...

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