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Fingers, the 1981 American League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Award winner, still wears his familiar handlebar mustache, though it's now mostly gray.
"I just hope nobody gets hurt," Fingers said before the game. "Lots of these guys, you put on some weight after you get out of the game, but mine (uniform) still fits. It's OK. I throw just as hard, it just doesn't get there as fast."
It sure didn't on this day. In his first game at Doubleday Field, Whiten hit a pair of home runs to lead the Fellers past the Killebrews 9-0. The first was a line shot into the bleachers in left center off Fingers, who raised his arms in appreciation. Robby Hisert, a player for the Military All-Stars, also homered.
Kent, who retired before the 2009 season, wowed the crowd in the pregame hitting contest, effortlessly hitting four straight home runs to left field in the opening round to beat Kevin Bass and Bill Madlock and join Whiten in the finals.
Whiten, one of only 15 major leaguers to hit four home runs in one game, won it when Kent conceded after hitting a pitch off the end of his bat.
"I think I'm done," said the 43-year-old Whiten, who attributed his hitting prowess to a couple of extra slices of pizza.
He wasn't, and he also fielded his position in center field with the flair of somebody still playing every day.
"I just managed to get it out of the ballpark," said Whiten, named the game's most valuable player. "This is what it's all about."
"It's a wonderful feeling," Killebrew added as he saluted the fans. "This is where baseball lives."
[Associated Press;
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