Greek coach threatens to quit

Greece's Olympic baseball team coach Dimitris Goussios threatened to resign yesterday when his 24-man roster, containing just two local players, was named. According to the Associated Press:

"I feel very bitter. . . . I've been used and I feel insulted as a person and as a coach," Dimitris Goussios said. "I'll fight this up until the last minute."

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Goussios said he wasn't consulted in the team selection and argued that at least six homegrown players should have been chosen to guarantee that the sport has a future in Greece.

Seventeen teams play in a five-year-old Greek baseball league.

Greece, a nation of 11 million people, is relying heavily on those of Greek descent to find athletes in baseball and other sports that are largely unfamiliar in this country.

Male athletes granted summary citizenship for the Olympics have been made exempt from Greek military service.

"Of course the American-born players are of higher quality and we warmly welcome them as part of Greece . . . but this is unfair. Many of the local players have proven their value over the past year," Goussios said.

Goussios may not like the fact that there are only two locally-based players on his team, but he will have to contend with the fact that some of his North American ringers are bitter that there are any proper Greeks there are there at all. Back in June, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported that the American professionals were losing their patience with the five native-born Greek players who were then part of his roster. One of the American-born players, Cory Harris, had complained: "We're dealing with 30- to 35-year-olds who have the talent of 10-year-old Americans". Oh, such wonderful clubhouse chemistry!