Baseball

SHORT STORY

In the '70s, only one American League shortstop batted .300 in a season: Luis Aparicio hit .313 for the White Sox in 1970. And Rico Petrocelli was the only shortstop in either league in that decade to knock in 100 runs in a season, in '70. Only three shortstops (Petrocelli, Roy Smalley, Toby Harrah) hit 20 homers. It was a decade in which Fred Patek led all AL shortstops in '77 with 60 RBIs and San Diego's immortal Enzo Hernandez knocked in 12 runs in 549 at bats in '71.

This season five American League shortstops—Toronto's Tony Fernandez, Detroit's Alan Trammell, Texas's Scott Fletcher, Cleveland's Julio Franco and Chicago's Ozzie Guillen—are hitting over or near .300. Trammell, Baltimore's Cal Ripken, Milwaukee's Dale Sveum and Seattle's Rey Quinones could hit 20 homers this season; Ripken and Trammell could knock in 100 runs. "Get me into the National League," says Guillen, who did not make the AL All-Star team. "There are too many good shortstops in the American." Indeed, Guillen and Fletcher would have been headliners in the '70s. And in the shadows of the others, California's steady Dick Schofield and Oakland's brilliant Alfredo Griffin receive little notice.

The boom-bust cycle is also evident in the American League's remarkable wealth of first basemen—and in its dearth of catchers. Talented first basemen like Pete O'Brien of Texas, Kent Hrbek of Minnesota and Wally Joyner of California couldn't crack the AL All-Star lineup, while the two catchers on the AL All-Star team (Terry Kennedy and Matt Nokes) have thrown out a grand total of 27 of 129 runners.

SULTANS OF SWAP
General managers expect a flurry of trades before the Aug. 1 deadline. "Everyone knows waivers are going to be tough to get in August," says Cleveland's Joe Klein. The Athletics figure they have the inside track on Chicago's Floyd Bannister; the White Sox don't want to pay Bannister the $1.2 million he stands to earn if he makes 31 starts this season (he has 20 so far). Bannister has also indicated that he would prefer to play for a West Coast team.... Dodgers G.M. Fred Claire has explored a number of trade possibilities, including a blockbuster involving Baltimore's Eddie Murray. Claire is also shopping Mike Marshall, though Marshall has backed off from his earlier request to be traded and says, "I'm very, very happy in L.A. I'm not abandoning a sinking ship." ...The Cardinals, with Danny Cox out until mid-August with a broken toe and John Tudor just beginning to recover from his knee fracture, may take a shot at Baltimore's Mike Flanagan; Boston is about to release Bill Buckner and is shopping Don Baylor and Dave Henderson; and the Pirates have several pitchers on the block, as well as Johnny Ray, whose limited range has caught up with him at second base.... The Yankee trade for Steve Trout could be a big factor in the AL East race. "Trout pitched better in Yankee Stadium than anywhere," says his former manager, the White Sox' Tony La Russa. The Yanks now have four lefties and a righty in the starting rotation, a configuration that proved beneficial in 1980 and '81 when they won Eastern Division titles. New York can now throw all lefties against Detroit, which takes Matt Nokes and Darrell Evans out of the lineup, and against Toronto, a team that produces better against righthanders. It's worth noting that AL East clubs were 86-104 against lefties at the All-Star break.... Cubs manager Gene Michael didn't even know about the Trout trade. "Gene doesn't consult me when he wants to bunt," said G.M. Dallas Green. "Why should I consult him about a trade?" Green was miffed at the press's reaction to trading Trout, who was coming off two straight shutouts. "I think you [the media] have a tendency to forget what happened in the past with this guy. He may have pitched two decent ball games, but even this year he broke down." And, indeed, Trout did have problems in his Yankee debut Sunday night in Texas, allowing five runs in five innings.... Trout wasn't the only New York pitcher who got banged up that evening. The game got so out of hand that catcher Rick Cerone had to pitch the Yanks out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. Texas manager Bobby Valentine countered by sending up pitcher Bobby Witt to pinch-hit, the first plate appearance by a Ranger pitcher since 1974. Cerone struck out Witt and staved off the rally, but the Rangers still won 20-3.... Few may have noticed, but Willie Randolph, out for at least a month because of knee surgery, was leading the league in runs produced (runs plus RBIs, minus homers) before he had the operation.... After coming over from the Cubs, Gary Matthews hit a home run in his first at bat as the Mariner DH and went 6 for 11 in his first three games. "Everybody talks about his arthritic knee," said Seattle manager Dick Williams. "Well, he doesn't have an arthritic bat." ...Pete Rose has never felt that Reds first baseman Nick Esasky was an everyday player. With Kal Daniels out for at least a month more after surgery on his left knee and Dave Parker back in rightfield, Rose began platooning the righthand-hitting Esasky and lefty Terry Francona (11 career homers). Esasky responded by slamming home runs in four consecutive starts—one a game-winning three-run shot in the ninth inning off the Mets' Ron Darling. Esasky has 12 homers in only 122 at bats, a 10.2 ratio, which is tops in the National League for players with 10 or more homers. When it was mentioned to Esasky that 500 at bats might produce 50 home runs, he smiled and said, "I guess we'll never find out—unless I can convince all of the National League managers to start a lefthanded pitcher in every game."

METAL MENACE
According to Oakland pitching coach Dave Duncan, "The increases in hit batsmen and homers are the result of the same thing. It all goes back to the way the aluminum bat has changed kids' pitching habits. [A hitter jammed with an inside pitch can much more easily produce a hit off an aluminum bat handle than a wooden one.] They pitch inside so seldom before they get to the big leagues that when they start trying to come inside, they miss—either out over the plate, where they get hit for homers, or too far inside, where they hit the batters." Giants broadcaster Ron Fairly, the former Dodgers star, thinks all the knockdown rules have actually resulted in more batters getting hit. "Pitchers work inside so seldom and there's so much legislation against it," says Fairly, "that batters don't think they're going to get hit. They're all diving out over the plate. [Andre] Dawson is a classic example. He dives into every pitch." ...Pedro Guerrero does not want to play in another All-Star Game. "I'm ticked off because in four games, I've gotten three at bats," he says. Guerrero is a four-time All-Star, but the fans have never voted him into the starting lineup. "I'm hitting .320 with 19 home runs and 54 RBIs, and Dave Winfield gets more at bats tonight [five] than I've gotten in four games. You think that's fair? The next time they want me, they can kiss my butt." Guerrero claims a reason for his lack of All-Star time is, "I represent the Dodgers, that's probably why. Everybody hates the Dodgers." NL manager Davey Johnson apparently thought Guerrero needed the time off because of his bad back and sore knee.... Toronto manager Jimy Williams was not happy with John McNamara's use of Tom Henke for 2⅔ innings in the All-Star Game. "I'm thoroughly teed off with the way Henke was used," Williams said. "Since when can't Dave Righetti get righthanders out?" McNamara lifted Righetti after two batters to bring in Henke with a righthanded hitter coming up.... At a meeting of present and former minority players—plus Peter Ueberroth, Dr. Harry Edwards and Boston outfielder Dwight Evans, who asked to attend—the most surprising revelation came from Bob Gibson, who said he had asked for the vacant Louisville managing job before the season and was turned down by his former teammate, Cardinal G.M. Dal Maxvill.... As the Brewers' Paul Molitor wages his continuing battle against injuries, he isn't getting much sympathy from some Milwaukee fans who sit below the County Stadium press box. They're running a pool on the inning in which Molitor will suffer his next injury. Molitor's right elbow problems are now so bad that he has to DH. The Brewers have replaced him at third with Steve Kiefer, who had 30 homers at Denver.... In the Royals' first home game after Bo Jackson's announcement that he would play football for the Raiders this fall, fans threw small plastic footballs into leftfield. "I told the grounds guys to pick them up and keep them," Jackson said. "I gave a ball to Lonnie [Smith], a ball to Sabes [Bret Saberhagen]. The grounds-keepers have a lot more in the bullpen. I may go into business."

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