The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 43

BASEBALL THE WEEK IN REVIEW Tuesday, July 12, 1988 The Philadelphia Inquirer For all-star entertainment, check this lineup I Best at-bathome-run ratio Aimless facts of the week up and shook his hand. She was then escorted away, naturally, but has very possibly not washed that hand since. "I think you've got to have had too much to drink if you're going for Al," said teammate Van Slyke. Catcher: Benito Santiago, San Diego. Santiago watched in awe from behind the plate as an Ed Whltson pitch soared over his head and into the night, landing perhaps 25 feet up the foul screen.

"1 look up and say, 'Gosh dang. Look at that. The ball went into the Santiago would later say. What he didn't notice was the fleet form of Montreal's Mitch Webster, who went from first to third while Santiago was admiring the slightly imprecise, although very live, pitch. Pitcher: John Tudor, St.

Louis. There's nothing Week in Review likes better than a good, honest show of emotion, and Tudor has been nothing if not honest the past week. After giving up just 10 earned runs in his first 12 starts, Tudor has now allowed 14 in his last three. After being knocked out of Saturday's 21-2 disaster against the Giants, Tudor rearranged all the batting helmets that had been stacked neatly in the dugout. Earlier in the week, in Los Angeles, Tudor was taken out of a game, then tossed his glove in the dugout.

He noticed a television camera recording the moment, picked up the glove and stuck it in the camera lens. "He was just doing his job," Tudor said of the cameraman. "He just caught me at a bad time." By Bob Ford Inquirer Stall WrtKr Those who annually select the all-star teams generally make their picks based on stuffy criteria such as runs, hits, average and the like. You know the kind. Even when the knowledgeable fans of the game ignore the narrow borders of greatness and choose to vote instead for oh, say every member of the local home team, some wrongs are righted by the all-star managers as they fill out the rosters.

And then, once again, the selections are heavily weighted toward that boring old standard: achievement. At Week in Review, however, true stardom isn't granted so easily. This game of baseball is entertainment, after all, and there's something to be said for the players who have been most entertaining. And as usual, it will be said here. Even better and more lasting than a monstrous home run is a well-timed quote.

More telling than a lucky swing is a brutal error. These are the events and the guys who make summer more than just a breathless wait for the opening of NHL camp! They won't be in Cincinnati together tonight, taking the field, but here's a look at the all-star team for the National League as it might be in a somewhat different, certainly better, world: First base: Nick Esasky, Cincinnati. The evening of April 30 in Cincinnati. Ninth inning. Two outs.

Score tied, 5-5. Howard Johnson of New York on second. Mookie Wilson at the plate. Ground ball to shortstop Barry Larkin. Wide throw.

Delayed call by the umpire. While Esasky screams and pouts, he ignores Johnson, who scores on the play. Cincinnati manager Pete Rose leaps from the dugout and advances on umpire Dave Pallone. The course of 1988 baseball is about to change, and you could be right if you think Esasky is more than partly to blame. Second base: Jose Lind, Pittsburgh.

The 24-year-old glove man with the elevator leap makes the club on sheer physical ability and for the conversation he inspires. Earlier in the season, pitcher Mike Dunne bet Lind he couldn't jump and hit his head on the ceiling of the visitors' clubhouse in Wrigley Field. The ceiling goes about 11 feet. Lind is 5-foot-ll. Lind bonked his cranium on the ceiling, inspiring an awestruck Dunne to say, "Yeah, and he hit it on the way up." Shortstop: Dave Concepcion, Cincinnati.

This guy, who used to get in for other reasons, makes the all-star team for his two-handed toss of first base. Concepcion was called out on strikes during a game at Candlestick Park in May and, as he Associated Press Jose Lind turning a DP without a ceiling to worry about. National League moseyed toward the infield, first base caught his eye. He plucked the base from the ground, heaved it and was awarded a two-game suspension by marshal Bart Giamatti, the fastest gun on Park Avenue. "Mr.

President," Concepcion said. "I guess he never gets mad." Third base: Jim Morrison, Atlanta. Another member of the I-pitched-this-year-too club, a stint during which he allowed the redoubtable William Harry Spilman his first triple in 749 major-league at-bats. That performance also made Morrison notable as perhaps the only man in baseball history with a chance to finish a season having given up as many walks as a pitcher (1) as he received as a hitter (1). Outfield: Jose DeLeon, St.

Louis. DeLeon is usually found on a pitcher's mound, but during a season in which players have been switching positions with great frequency, he turned up in the outfield during one memorable evening. It was a 19-inning game against Minimum: 150 at-bats. PLAYER Darryl Strawberry, Mets Will Clark, Giants Glenn Davis, Astros Andres Galarraga, Expos Howard Johnson, Mets Eric Davis, Reds Bobby Bonilla, Pirates Kirk Gibson, Dodgers Barry Bonds, Pirates Tom Brunansky, Cardinals Marvell Wynne, Padres Andre Dawson, Cubs Lane Parrish, Phils ABHRAVG. 292 21 13.9 299 20 15.0 314 18 17.4 349 20 17.5 290 16 18.1 255 14 18.2 320 17 18.8 298 15 19.9 310 15 20.7 270 13 20.8 191 9 21.2 325 15 21.7 26212 21.8 Quality starts leaders Quality start: A pitcher goes at least six innings and gives up no more than three earned runs.

Minimum: 15 starts. PITCHER QS W-L Greg Maddux, Cubs 17 15-3 Ron Darling, Mets 15 10-5 Orel Hershiser, Dodgers 15 13-4 Rick Reuschel, Giants 15 11-4 Bob Walk, Pirates 15 10-4 Bob Knepper, Astros 14 9-2 Dennis Martinez, Expos 14 9-7 Tom Browning, Reds 13 8-3 Jamie Moyer, Cubs 13 5-8 Nolan Ryan, Astros 13 6-7 Dwight Gooden, Mets 12 11-5 Kevin Gross, Phils 12 8-5 Shane Rawley, Phils 12 5-11 Eric Show, Padres 12 6-9 John Smiley, Pirates 12 9-4 Bryn Smith, Expos 12 6-5 Hot hitters last week PLAYER AB AVG. Tony Gwynn, Padres 23 12 .522 John Shelby, Dodgers 23 10 .435 Barry Bonds, Pirates 17 7 .412 Tom Foley, Expos 20 8 .400 Keith Moreland, Padres 20 8 .400 Gerald Perry, Braves ..23 9 .391 Bill Doran, Astros 18 7 .389 Cold hitters last week PLAYER AB AVG. Denny Gonzalez, Pirates 12 0 .000 Tom Barrett, Phillies 21 1 .048 Mike Fitzgerald, Cards 13 1 .077 Darryl Strawberry, Mets 23 2 .087 Luis Alicea, Cards 11 1 .091 Vince Coleman, Cards 20 2 .100 Compiled by Rich Rosenberg They said, 'Aw, man, you trapped the Flying apart The New York Mets, in order to give Dwight Gooden a solid night's sleep, sent the pitcher on an early flight to Houston last Thursday rather than make him wait for the team charter out of New York. Fellow starter Ron Darling also opted for an earlier flight, but at his own expense.

"It was $400 plus, but that's all right. I'm tired of being late," Darling said. Darling must have known something. The scheduled 5:30 p.m. charter was delayed more than four hours and the team didn't arrive at the hotel lobby in Houston until 2 a.m.

Gooden, however, lost to the Astros on Friday, his first loss to Houston since May 6, 1984, after nine straight winning decisions. Darling didn't pitch in the series. Best at-bathome-run ratio Minimum: 150 at-bats. PLAYER ABHR AVG. Ken Phelps, Mariners 17914 12.8 Jose Canseco, Athletics 345 24 14.4 Jack Clark, Yankees 26018 14.4 Pat Sheridan, Tigers 16811 15.3 Fred Lynn, Orioles 24415 16.3 Kent Hrbek, Twins 281 17 16.5 Ivan Calderon, Wh.

Sox 233 14 16.6 Gary Gaetti, Twins 323 19 17.0 Cory Snyder, Indians 307 18 17.1 Pete Incaviglia, 26415 17.6 Fred McGriff, Blue Jays 271 15 18.1 Darrell Evans, Tigers 237 13 18.2 Bo Jackson, Royals 209 1 1 19.0 Quality starts leaders Quality start: A pitcher goes at least six innings and gives up no more than three earned runs. Minimum: 15 starts. PITCHER QS W-L Roger Clemens, Red Sox. 15 12-5 Mark Gubicza. 15 12-5 Frank Viola, Twins 15 14-2 Dave LaPoint, White Sox.

14 7-9 Doyle Alexander, Tigers 13 8-4 Charlie Hough, Rangers 13 8-9 Dave Stewart, Athletics 13 12-7 Dave Stieb, Blue Jays 13 10-5 Bob Welch, Athletics 13 10-5 Hot hitters last week PLAYER AB AVG. Chili Davis, Angels 25 15 .600 Kirby Puckett, Twins 30 14 .467 Julio Franco, 33 15 .455 Scott Fletcher, 26 11 .423 C. Washington, Yankees 17 7 .412 Gary Gaetti, Twins 20 8 .400 Mike Greenwell, Red Sox 35 14 .400 Frank White, Royals 25 10 .400 Cold hitters last week PLAYER AB AVG. Rob Woodard. White Sox 15 0 .000 Jim Presley, 14 1 .071 Terry Kennedy, Orioles 13 1 .077 Jesse Barfield, Blue Jays 12 1 .083 Dan Gladden, Twins 22 2 .091 Pete Stanicek, Orioles 21 2 .095 Compiled by Rich Rosenberg Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune took Griffith to see the show.

When the curtain rose, the stage was dominated by an overweight man sitting in a chair and snorting like a pig while holding a half-eaten hot dog in one hand and a container of mustard in the other. Griffith nudged Reusse and said, "That's me." Frequent flier Joe Law, a pitcher in the Oakland organization, was minding his own business, toiling for the double-A Huntsville, club, when he got the call. He was headed for triple A and the Tacoma. team in Phoenix. So he hopped a 4 p.m.

flight on July 4 from Huntsville to Phoenix, which isn't exactly a direct connec- BOX SCORE LINE OF THE WEEK No matter how badly things are going for Rick Mahler and they've been going pretty badly he just refuses to walk batters. Take this line from Friday's loss to Montreal: Vb IP, 5 4 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO. Mahler has now allowed just 16 walks in 124 innings, which works Out to 1.2 walis per game, the best ratio for a starter in baseball. Now, he's got to" vVOrR" on that runs-to-innings ratio a little. ODD WIZARD OF OZ In the last two weeks, 9t.

Louis shortstop Ozzie has twice made errors on consecutive ground balls. BASERUNNER OF THE WEEK Donell Nixon of San Francisco became the fourth man in major-league history to be caught stealing twice in one inning. He was picked off first base against the Cubs, but' reached second on an error by Ryne Sandberg. The scorer's ruling: CS, Later in the inning, Nixon was a dsad' duck when Will Clark missed a suicide" squeeze attempt. Answer this questipni" Why was Clark, the NL's RBI leader (68jr-asked to squeeee? NEW CAREER DEPT.

From 1977-through last year, Gary Carter was 0 for 27 as a pinch-hitter. This year he's 3 for' 4, including a pinch-hit single last Wednesday that tied the score and led New York to its only win of the Carter is still waiting for career home run No. 300. He's had 299 since May 16, the' longest homerless drought of his career-LIKE WALKING ON THE MOON Pirates coach Gene Lamont, who was interviewed for the Seattle managing job last Thursday, said he went for the experience. "I've never had an interview," Lamont said.

"I know when I worked in the factory in the winter, I didn't have to interview for that." Lamont's appraisal of this thing we call an interview? "It was interesting," he said. NO EXPLANATION NECESSARY Wallace Johnson of Montreal has 10 Hits' 8nd 0 RBIs. YOU BET Mark McGuire, the Cubs'; vice president of baseball operations! on the specially designed lights that will soon bathe Wrigley Field during night games: "When the people sit irv the stands and see what it's like, thev may find the field even more beautiful, night." The Cubs tested all the lights for the first time on Thursday. Spaceman of the week Charlie Kerfeld, the Astros' port-ly reliever and perhaps the.pniy;; major-leaguer who wears a JeJsons-: T-shirt under his uniform, under-" went shoulder surgery two weeks ago. This forced him to consider other career options.

He made a list of five alternate careers to pursue' si should he be unable to continue pitching. "Arena football is first," said. "Then the World Wrestling Federation. Maybe go back to coU lege and get a brain surgery de-' gree. Or become an assistant clubhouse Or go to Harry Wendelstedt's umpiring This recalled Kerfeld's answer when asked what he would do will i just a week to live.

"I'd get Hulk Hogan, Brian Bos-worth, Charles Barkley and I'd have a four-man tag-team match with the Four Horsemen," he said. either Aimless facts of the week BOX SCORE LINE OF THE WEEK Despite serious competition, it's hard to ignore the line turned in by Charlie Hough of Texas against the Yankees on July 4: 2V IP, 3 8 6 ER, 6 BB. 6 SO. The performance by the knuckleballer also included one hit batsman that counted and another that didn't count. Don Slaught was hit on the head by a pitch from Hough while attempting to bunt.

But umpire Joe Brinkman said Slaught didn't attempt to avoid the path of the batr. Slaught was livid and logical. "It had no path," he told Brinkman. VERSATILE BATTER OF THE WEEK Cal Ripken Jr. was moved up to second in the Baltimore batting order last week.

He has now hit everywhere in the order, except leadoff, during his career.7 Wsde Boggs of Boston has hit in all nine spols in the order. (When the Phillies' Steve Jeltz batted seventh last week, it was the first time in his career he had timed anywhere but eighth.) CELEBRATION OF THE WEEK Just before Texas farmhand Monte Farris was promoted from the team's class-A club in Butte, last week, the Butte team's management staged a Monte Farris Night. Farris had played 16 games ior Butte. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN READY Cleveland starter Greg Swindell gave up five first-inning runs on Wednesday to a team that hadn't taken batting practice. The team was Oakland, which had played 50 innings in 60 hours before skipping BP.

TRADITIONALIST OF THE WEEK 1 Oakland's Mark McGwire hit 16th-inning, game-winning home runs on consecutive days last week, but he's had it with long games. His solution? "I think there should be a limit flip a coin or something," he said. A HOT SUMMER Before last week, the Tigers hadn't had a four -homer game all season. They then hit at least four homers in three of their next four games. Thirteen of their last 39 hits have been home runs.

They have five players with at least 10 homers this season. No other team has more than three. tion. When he arrived at the Phoenix airport, there was a message waiting. He had been called up to the bigs and was expected to be in uniform in time for the A's double-header in Cleveland the next day.

So he got on another airplane and headed for Ohio. He arrived at 9 o'clock the next morning, having been in the air for 17 hours and waiting to fly for another four since beginning his odyssey in Huntsville. Hut who was complaining? Law was in the big leagues. He suited up and watched the first game of the doubleheader from the bullpen. Hut in between games after Dave Stewart had gone the distance in a loss to give the Oakland relievers a breather Joe Law was sent hack down to triple A.

Nice having you. kid. Any trouble getting here' you shouldn't sell this one short, the Braves on May 14, a game in which Jose Oquendo, not normally a pitcher, took the first decision by a position player in 20 years. So, it was only fitting that DeLeon be in the outfield for this historic event. Manager Whitey Herzog had De-Leon switch positions 11 times with regular outfielder Tom Brunansky, moving from left field to right field and back again depending on the hitter.

Two balls were actually hit to DeLeon and he actually caught them. Chili Davis (see our AL team), eat your heart out. Outfield: Andy Van Slyke, Pittsburgh. Van Slyke just might be the most quoted man in baseball. And why not? Two of his best lines this year: When asked if he has any pre-game superstitious rituals: "Only calling Nancy Reagan." When asked what person on earth he would switch places with: "My wife, so I could see how wonderful it is to live with me." Outfield: Al Pedrique, Pittsburgh.

On a May night in Pittsburgh, a young woman wandered across the outfield heading straight for Pedrique, not previously known to inspire such devotion even from Morganna or the Kissing Bandit. She strode right to him, puckered i Bob Boone can smile about his once again. Not only was he the designated hitter, but he batted seventh. Not only was he the designated hitter, batting seventh, but he drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Otherwise, he was 0 for 1.

Nobody's perfect. Best by a wrong shot The July 4 issue of Sports Illustrated pronounced Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell the best player in baseball, citing his excellent defense and burgeoning power statistics. The accompanying photo of a serious, eye-blacked Detroit hitter was captioned "Trammell's bat makes him the one." Only trouble is, the photo was actually of marginal Jim Morrison, who was released by the Tigers earlier this year. Now that he's the best, maybe Trammell should work on being the most recognizable. Doc Edwards quote of the week The first comes from the Indians' 16-inning, 4-2 loss to Oakland last week a game in which four Indians, including Kdwards, the manager, were ejected.

Mark McGwire won it Tor Oakland with a home run his second game-winning, lftth-inning homer in two days but Edwards wasn't around to see that. fOvr Defensive gem It was the ninth inning in Candlestick Park on Wednesday and the Cubs were desperately trying to come back from a 2-0 deficit. Ryne Sandberg was on first when Darrin Jackson drove a ball into the left-center gap. Brett Butler moved quickly from center field, dived to his right and and Well, according to umpire Larry Poncino, Butler caught the ball. "I saw the ball go directly into the glove," Poncino said.

That's not what the television replays revealed, however. Those replays showed the ball bouncing about a foot in front of Butler's glove before disappearing inside. Manager Don Zimmer disagreed with the call, to no avail. "He said, 'I got it That's all I ever get from them," Zimmer said. And Butler's opinion? "He's gonna say he caught it.

He's no imbecile," Zimmer said. The jury's still out on that one. "I wasn't sure at all. I think I might have caught it," Butler said. "Then, just to reassure myself, I said, 'Guys, what did you AssocMltsd Preu Gold Glove achievements.

He had been ejected after Cleveland's Julio Franco was called out on strikes in the 12th, and he threw a pair of dugout clipboards as he made his exit. Said Edwards of umpire Tim Tschida: "I didn't want to argue with him; I wanted to choke him." Later in the week, the mood lightened somewhat as the Indians came back to take three straight from the A's, including an 8-6 victory in which Mel Hall hit a three-run, inside-the-park home run. It was only the second career homer off a lefthander (Rick Honeycutt) for Hall, and it was Hall's first home run at Cleveland Stadium this year. He had promised the fans he would do a "cabbage-patch dance" when he finally hit one. Said Hall after completing the in-side-the-parkcr without doing any dance steps: "I still owe them one.

I didn't have time to dance, only run." Edwards' reaction? "It's a good thing he didn't dance or I would have turned him into cole slaw." Give it three smiles and a grunt In Minneapolis, where former Twins owner Calvin Griffith 1ms reached folk-legend status, a theater is presenting a one-man show based on Griffith's life. and By Bob Ford Inquirer Stuff Writer It might seem unlikely the American League could field a Week in Review all-star team to compete with the National League's, but it's been an entertaining kind of season in the Other League as well. Just consider the managerial picture: Gene Mauch of California quit before the season started. Cal Ripken Sr. was canned after just six games of the Baltimore death march.

Seattle's Dick Williams followed him out the door. And then there was Billy Martin. What's happened on the field hasn't been dull, either. First base: Rent Hrbek, Minnesota. He said he'd never play in the regular All-Star Game, so that makes him a natural for this squad.

He earned a berth early in the season when he announced, after 16 homerless games, that he wouldn't shave until he hit a home run. His resolve lasted only two days. His explanation? "Oh, I hit a home run in my sleep last night," he said. "I dreamed my wife was pitching." Hrbek then hit four home runs in the next three games. Second base: Willie Randolph, New York.

When Billy Martin was fired as the Yankees' manager, Randolph was asked for his reaction. He responded with perhaps the Quote of the First Half. "Just put in my quotes from the last 12 times," he said. Shortstop: Cal Ripken, Baltimore. This guy is a real all-star, but he deserves special mention for playing every inning of the Orioles' 0-21 start.

During that time, his father was fired as manager, his brother Billy was carried off the field on a stretcher after being beaned (he quickly recovered) and Cal Jr. himself endured one of the worst starts of his career. Third base: Wade Boggs, Boston. Another genuine all-star, but one who earned his place here by almost single-handedly tearing apart his team. Boggs was hit with a pali-mony suit on June 3.

Several of his teammates will be asked to testify at the trial a fact that led to fights among the Red Sox players in buses, elevators and clubhouses. Boggs, meanwhile, has hit .359 since the suit became public, raising his league-leading average to .355. Outfield: Glenn Wilson, Seattle. The former Phillies rightfielder storied the season in Dick Williams' roomy doghouse and hasn't even American League seen any daylight since Williams was fired. The Mariners recently refused his request that the club pick up its option on him for next season.

That may have something to do with his penchant for grounding into double plays. Wilson has 16 RBIs and has grounded into 13 double plays not a good ratio. Since the start of the 1985 season, he has accumulated 70 GIDPs, the most in the major leagues. Outfield: Devon White, California. He earned permanent all-star status, perhaps even Hall of Fame status, when he missed the start of an Angels game.

Missing that start of a game has been done before, of course, but rarely by someone whose name is on the lineup card and who also happens to be in the clubhouse. At any rate, White says he was on the telephone instead of in center field when the first pitch was thrown on June 25 against the Brewers. The game had to be restarted. Outfield: Chili Davis, California. He has 14 yes, 14 errors this season, and is within reach of the record for an outfielder.

As we all know, any man who once broke a bat over his knee can do anything he sets his mind to. Catcher: Bob Boone, California. Here's another guy who probably should be in the real game but isn't. There's plenty of room here, however, especially for those with slightly unusual achievements. When Boone won the American League Gold Glove for catchers last year, it was 10 seasons since he had won his first Gold Glove with the 1978 Phillies In the National League.

No catcher had ever won Gold Gloves that far apart. But here's the strange part: When Boone won his first with the Phils, he broke Johnny Bench's NL-rec-ord streak of nine Gold Gloves. When he won in 1986 with the Angels, he broke Jim Sundbcrg's Alz-record streak of six. It will be interesting to see whose record he brcuks 10 years from now. Pitcher: Mark Langston, Seattle.

He was called gutless by Dick Williams, but anyone who has given up five home runs in a Ramc and a major-league high of 21 at the all-star break gets our vole. Dil: Rick Rhoden, New York. Rhoden, normally a pitcher, was the designated hitter in one of those strange lineups Billy Martin wrote out before getting the ax.