The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • 25

ELA The Orlando Sentinel. aonesday, April 9, 1 986 C-5 BASEBALL A daity closeup 1, A century of figures and facts The Sporting News still is going strong By Tom Melody Gooden, Mets top Pirates, 4-2 New-look Pittsburgh victim of a 6-hitter COMPILEO FROM WIRE REPORTS AMERICAN LEAGUE fit aV 't yT A. KNT NEWS SERVICE Zlfl PCT. GB LAST 10 ST.1EAK HOME AWAY New York 1 0 1.000 1-0 Won 1 1-0 0-0 Clev9land 1 i.ooo i-o worn o-o 1-q Detroit 1 0 1.000 1-Q woni 1-0 0-0 Mllwaukee 1 i.ooo i-o worn o-o i-o Toronto 0 ,.000 0-0 o-o To Ballimore 0 1 .000 1 0-1 Lost 1 0-1 CM) Boston 0 1 000 1 0-1 Lostl 0-0 0-1 WEST PCT. GB LAST 10 STREAK HOME AWAY Calltornia 0 0 .000 0-0 ch Minnesota 0 0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 0akland 0 0 .000 0-0 o-O 0-0 8631119 0 0 .000 0-0 0-0 0-0 exas 0 0 .000 0-0 o-O Cnica9 0 1 .000 0-1 Lostl 0-0 0-1 Kansas City 1 .000 0-1 Lostl 0-0 0-1 PITTSBURGH Dwight Gooden pitched a six-hitter Tuesday night, and Keith Hernandez drove In KM I I tl MAJORS 11 MONDAY'S RESULTS Detroit 6, Boston 5 Milwaukee 5, Chicago 3 Cleveland 6, Baltimore 4 TUESDAY'S RESULTS New York 4, Kansas City 2 Toronto at Texas, night California at Seattle, night Minnesota at Oakland, night TODAY'S GAMES ASSOCIATED PHESS Her streak continues Pearl Ackerman, 71 cheers Monday as she watches the Cincinnati Reds' National League home opener for the 51st consecutive year.

The Reds, second-place finishers in the NL West in 1985, sent Ackerman home happy by defeating Philadelphia, 7-4. rAUB PROBABLE 1985 1985 VS OPP. LAST 3 GAME EST PITCHER (H) WL ERA WL ERA WL ERA ATnlrooiT (R) 15-13 3.70 2l 4A0 AT DETROIT 130 Tanana (L) 12-14 4.27 MILWAUKEE Leary (R) 405 AT CHICAGO 2:30 Dotson (R) 3-4 4.47 0-0 1.42 Smithson(R) 15-14 4.34 1-3 4.60 AT OAKLAND 3:15 Rijo(R) 6-4 3.53 1-1 2.84 CLEVELAND" Heaton (L) iM7 490 MO AT BALTIMORE 4:05 Boddicker (R) 12-17 4.07 0-1 7.88 KANSAS CITY Leibrandt (L) 17-9 2.69 1-2 4 22 AT NEW YORK 7:30 Whitson (R) 10-8 4.88 0-1 Alexander (R) 17-10 3.45 2-0 3.00 AT TEXAS 8:35 Correa(R) 1-0 6.97 CALIFORNIA Candelaria (L) 7-3 3.80 AT SEATTLE 10:35 Langston (L) 7-14 5.47 2-1 2.55 Consider, if you can, that every major-league box score since the season of 1886 since the wounds of the Civil War still lay open and bleeding has been published in The Sporting News. Yes, a century of box scores. Put them all together, put them in a pile, and you could bury, oh, Cooperstown.

Or maybe Pittsburgh. And the stories, thousands upon thousands of them, most of them about baseball. Perhaps Babe Ruth's last name has appeared more often on candy-bar wrappers than it has appeared in The Sporting News. Perhaps. Don't bet on it, though.

For the fact of the matter is that The Sporting News has not permitted a single to go unnoticed or a homer to go unheralded for fully 100 years. Moreover, as years passed and perfect interest broadened to include other games, The Sporting News went with the flow. It is a singular publication, this one that is prancing through its centennial year erer so healthy and prosperous. Circulation has reached approximately 711,000, advertising revenue is substantial. If The Sporting News is not here to stay, then neither is sport.

It is a weekly publication, the price of which is $1.95, with colorful covers and quite the colorful past. As long as there are stories to be told, stories will be told about the Spink family, founder of The Sporting News on March 17, 1886, ruler of its content until it was sold to the Times Mirror Co. for $18 million 91 years later. Especially stories about J.G. Taylor Spink, who ruled with an iron will and an iron fist for 48 years beginning in 1914.

He worked seven days a week, considered vacations to be sinful, was prone to telephone correspondents at all hours of the day and night, usually at night if not shortly before daybreak. two runs as the New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2. Gooden, who last year became the youngest Cy Young Award winner, wasn't overpowering, striking out six and walking one. But he checked the Pirates on just one run after R.J. Reynolds' lead-off homer in the first inning.

"It feels good to get the first one in," Gooden said. "I wasn't nervous. I tried to be nervous because this was the opener, but It was just like a middle-of-the-sea-son game." The loss spoiled the debut of Manager Jim Leyland and the new-look Pirates, whose lineup included only two players who started last year's opener. The Pirates led the major leagues last season with 104 losses. The crowd of 48,953, including Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, was the largest since 47,335 turned out for last year's opener.

The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the first when Len Dykstra drew a leadoff walk, Hernandez followed an out later with a double that bounced off the left-field wall and Gary Carter lofted a sacrifice fly. The Mets made it 3-1 in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Darryl Strawberry and George Foster, who was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a triple. Howard Johnson followed with the Mets' third consecutive double but failed to score when Reus-chel got Rafael Santana and Gooden to ground out. Reynolds doubled in the sixth and scored on Johnny Ray's groundout before Dykstra walked to lead off the Mets' seventh and came home on Hernandez's one-out single. Reuschel walked five and struck out five in six innings.

THURSDAY'S GAMES Cleveland at Baltimore, 7:35 p.m. Toronto at Texas, 8:35 p.m. California at Seattle, 10:35 p.m. Kansas City at New York, 1 p.m. Boston at Detroit, 1:30 p.m.

Milwaukee at Chicago, 2:30 p.m. Minnesota at Oakland, 3:15 p.m. NATIONAL LEAGUE shiny and bright, and an editorial staff that oversees stories involving just about every venture involving a ball. The Bible of Baseball has become well, the Bible of Ball. The Sporting News' quest for accuracy led to its announcement five years ago that somebody had changed the batting records of Ty Cobb and Napoleon Lajoie in 1910.

Nap Lajoie, not Ty Cobb, should have been the batting champion that year. Furthermore, Ty Cobb's total for career hits should be 4,190, not 4,191. Also, his career batting average should be .366, not .367. Bowie Kuhn, then the commissioner of baseball, dismissed the report. "Baseball never could live with facts," responded Paul MacFar-lane, historian for The Sporting News.

His publication, however, can live with facts quite well, it seems. Forceful sort, Taylor Spink. Legend has it that he once threatened to publish a sketch of a horse's rear above the name of a ballplayer who refused to pose for one of his photographers. The ballplayer, Walker Cooper, got his picture taken. Quickly.

In earlier times, his family had to contend with competition of a sort. There was a paper called The Sporting Times and a paper called Sporting Life. Al Spink, one of the founders of The Sporting News, referred to his rivals as "The Spitting Times" and "The Sporting Death." There were, or so it is said, occasions when staffers were handed overdue bills intended for advertisers. If they wished to be paid, fine, they could go collect the bills. Through it all and to this day, the publication has remained in the city of its birth, St.

Louis. There is a fine plant there now, EAST PCT. GB LAST 10 STREAK HOME AWAY New York 1 0 1.000 1-Q woni CM) To Chicago 0 0 .000 V4 0-0 0-0 0-0 Montreal 0 0 .000 A 0-0 0-0 0-0 St- Louis 0 0 .000 Vi 0-0 0-0 0-0 Philadelphia 0 1 .000 1 0-1 Lostl 0-0 "0-1 Pittsburgh 0 1 .000 1 0-1 Lostl 0-1 0-0 WEST PCT. GB LAST 10 STREAK HOME AWAY Cincinnati 1 0 1.000 1-0 Won 1 1-0 0-0 Los Angeles 1 0 1 .000 1-0 Won 1 1-0 0-0 Atlanta 0 0 .000 V4 0-0 0-0 0-0 Houston 0 0 .000 ya 0-0 0-0 0-0 San Francisco 0 0 .000 V4 0-0 0-0 0-0 San Diego 0 1 .000 1 0-1 Lostl 0-0 0-1 MONDAY'S RESULTS 5 rookies on Cincinnati's roster a real shock to Rose Los Angeles 2, San Diego 1 Cincinnati 7, Philadelphia 4 TUESDAY'S RESULTS ASSOCIATED PRESS New York 4, Pittsburgh 2 Chicago at St. Louis, night San Franciso at Houston, night San Diego at Los Angeles, night TODAY'S GAMES PROBABLE 1985 1985 VS OPP.

LAST 3 EST PITCHER (H) WL ERA WL ERA WL ERA GAME at first base, thought about that for a while, and a sly grin lit his face. "But I've never been on a team with two guys 44, either," he said. The Reds had not planned on an Opening Day with five inexperienced youngsters, but their impressive play this spring and Rose's bout with the flu paved the way for the ballclub's youthful accent. Rookie shortstop Kurt Stillwell figured to make the team all along, and right-hander Scott Terry was chosen for middle-relief to balance left-hander Joe Price. The surprise came in the outfield, where Kal Daniels, Paul O'Neill and Tracy Jones matched each other hit for hit throughout the spring.

Consider the spring numbers: Daniels hit .325, O'Neill .386 and Jones .364. Rose plans to use the rookie outfielders as pinch hitters and part-time players. News that all three outfielders had won roster spots temporarily eased the tension of the last week of training camp. The move was made possible when Rose went on the 15-day disabled list because of the flu. CINCINNATI Even Pete Rose, the man with the encyclopedic grasp of baseball, cannot recall if he ever has opened a season with five rookies for teammates.

"I doubt it," said Rose, the Cincinnati Reds' player-manager. "We've got that many rookies?" Yes, Pete. Five. Three outfielders. One infielder.

One pitcher. Rose, 44, who platoons with Tony Perez, 43, PHILADELPHIA AT CINCINNATI Rawley (L) 7:35 Browning (L) 13-8 3.31 20-9 3.55 1-0 2.57 0-2 4.29 SAN FRANCISCO AT HOUSTON Garrelts (R) 8:35 Scott (R) 9-6 18-8 2.30 3.29 0-0 4-0 1.29 1.88 SAN DIEGO AT LOS ANGELES 18-8 14-4 Hawkins (R) 10:35 Welch (R) 3.15 2.31 1-2 0-1 4.10 4.26 THURSDAY'S GAMES San Francisco at Houston, 8:35 p.m. San Diego at Los Angeles, 10:35 p.m. New York at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m. Montreal at Atlanta, 7:40 p.m.

Chicago at St. Louis, 8:35 p.m. American League jejeeeseMsawM 4, Royals 2 Yankees KANSAS CITY NEW YORK abrhbi abrh LSmilh II 4 0 0 National League Mets 4, Pirates 2 NEW YORK PITTSBURGH abrhbi abrhM Dykstra cf 3 2 0 0 Rynlds rf 4 2 2 1 Bckmn 2b 3 0 0 0 Orsulak cf 3 0 1 0 Hrnndz 1b 4 1 2 2 Ray 2b 4 0 2 1 Carter 3 0 0 1 Bream 1 3 0 10 Strwbry rl 1110 Kemp If 4 0 0 0 Foster If 4 0 11 TPena 4 0 0 0 HJohsn 3b 4 0 10 Mornsn 3b 3 0 0 0 Santana sa 4 0 0 0 Khalifa sa 2 0 0 0 Gooden 4 0 10 Mazzilli ph 1 0 0 0 Wmn 0 0 0 0 Reuschel 2 0 0 0 Clmnts 0 0 0 0 Guante 0 0 0 0 Almon as 10 0 0 Total 30 4 4 Totals 31 2 I 2 0 RHndsn cf 3 0 0 0 0 Rndlph 2b 4 0 2 1 0 Mtngly 1b 4 0 10 2 Winfield rf 3 10 0 0 Roenck dh 3 0 0 0 0 Easier ph 10 0 0 0 Cotto If 3 0 10 0 Berra 3b 3 110 0 Pglrulo 3b 0 0 0 0 0 Wynegar 3 1 1 3 0 Mechm a 3 1 2 0 0 2 Totals 30 4 I 4 Wilson cl 4 0 0 Brett 3b 2 1 0 McRae dh 4 12 White 2b 4 0 1 Balboni 1b 3 0 0 Motley rl 4 0 1 Sundbrg 4 0 1 ASalazr ss 2 0 0 LJones ph 10 0 Biancln as 0 0 0 Pryor ph 10 0 ToWt 13 2 i Winning Kansas City New York 000 200 000 030 010 00i 4 Recipes New York Pittsburgh 200 001 100 4 100 001 000 2 Game Winning RBI Wynegar (1). Brett, Meacham. DP Kansas City 2 LOB Kansas City 8.

New York 4 2B Motley HR Wynegar (1). McRae (1). SB Meacham 2 (2) All the delicious winners of Game Winning RBI Hernandej (1). DP New York 1. LOB New York 8.

Pittsburgh 4 2B Hernandez. Bream, Strawberry. Foster, HJohnson. RReyn-olds 38 Orsulak HR RReynolde (t). lr ER BB SO this year's Pillsbury Bake-Off One hundred recipes In all.

Only $2.00 Backman, Bream SF Carter RER BB SO Kansas City Black L.0-1 Quisnbry New York Guidry W.1-0 Scurry at Sentinel Service 6 2 2 1 6 2 New York Gooden W.1-0 Pittsburgh Reuschel L.0-1 Clmnts Guante Righetti HBP Smith by Scurry Centers In Altamonte and Lake Square Nails, and 6 1-3 12-3 Umpires Home-Garcia, First-Kosc, Second-Reed, Third-Ford 2 26 A 55.602 1 Winn 2 24 A 50,000. our offices In Casselberry, Kissimmee Tuesday's notebook Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth predicted Tuesday that players and owners are close to reaching a drug-testing agreement, despite some players' initial resistance to his proposed plan. On Sunday, Ueberroth mailed players a copy of his proposal, which would require four urine tests a year for detection of cocaine, marijuana, heroin and morphine. Results of the tests would not be made public, and there would be no penalties for players testing positive. "I believe baseball is going to be the first sport to be free of drugs," Ueberroth said before the Pittsburgh Pirates-New York Mets season opener in Pittsburgh.

"The owners through their Players Relations Committee and the players are pretty much close together on this. I'm encouraged by the dialogue so far. The players have had enough of it the drug problem. I could sense this in spring training. I didn't talk to all 700 players, but I talked to a lot of them, and they're tired of being asked questions about it," he said.

Ueberroth said, however, that "baseball will never be perfect" because society will never be free of drugs, especially "at a time when drug prices are going down and quality is going up." Ueberroth said his plan, criticized this week by players because it bypasses their union, is almost the same as the Baltimore Orioles' plan adopted over the winter, which he said "is in effect and working." Under the commissioner's proposal, a player and a doctor would work privately to solve a problem before "a player has to crawl off the field on his belly to some institution." Ueberroth: "There are no penalties. But the law of the land has penalties and there is a commissioner of baseball." Ueberroth took disciplinary action earlier this year against 21 players who either testified or were mentioned in testimony during last summer's Pittsburgh federal court drug trials. The commissioner said he attended the Pittsburgh opener to show that baseball, in the city where the trials were held, has turned the corner on correcting its drug problem. He also said he wanted to show support for the Pirates' new public-private ownership coalition, which he called "the best example in all of baseball" of the way a city can save a troubled franchise. "When I was here last fall I would have said that by this time, there would not be a major-league baseball team in Pittsburgh and that a lot of lawyers would be making a lot of money arguing over the destiny of the franchise," he said.

Chicago White Sox infielder Julio Cruz, who had regained his starting second-baseman job with a strong performance in spring training, was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left calf muscle. Cruz originally injured the calf in March and apparently aggravated the injury as he prepared for Monday's season opener with Milwaukee, said team spokesman Tim Clodjeaux. He was scratched from the starting lineup Monday. Infielder Bryan Little was recalled from the team's Class AAA farm team at Buffalo to fill Cruz's position on the roster, Clodjeaux said. Prosecutors tried to catch 950 felony fugitives with a bogus offer of free tickets to the New York Yankees opener, but the sting struck out when the ticket "winners" stayed away.

"We cast our net, and it came back full of seaweed and boots," said Ed McCarthy, spokesman for the district attorney's office, which had hoped for scores of arrests at a pregame bash. "We threw a party and nobody came." Inspired by successful stings elsewhere, prosecutors sent announcements to the fugitives' last known addresses, saying they could pick up the tickets and meet some top players at a free champagne breakfast. But while 100 behind-the-scenes police officers champed at the bit, only six invitation-holders showed up, and just one of them turned out to be among those who were wanted as fugitives. Two others were arrested on other charges. The Toronto Blue Jays have placed pitcher Bill Caudill on the 15-day disabled list because of stiffness in his right shoulder.

They have purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Mark Elchhorn from Syracuse to fiH in for Caudill. and downtown Orlando. Or order by mail with the coupon below. This day In baseball Pillsbury Bake-Off" Cookbook(s) Please send me 1913 Ebbets Field was opened in Brooklyn and the Philadelphia Phillies spoiled the inaugural by defeating the Dodgers 1-0 before a chilled crowd of 10,000. The stadium, which cost $750,000 to build, was named after Charles Ebbets, the club's principal owner.

at $2.50 each. My check or money order is enclosed. Mame Address CityStateZip tros. President Lyndon Johnson attended and Texas Governor John Connally threw out the first ball. Mickey Mantle of the Yanks hit the first home run but the Astros prevailed 2-1 in 12 innings.

1969 Billy Williams of Chicago hit four consecutive doubles to lead the Cubs to an 11-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. 1981 Fernando Valen-zuela made his first major-league start for the Dodgers a stunning success by hurling a 2-0, five-hit triumph over the Houston Astros in Los Angeles. He would go on to win his first eight games. Mail to: The Orlando Sentinel, Public Services, P.O. Box 1100, Orlando FL 32802.

The Orlando Sentinel 1947 Leo Durocher, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, was suspended one year by Commissioner A.B. "Happy" Chandler for incidents detrimental to baseball. 6-30-86 1965 The Houston Astrodome was opened with an exhibition game between the New York Yankees and As.