Daily Record from Morristown, New Jersey • Page 30

C3 Daily Record, Morris County, N.J. Sunday, August 2, 1 992 DASEDALL Carter's two-run- double-humbles outduels Perez, allows seven hits in Toronto triumph Kent's home run. He walked two and struck out nine, giving him 141 on the season and putting him three ahead of Roger Clemens for the American League lead. The complete game was his sixth of the year. "(Perez) maintained his stuff pretty well.

He deserved better," said Yankees manager Buck Showalter. "We had a couple chances to" open up a gap on them. Melido shouldn't feel he has to be perfect every time out" One such chance came in the seventh inning with Stankiewicz on me. Jack Morris (13-4) said he didn't do anything fancy. "I just kept us in the game hoping sooner or later I would get some run support." Morris, who allowed one run on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks in eight innings, had praise for Perez (9-10).

"Melido pitched a great game," Morris said. "His forkball was as good as I've seen it." Tom Henke gave up a single in the ninth en route to his 19th save of the season. Perez had faced the minimum 15 batters through five innings, giving up Pat Borders' single before second with a one-out double. Bernie Williams hit a bouncer to short and Manuel Lee threw to Kent to get Stankiewicz at third before Randy Velarde flied out to end the inning. "A fundamental mistake, but it was an error of aggression," Showalter said.

"On grass he probably makes it. But you have to know your surroundings." Mel Hall, who staked the Yankees to a 1-0 lead with his 14th homer of the season, a shot to right in the top of the third, figured he had a chance to catch Carter's game-win Mets gain split; Saberhagen hurt 1 I i i A Morris (13-4) TORONTO (AP) There was no mystery behind Joe Carter's game- winning, two-run double in the eighth inning yesterday afternoon. "He didn't want to bounce a fork-ball in the dirt so I knew it would be a little bit up," Carter said after hitting a Melido Perez forkball off the left-field wall to score Devon White and Roberto Alomar, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to their third straight win with a 3-1 victory over the New York Yankees. "I thought it was out of the park," Carter said. "But it fell in and that's all that counts." The Blue Jays have won eight straight against New York.

Seaver Continued from CI imity to New York City and Seaver's immense popularity, HOF associate director Bill Guilfoile ex-. pects the ceremony and weekend 1 activities to draw a record crowd. "I would think it'll be one of the largest crowds ever," Guilfoile said. "Seaver was very well-liked among players and fans. The record 39 Hall of Famers we have coming back also attests to the popularity of Seaver and this group." Seaver, called "The Franchise" by New York fans, received a' record vote, being named on 425 of 430 Hall of Fame ballots for a 98.8 percentage.

The previous high was Ty Cobb, who earned a 98.23 per-, centage of votes in 1936, the first year oj balloting. Seaver's career endured 20 sons, during which he won three Cy Young awards. He put together a record of 311-205 and an earned run average of 2.86 playing for the Mets, Reds, White Sox and Red Sox. The cherubic right-hander finished with 3,640 strikeouts. According to Hank Aaron, baseball's all-time home run leader, Seaver made batters sweat out each at-bat As a child, Seaver idolized Aaron, now a senior dent in the Atlanta Braves organization.

"Tom sure was a tough one," said Aaron. "You had a day's work against him in one trip to the plate. man simply refused to accept defeat. He thought no one could beat him." Aaron said Seaver, famous for the dirt stain that developed on the knee of his pants during each game, had incredible control. And that in-, tangible aura.

"Control was Tom's strong Aaron. "He threw as hard as anybody, but it was always right in there. Imagine if (Nolan) Ryan had the control Seaver had all Tom Seaver will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame In Cooperstown, N.Y. today. Here he was getting ready to pitch on opening day at Shea Stadium in 1983.

ning double. But, "I didn't catch up to it. It's as simple as that. I was playing dead pull and he hit it into the gap." NOTES: With 109 home runs, the Yankees rank second in the American League behind the Detroit Tigers. But the Yankees only have three homers in their last 232 at bats (62 innings).

Through five innings yesterday, Melido Perez threw 48 pitches39 for strikes. Mel Hall went 2-for-4 yesterday and is hitting .423 (33-78) in his last 20 road games. He has four homers and 16 RBIs over that span. positive." Saberhagen pitched three-plus innings, allowing three hits, striking out three and walking one. Then came Schourek (3-4), who started Friday night and pitched the first inning before rain forced a postponement.

"I didn't know how I'd feel until I woke up," he said. Schourek, making his first relief appearance of the season, came in with two on in the fourth and a 2-2 count on Andre Dawson. He retired Dawson and Kal Daniels on flyouts, then struck out Steve Buechele with a two-seam fastball. "I just wanted to get out of that inning and go from there?" Schourek said. "After that, I was trying to work quickly and challenge them." 1 Schourek wound up giving up four hits in five innings before Anthony Young finished for his eighth save.

Meanwhile, Greg Maddux (13-D) lost to the Mets for the first time in three decisions this season, allowing all three runs and six hits In seven innings with five strikeouts and two walks. "Greg pitched good enough. He just didn't get any runs," Cubs manager Jim Lefebvre said. Vince Coleman's RBI double put the Mets ahead in the third. New York added two runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Dick Schofield and Coleman, who was 4 for 4.

In the second game, Robinson (2-0) struck out five and walked one before Chuck McElroy finished with hitless relief for his sixth save. Whitehurst (1-6) was tagged for four runs and eight hits in 2Vb innings. The Mets have lost in his last seven appearances. "I terms of one game I would have to say that was my best ever," Seaver said. "It was memorable because we were in a pennant race for the first time, Shea was full and you could feel the electricity that night." Seaver was the Mets' first bonafide star.

They brought in guys like Richie Ashburn, Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, Roy McMillan and Bob Friend, for some name recognition but they were stars for other teams. From Seaver's first win on April 20, 1967 against Pittsburgh, Mets fans sensed there was something different about this guy. He dicjn't look like a 20-game loser at all. By .1969, the Mets had put toge'th-er a staff of Seaver, Jerry Koos-man, Gary Gentry, Nolan Ryan and veteran Don Cardwell. a potential in Boston when he hit two home runs well over Fenway Park Green Monster.

The two solo shots were Texas' only runs in a 2-1 victory- "I don't think they could've measured those," Harrah said. "He hit them over the lights." CC.7TU7T 1 i i I tit WITHOUT Tin: Mvwws muss ft NATIONWIDE BIMONTHLY WEiuKT TRAINING NEWSLETTER. RF.fi. VMRS WITH THSS AD; J8YEA YEASS Tl-P. O.

BOX 278 BOONTON, NJ 07nss5 (01)334-6358 White got the two-out rally started with a line-single to left. Alomar's single deflected off second baseman Andy Stankiewicz into right, sending White to third. "It was a tough, tough day out there," Carter said. "(Perez) had us baffled for the first five innings. Then Jeff (Kent) got a forkball up." Kent, making his second straight start at third for Kelly Gruber, hit a home run to left for his sixth homer of the season to pull the Blue Jays even at 1-1 in the sixth.

"For the first couple innings we couldn't even see the forkball," Kent said. "But he got a bit tired later in the game and he hung one to the time early in his career. He'd have 1,000 victories. "If you were up against him at a crucial point in the eighth or ninth inning, he'd get the better of you in nine out of 10 situations. Tom was a one-of-a-kind player and had those characteristics that just can't be described." In his third season with the Mets, Seaver won 25 games and helped turn around one of baseball's most woeful organizations.

No. 41 provided strong leadership, something the Mets had lacked, and led them to the world championship in 1969, two years after he claimed Rookie of the Year honors. "I actually did idolize him," Seaver's former roommate and good friend Bud Harrelson once said. "He was a guy I looked to for inspiration. I mean, anyone who saw him knew he was unique.

"He was always so mature right from the start, and he studied things so closely. Most of us would have to learn them. Tom already had them." Seaver's intellect, along with a wicked slider, powerful fastball and baffling breaking ball, frustrated the most talented hitters. Although he had outstanding skills, mechanics and work ethic, Seaver did not pitch a no-hitter until his 12th year in the majors as a member of the Cincinnati Reds. His victims for the June 16, 1978 gem were the St.

Louis Cardinals. Seaver struck out 10 consecutive San Diego Padres on April 22, 1970 and concluded the game with 19 Ks. "There isn't a person in the world who hasn't heard about Tom Seaver," the Oakland A's Reggie Jackson said during the 1973 World Series when his team played the Mets. "He's so good blind people come out to hear him pitch." In terms of leadership, no one was better. After arriving on the Mets scene in 1967, Seaver easily won over his teammates, many of whom tried to match his intensity.

for the Met memories. There are lots of TV crews here from New York to follow Seaver's every move and WFAN Radio is devoting much of its programming on this morning to a look at the righthander's brilliant career. ESPN even devoted an entire segment of SportsCenter to Seaver. Seaver memorabilia is also a big seller right now. His 1969 uniform jacket can be had for about $10,000 and they're even selling a genuine Tom Seaver (used) toothpick, with letter of authenticity.

Rollie Fingers? Oh, he'll be here, too. Mustache and all. "I know Tom will be getting a lot of attention and he deserves it," short) Yount, characteristically, brushes off mention of it "This has been just like any other season, really," he said. "The only reason it's on my mind at all is because people keep bringing it up. It's not a major subject of concern for me.

"I've never thought about 3,000 hits. It's not what I come to the ballpark for." Has it been nearly 3,000 hits already? Has it really been 19 seasons? Nineteen seasons since an 18-year-old shortstop brought his spikes, glove and bat onto the County Stadium infield? It doesn't seem like it It seems like just yesterday he was the league's best shortstop, just yesterday that he hit those two Pall of Fame appearance typifies Fingers' solid career By Ronald Blum Associated Press NEW YORK A doubleheader split last night was a lot worse for the New York Mets than it was for the Chicago Cubs. First, Bret Saberhagen's tender finger went "POP!" in the opener, a 3-0 victory for New York. His exact condition won't be known until today. Then, Wally Whitehurt remained winless in six starts as Chicago won the second game 6-1.

Jeff Robinson allowed two hits in seven innings, retiring his final 17 batters. Ryne Sandberg, who went 4-for-4 in the opener, hit a run-scoring triple and singled in his first two at-bats of the second game, giving him hits in eight consecutive at-bats. That tied the Cubs record, but he fell two short of the National League record when he grounded out in the fourth. The most significant event was the injury to Saberhagen. With no outs in the fourth, he suddenly started shaking his finger, the same one that kept him sidelined from May 15 to July 21.

He immediately came out and was replaced by Pete Schourek. "Hopefully, it's not as bad as it first sounded," Mets manager Jeff Torborg said. "He said he felt something popped. The doctor seemed to feel it was an adhesion. If that's the case, it's a good sign." Saberhagen was making his third start since coming back from the injury to the flexor tendon in a right finger.

The immediate treatment was ice. "He said it was a little stiff when he worked on the side," Torborg said. "Who knows? It might even be postseason appearance. Fingers figured in 55 percent of Milwaukee's victories. Seaver's numbers tell you why he's in the Hall of Fame 311 wins, 2.86 ERA, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts but you had to see him to appreciate and understand his constant striving for perfection.

"One thing I learned from Gil Hodges was to be prepared and to think about what I was doing out there," said Seaver, who won The Rookie of the Year in 1967 and three Cy Young Awards. "I think I was always very focused on the mound." Seaver had the perfect motion on the mound and he even came close to a perfect game on July 9, 1969. But he had to settle for a one-hit shutout when Cubs rookie Jimmy Quails singled with one out in the ninth. hitting his The 22-year-old outfielder has tied a club record with four multi-homer games this season and is within six of the Rangers' record for homers in a season. Harrah said Gonzalez has become a threat because his power is not limited to a particular field.

That was evident Friday when he hit a fourth-inning homer to right and an eight-inning shot to left "It's unique, but that's his swing. He just doesn't hit the ball in a certain area," Harrah said. Gonzalez may hit to all fields, but he doesn't hit all pitches. "It's been tough because a lot of times the pitchers have been pitching around him and he's been impatient" Harrah said. One of Gonzalez's most impressive power displays came Tuesday 'Former A's reliever to be inducted with Seaver Daily Record File Phot represent his Mets teammates.

"It's like I have come the full circle," said the 47-year-old Seaver. "When I came up with the Mets, we were last and two years later, we shocked the baseball world by winning the World Series. "Those were special days and special teammates. Naturally, the official induction ceremonies will be thrilling, but it's also going to be so exciting to get my ring at Shea where everything began." The Mets' record book still lists Seaver as the all-time club leader in games (401), starts (395), complete games (171), wins (198), innings pitched ERA (2.57), shutouts (44) and strikeouts posthumously. Fingers retired after the 1985 season with a record 341 saves, since broken this year by Reardon.

He also had seven saves in the World Series and helped Oakland win three consecutive titles from 1972-74. He was known for his control, durability and and his handlebar mustache. All the A's wore beards or mustaches, but Fingers' was famous. When Fingers became a free agent, he talked to the Cincinnati Reds among others. But the Reds said no facial hair, and Rollie said see ya.

As a member of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981, Fingers had 28 saves and a 1.04 ERA en route to the AL Cy Young Award and MVP. In helping the Brewers gain their first Gonzalez ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -Going going gone. Those words would apply to what Juan Gonzalez is doing to the baseball at an alarming rate. "He's not really doing anything that's surprising us," Texas Rangers manager Toby Harrah said of Gonzalez, who on Friday had his third multi-homer game in the last five. "I've been watching him grow and grow and get stronger since he was 17 years old in the Instructional League.

"He's just starting to hit his potential" Gonzalez is second in the majors with 26 homers and third in the AL with 70 RBIs. His three hits Friday raised his average to .260. He set a team record for homers in a month with 11 in June. By Jim Donaghy Associated Press COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. Rollie Fingers is used to the situation that's going on at the Hall of Fame this weekend.

The big star of the weekend is Tom Seaver. He's a 300-game winner, the first real Mets' superstar, and received a record vote from the baseball writers into the Hall of Fame on his first try. Fingers' job at the ceremonies is to mop up what cheers are left by the time the proceedings get to him. Most of the 15,000 fans who made the trip to this little town are from the five boroughs. They're here to see "Tom Terrific" and say thanks "He's the All-American boy," Kranepool said.

"Everyone respected him. Tom was so dignified and distinguished. When he went out to the mound, you knew he had a good chance of winning and it transferred over to the other players." "You notice his concentration out there on the mound when he's pitching," Harrelson said. "And playing behind him, you try to match it." The Mets will show their appreciation for "The Franchise" on Tuesday, Aug. 11, when they will hold Hall of Fame night at Shea Stadium prior to their game against the Pirates.

Seaver will be presented with his Hall of Fame ring. Harrelson will said Fingers, who was elected in his second try. "I'm just glad to be here. During my career I was around at the finish and that's what counts. I'm here at the finish." Fingers' election to the Hall of Fame is a breakthrough for relief pitchers.

Now guys like Bruce Sutter, Jeff Reardon, Lee Smith and Dennis Eckersley know they have a shot at Cooperstown, too. "The relievers are always overlooked," Reardon said. "But maybe that will start to change with Rollie getting in the Hall of Fame." Seaver and Fingers will be joined today by pitcher Hal Newhouser, who was voted in by the veterans committee. The committee also elected umpire Bill McGowan Robin Yount home runs on the final day of the 1982 season, just yesterday that he rode into the stadium on that motorcycle of his and sent the crowd into a post-Series frenzy. "It's been extremely short," Yount said.

"You think about 19 years, and it's hard to believe. Brewers' standout approaches 3,000 By Jim Caple Knight-Ridder Tribune News MINNEAPOLIS Sometime this season, probably in September when the smell of barbecued bratwurst fills the autumn air, Robin Yount will walk to the plate, wait for his pitch, and then smack it somewhere to join Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Napoleon Lajoie and the dozen other players who reached 3,000 hits in their careers. Yount has 2,969 hits. While George Brett talks openly and enthusiastically about his pursuit of one of baseball's most coveted milestones (he's about 60 hits.