Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 51

i'T 'V Chicago Tribune, Sunday, May 23, 1982 Section 4 3 Baseball Hoyt makes up for lost time with win streak If. Bob Verdi 5 1 HE MAKES IT LOOK so easy; but really, il has been anything but. is like a game," Dewey LaMarr Hoyt says. "They get a few runs off you in the first inning, you can't give up. You just keep truckin', hoping that by the ninth inning, you win.

I've had a few setbacks, but I'll make, up for it in the long At 27, as he sits in the White Sox clubhouse, LaMarr Hoyt sits on top of the world. Monday night, he will try for his ninth straight victory of the season, his 14th overall, his 16th in succession at Comiskey Park, He is the best pitcher in the American League, and the secret is out. Tuesday morning; Hoyt will be asked to arise at 5 a.m. for an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" program. Saturday's "Game of the Week" on NBC will feature him versus the Cleveland.

v' 'That'll be. nice," he ''My mom down in. South Carolina will be able to watch. Actually, my I. WHEN HE WAS SIX MONTHS OLD, Hoyt's parents.

divorced. He, has. seen his real mother, only twice since, and the relationship with his father, a former minor-league pitcher, has been Indifferent. When one of his best' buddies, a natural child of his aunt's, was shot dead as a teen, it didn't alter Hoyt's notion one bit that he was in for a fight. 'V'ln a way, it was good," he says.

'Cause it forced me to grow up real quick" Baseball, his chosen vocation, wouldn't pamper him either, Hoyt discovered to his ever-, i lasting maturity. He was going nowhere fast as' New York 'i "ALWAYS HAS BEEN, but I never said anything," he says. "Not a lot of people know me, and that's fine. I'm like the Rodney Dangerfield Of pitchers. No respect.

Lots of times, recognition depends upon how outgoing you are, how personable. Well, I just keep to myself, and you know, the media still doesn't think I'm for real. the games, they come around my locker laughing. It's like this is all a joke. What am I gonna do when I don't get all these runs to work with? It's like they're waiting for me to catch my lunch.

Which is fine. Someday I will. I'm just trying to minimize how often." Hoyt recalls watching an intrasquad game as a Yankee chattel: An Iron Mike" wag pitching and, after nine innings, the final score was 1-0. "That darn machine just threw strikes," muses Hoyt, "and both teams only got one run off it. That impressed me." Now, sound of mind and body, Hoyt bears down on every pitch, no matter how substantial his lead, and defies a.

batter's balance with his own equilibrium. There is the fine line between being aggressive and relaxed, he says, and he has found it. Beneath the. poker face, a. tiger growls.

"ALL BUSINESS," says Sox shortstop Bill Almon. "It reminds me of the year I was with San Diego, Randy Jones just went out there and threw strikes all; night. It was a pleasure to play behind him. And youi know what happened to Jones that year. Cy Young Somewhere within a two-year contract he signed a spring holdout the rebel in him again Hoyt has a string of incentives, including a Cy Young "If I get that," he says, "it'll be Bingo.

Like I said, got a lot of catching up to do, and I'm working on it. Bitter? How could I be? I expect this team to win not only this year, but the year after, the year after and the year after Only when it comes to winning does LaMarr Hoyt let his hair down which way but up in the system, and Hoyt can recall at least two minor-league managers and one farm director who doubted he had either the stomach or the stuff to get ahead. i. iv "I was with their team in Knoxville, a bad team, "and they never seemed to he says. "I never said hothin', but pretty soon, I wasn't gettkV- to the ballpark until an hour, before the game, either.

Then the next spring training, 1978, after I'd pitched Triple-" A and Double-A the year before, they wanted to.send-me to Appleton, which was A ball. I just about turned in there. Went home for 10 days to think. Dam near quit. This close, A mental experience I'll, Whatever it was pride, that last shred of battered confidence or lack of career alternatives back and was clearly out of his league.

He went 18-4, loud enough to impress the only man he needed to his current manager, Tony LaRussa. "PITCHED FOR HIM in the Dominican Republic winter," says Hoyt. "He was the only manager I found to be a straight-shooter. Lots of managers, they lie, they think we're all dumb. Not Tony.

He told me I. had a good arm and was gonna make some money in this game soon. That kind of set my head straight just when it needed straightening." Since then, Hoyt's luggage has accumulated a couple more, logos. But with a 26-6' record since coming up to the Sox, to stay in 1980, he'll not ride the shuttle anymore unless, sometime, in the wishful future, his genius for getting people out is required in the bullpen come September perhaps with a pennant on the line. That would be just fine, for Hoyt has paid dearly for this occasion.

"Because of what he's gone through to get -property, still, after' four years in the chain, it was his hope to pitch in, as Red Barber used to say over the-- mm iiiS beams Sox general manager Roland Hemond. radio, "The Big Ballpark." If I the Sox weren't elated at getting Hoyt instead of Ron Guidry in that that 1977 Bucky Dent-Oscar Gamble deal, well, they weren't alone. a kid in rural South Carolina all I dreamed about was pitching in Yankee says Hoyt. "I i was shocked, being traded to Chicago 1 Even, though I hadn't made it to the big leagues yet, I felt tike I was being demoted. On top of that, a a couple times, the White Sox screwed me around a little bit." IT WASN'T JUST THAT the Sox tried to nickel-and-dime Hoyt, dangling him at the end 'of their shoestring budget: They also sent him every ":0" 1 i i' "there's probably nobody in that locker room who.

i fj Userptwlo Cub second baseman Junior Kennedy falls on top of center fielder Leon Durham, and right fielder Keith Moreland joins the confusion as they vainly rjursue a pop-fly double by Giants' Joe Morgan in the ninth inning Saturday. Giihs Hernandez nowi speed-thinker appreciates more Deing nere. Undeniably there is a'delicious bit of rebel in Hoyt. Though he is as honest his record is imposing, his emotions aren't for public con sumption just yet; When he ioined the Sox, there was a Dewey Robinson and a Lamar Johnson on board so he didn't know what to be called. As always he settled for just being called -quiet.

Not until last week did he tell we typists that thai M' in T.oHiori fa nan 4i viimw twt Aii wuinui to vpp Baseball itaiized. By Jerome Holtzman jr. liiiliilx Thompson. I know I'm going to face" them. And I know how I'm going to pitch them.

I know that before I get into the game. "With other teams it might be differ- -ent. I have to think about all the right-handed hitters they have on the bench, especially who the manager is likely to use as a pinch batter. This makes me think ahead. I don't have to figure everything out between pitches." ft, HERNANDEZ ALSO knows that the.j' reward for a genuine bullpen ace often is i' a pot of gold.

The salary range of a premier reliever is anywhere $450,000 to $800,000 a year. His current pay is considerably less. will Sox pitcher LaMarr Hoyt Chicago Tndune Pre3s Service SAN" FRANCISCO; -Two dates, both in July, are circled on Willie Hernandez's pocket calendar. He wants 'to be in his native Puerto Rico, on or about July 9, when his wife is due to give birth to their third child. Three days later, on the 12th, Hernandez hopes to be in Montreal, appearing in his first major league All-Star game.

i "My plan," Hernandez explained, "is to make the All-Star team. least orice. 'I want to know what it feeis like. And if. keep going, I would deserve to be there." A year or two years ago, Hernandez's visions of himself as an All-Star would have been considered delusions of grandeur.

Willie Hernandez, an All-Star? Isn't that the'Willie Hernandez the Cub fans love to boo? The Willie Hernandez who was 1-9 in 1980 and who failed to win a single game last season? On the outside, yes. Otherwise, no. The Hernandez of the 1982 Cubs, who has emerged as one of the National League's most, effective relief pitchers, seems to have new personality: confident, aggressive, eager. Now he hurries in from the bullpen, anxious to get the job done. HERNANDEZ'S relief appearance in Saturday's victory over San Francisco was his 2lst of the season, and lie's tied with the New York Mets' Neil Allen for the league lead.

If Willie continues at this pace, which isn't likely, he would get into approximately 80 games. That would be perfectly all r'ight with him, for two reasons: 1, His contract includes a bonus clause tied to appearances; and 2, like most relievers, he thrives on work, convinced he can remain effective only if called upon with constant regularity. I Doesn't the late-inning pressure get to him? i Hernandez laughed. "I like pressure, lots of pressure. I don't know why, but I can handle it." There was a time, not long ago, when the pressure did bother him.

But this1 past off-season, while playing with Santurce in be going after his 14th victory in a row Monday Advice from the man with the record t'f FT By Bob Logan Consecutive wins 'over two seasons. National League 24 Carl Hubbell 16 in 1936 N.Y. probably in the range. "I haven't made a penny compared to some of the players," Hernandez said. "I just haven't made the big money.

that's what I'm here for to provide for my wife and childen. "I don't want to play for free. Nobody does that. I'm not here to become a' coach or a manager. I'm here to help the ballclub win games and to get' a pay raise." Then he added, "I came into the world poor and naked.

But I don't want to die with no clothes HERNANDEZ, OBVIOUSLY, has matured. He is 27, a veteran of five major, league seasons, not necessarily a grizzled and weary veteran, but a wise head whose priorities are in order. He has been a target of the Wrigley Field boo birds and insists as far as he's -concerned the fans can continue to boo him. "I don't deserve all the boos," he said, "but when they boo me that makes me happy because I know I'm going to show them they're wrong." American League 17 John Allen 2 in 1936 Clave. 15 In 1937 Cleve.

2 in 1968 Bait. 15 In 1969 Bait. 17 Dave McNally Consecutive wins in one season American League 5 1912 Boston, 1912 1931 'Detroit, 1934 1931 1937 1969 1974 New York, 1904 1913 1914 1928 New York, 1961 1980 -tJ Wit I if I 1 'I 1 16 Walter Johnson, 16 Joe Woods 16 Lefty Grove 16 Lynwood Rowe 15 AMn Crowder .15 John Allen 15 Dave McNally 15 Gaylord Perry 14 OackChesbro 14 Walter Johnson 14 Chief Bender 14 Lefty Grove 14 Whitey Ford 14 Steve Stone National League 19 Rube Marquard 17 Roy Face 16 Carl Hubbell 16-Ewell Blackwell 16-Oack Sanford 15 Dazzy Vance 15 Bob Gibson 15 Steve Carlton 14 Joe McGlnnlty 14 Ed Reulbach 'I. 'i 'x1 i I t.v.-- i DAVE MCNALLY is rooting for. LaMarr Hoyt to break his American League record of 17 consecutive victories over two seasons.

The former left-handed ace of the Baltimore Ori oles, who tied the mark originally set by Cleveland's Johnny Allen, has even thrown in some advice on how to do it, Hoyt will bid for his 14th straight pitching triumph Monday night in Comiskey Park when the White Sox open a thiee-game series against the Kansas City Royals. And the record-holder wants him to keep right on "What's the fella's name? Hoyt?" 'McNally 'asked. "1 wish him luck. Just tell him to. relax and enjoy it while it because these are the fun times.

"The media pressure increases when you get close to any kind of record, but I hope it doesn't bother him. It's a lot better than people crowding around to ask when a losing streak is going' to end." MCNALLY, STILL lives in Ms', native Billings, where he and a brother run a successful Volkswagen dealership. He was a consistent winner in Baltimore for 13 years, chalking up a .616 percentage 181-113 and four straight 20-vlctory seasons from 1968 through 1971. 1 Belying the baseball stereotype about left-handed pitchers being screwballs, McNally was a cool performer who took -things as they came. right-hander Hoyt has the same kind of laid-back approach, without the ego and temperament many players display.

McNally's ability to stay on an even keel, both physically and emotionally, came in handy while he was the picture of pitching consistency. His 17 straight wins, covering the last two decisions of the 1968 campaign through the first IS of 1969, actually could have lasted much longer. HAD A WIN streak of 12 straight going earlier in 1968," McNally re-1 called. "Then I lost two In a row before the run of 17 began. So for about A seaion and a half 1 was 39-1 "That was a pretty good time in my life.

I pitched soma so-so ames along the way, but the Orioles scored a lot of runs (or me and I just kept sneaking out with more wins." Sound familiar? The Sox have poured New York, 1912 1959 New York, 1936 1947 S. 1961 Brooklyn, 1924 St. Louis, 1968 1972 New York, 1904 Chicago, 1909 i. upi Twptwo Former Baltimore Oriole' pitcher Dave McNally, who holds the record that LaMarr Hoyt Is now chaslng--17 straight victories over two seasons now operates an automobile dealership in his hometown of Billings, Mont. the Puerto Rican Winter League, he' made several discoveries with the help of two former big league stars, both as coaches with the Santurce club.

PITCHING COACH Juan Pizarro, who pitched with both the White Sox and the-' Cubs, told Hernandez he was taking too much time between pitches. His advice to Hernandez was do your thinking while you're in the bullpen, not in the game. Batting c6ach Orlando Cepeda also 'apprised him of perhaps an even more significant fact. In late inning clutch situations, it's the hitters who worry the most, not the pitchers. "Orlando told me how the hitters think, how they worry.

He helped me a whole lot. I see now that it's the pitcher who is really in charge, not the hitters." 1 Pizarro and Cepeda also agreed that when a pitcher is indecisive and takes too much time between pitches, the advantage often switches to the hitters. A delay of even just a few seconds gives the hitters more time to adjust and think about the next pitch. i "I WAS THINKING slow." Hernandez said. Now, he not only ''thinks fast," as he phrased it, but he also is usually thinking one or two batters ahead.

This thinking procens begins while Her-nandez is still warming up in the bullpen. He knows the batting order of the oppo-' sing club, and he's aware of its complete roster of potential pinch batters and whether they swing right or left-handed. "It's like a movie picture in my mind," i he explained. "If I'm going to go In against Pittsburgh, I know that they're not going to pinch hit. (or certain left- handed hitters.

They won't send anybody up for Dave) Parker or for Omar Moreno or Willie Stargell or Jason 4 i came up as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and got a grand slam'off me. "When Earl Oriole manager Weaver put in a relief pltchaf, the fans stood up and gave me an ovation all the way back to the dugout. I didn't have a bad feeling about losing that game." THE WORDS "grand slam" are espe-. dally meaningful to McNally, who threw left, but batted from the right side. He is the only pitcher in baseball history to hit a World Series homer with the bases loaded, connecting against Cincinnati's Wayne Granger 'n the third gan of the 1970 classic.

"That was nice, but I did it a couple Urr.f.t during the -regular season," MoNally said. "Even though the win-Rin; streak had a lot of luck involved, I had to pitch well for a long time; so I'm proudest of that." being on a winning team and getting Into the World Series four times, with a 4-2 mark, playoffs 3-11, the All-Star game picked for the AL squad three 'times, 0-1 and the rest of it. All a pitcher can do is the best he can, whether he's on a contender or an also-ran. I was lucky to be In Baltimore when the Orioles had outstanding hitting and defense to support the pitchers." McNally even has fond memories of i the day his record-shattering stretch which began with victory No. 1 on Sept.

22, 1968 finally ended after No. 17 was recorded Aug. 3, 1969. "The loss happened at MetropoH'an Stfdlum in Mitinessta," he said. "I was ahead until Rich Reese of the Twins across 52 runs for Hoyt in the five games since he joined the starting rotation, lending credence to the theory that teams get fired up when their best pitcher warms up.

1 McNally was traded to Montreal in 1974, after an acrimonious salary dispute with the Orioles, and retired with a 3-6 National League record that brought his lifotime log to an impressive 184-119. He prefers to remember the high spots of that career though, not the unhappy ending. 1 "I DON'T MISS baieball at aB." McNally taid. "I enjoyed the fun, but I like spending time with my family a lot more. "It was a great experience for me, Tm here to help the ballclub win games and to get a pay raise I came into the world.

Soor and naked. But I on't want to die with no clothes on.7 -Willie Hernandez.