The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 48

ghf Mmthi laarwd AND CONSTITimON MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1988. A's Davis Puts Stormy Times in the Past The World Series Report 1 Career Revived After Trade By Padres By Thomas Stinson SluffW'riter LOS ANGELES Two hours south of here some 15 months ago, Storm Davis completed a seven-year tree fall. A baseball career once full of light and promise crashed to earth in a dank basement beneath San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium. He sat apart in a Padres club house filled with country-music fans, card-players, beer-drinkers and political extremists. He played for an odd franchise during a strange time, the front-office rife with discord and lost purpose.

He played for manager Larry Bowa, who has been compared to human baseman Rob Nelson in exchange. Davis became an Athletic Aug. 30, 1987. Away from Bowa, he finished the season 1-1 in five starts, but his ERA dropped immediately almost three points to 3.28. "I dont really think I learned anything from the man," Davis said of Bowa, who was fired in April this year.

"I did learn from the situation 1 was in." Davis worked with weights during the off-season and has never been stronger. He worked 201 innings this year, second only to his 1984 season for workload. At 16-7, he trailed only Dave Stewart (21-12) and Bob Welch (17-9) in victories on the A's staff. He also grew to 200 pounds, a menacing weight at 6 feet 4. "I lifted weights to get stronger but didn't think I would gain 20 pounds," he said.

"It's helped my stamina a lot I was able to start 33 games for the first time in my career, and maybe next year I can start 34 or 35 times." So indeed there is a future. Again. Starting a World Series game Sunday night, though he was treated rudely by the Dodgers, served as an affirmation that 1987 will not be his tombstone season. Storm Davis may never clear a bar room or shove an umpire. But he can pitch again.

"I came here to the A's, and they told me to be myself," he said. So he is. the next Palmer, whether he liked it or not "That's who everyone said I looked like, who they all said I should act like," he said. "In my mind, I made too much of a big deal. It was easy to say I was just going to try to be Storm Davis but it was another thing to do it I'd get out on the mound and worry about not living up to expectations.

I would get all nervous." By 1986, he'd fallen to 9-12. The Baltimore organization was in retreat The Padres, with a young Benito Santiago in the minors, could afford to deal catcher Terry Kennedy. So they made the deal. It was a disaster. Quickly, Davis was 2-7 in San Diego and switched to the bullpen.

His quiet manner was interpreted as weakness. A strong Christian, he had no impact in the Padres clubhouse. "He had a manager (Bowa) that was calling him names," said Oakland pitching coach Dave Duncan. "His teammates basically were taking the same attitude by reflecting the same feelings. It was a bad situation.

He goes out there to pitch, and now he's expecting to lose and bad things happened. And they did." Only because of this anxiety was Davis available. The A's remembered him from Baltimore, remembered he won a World series game there when he was 21. The Padres shopped him, accepting from Oakland pitcher Dave Leiper and first sandpaper. Hershiser in Game 2 of the World Series, he allowed Hershiser to single in the third inning, gave up three more consecutive singles and then a home run on an 0-2 count to Mike Marshall.

The A's were down 5-0. An inning later, Hershiser doubled in another run. Then Davis was gone after 71 pitches that wrought a disaster. There was a Storm Davis that did this by nature. But in 1988, that man was said to have vanished.

Oakland's Storm Davis went 16-7. He had, they said, matured. "Yes, but I've also matured as a person," he said. "Things don't bother me as much as they used to. I can just be myself now.

I'm not pitching in the shadows of a legend like I was in Baltimore with Jim Palmer (1982-86). "In Oakland, I just blend in. I'm one of the guys. They know I'm quiet, and after this year, I hope they know I'm dependable and will take the ball every fifth day." At one time, that was the very least the game expected from him. Rising within the Orioles organization in the early 80s, he was projected for greatness by a franchise then noted for developing pitchers.

He went 37-24 between 1983 and 1985 but still never took the last step up, like another tall righthander of a decade before. He was being called Moreover, Davis was just an aw ful pitcher. The kid once likened to Jim Palmer years back in Baltimore had become a doubting man with a lem about Gibson is he adapts so well," Canseco said. "He can have one bad swing, he corrects quickly. I like him a lot.

I've talked to him. He's very positive, very enthusiastic. He's a lot like me, he's got power, speed, a strong arm." Canseco's Gift Canseco is giving his grand slam baseball to his father. "My dad was here," Canseco said after Saturday night's game. "Of all the power hitters we've got in Oakland, I'm the only one who's never hit a grand slam.

My father's always telling me, 'When you gonna hit 'Sure, dad, I'll hit one "When I hit it, the first thing that went through my mind was, 'grand slam, national TV, my father's here to see It, I'm Canseco hit his slam in the second Inning and after the game was presented the ball. Spartan News Gibson won and lost Saturday. His ninth-inning home run won Game 1, but back in his home state in East Lansing, Michigan State wide receiver Andre Rison caught two touchdown passes and broke Gibson's school record for career receiving yardage (2,347 yards In 122 catches). Gibson showed no volition for swapping the home run for his place in MSU's history book. About Atlanta Alumni If former Brave Glenn Hubbard finally made it to the World Series this weekend, ft could not be without assistance from a one-time Atlanta teammate.

When Hubbard was activated for the Series, the man he replaced on the active roster was catcher Matt Sinatro. Originally an Atlanta second-round draft pick in 1978, Sinatro lasted eight years in the organization, playing 58 games with the parent club before the A's signed him as a free agent January 27, 1986. He appeared in 10 Oakland games this year, batted .333 and even drove in five runs in nine at-bats. 6.18 ERA and a torched reputation. A devout Christian, he'd lost his way.

Said Bowa that night, "He thinks the 'SD' on our cap stands for Storm Davis." Funny words. "Trying to just be me," Davis said, "has never been real easy." Sunday night, Davis looked straight back down into that hole his career had been. After the finest season of his life, he was ravaged in his most important start of the year. Matched against Los Angeles's Orel The Knee For the second straight night, Tommy Lasorda held Kirk Gibson out of starting lineup while the left fielder continues to hobble with a sore hamstring behind his left knee and a bruised right knee. He can swing his bat, but anyone who saw him round the bases after his Game 1 home run can testify he still can't run.

Welch vs. Tudor When the Series resumes Tuesday in Oakland, the Dodgers will face former LA. pitcher Bob Welch. John Tudor, will start for the Dodgers. Welch started Game 3 of the ALCS and allowed six hits and five runs in just 1 innings.

Tudor started Game 4 of the NLCS, gave up four runs in five innings and did not figure in the decision. Sex Scandal A technician has been suspended from a TV station in Macon after a World Series broadcast was interrupted by a graphic sex scene. LA Sturdivant, station manager of WMGT-TV, said the scene was on the air for only three to five seconds, but callers to the Macon Telegraph and News said It lasted 20 to 30 seconds. "It's being treated as a serious matter," he said. The interruption occurred during the second inning of Saturday's game.

Parker Not Impressed Dave Parker got all three of Oakland's hits Sunday night, the second time in 32 World Series three-hitter that one player has accounted for his team's entire offense. Emit Meusel got the New York Giants' three hits off Joe Bush of the New York Yankees In 1923 in Game 5. "Hershiser pitched a great game," said Parker, who played 15 years in the National League with Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. "I got my hits but the rest of the guys couldn't do anything off him. He got some big ground balls and strikeouts when he needed them.

If you want to know who I think is the best pitcher, it's Mike Scott" Cheat Sheets The closest Hershiser came to danger Sunday was before he threw his first pitch. He summoned crew chief Paul Harvey to the mound to show him a plastic coated card he was carrying in his back pocket, which listed Oakland's individual tendencies and weaknesses. "That's my little cheat sheet." Hershiser said. "I didn't want them coming out and looking in my pockets for pine tar or anything." Numbers Hershiser's three hits Sunday night in Game 2 were more hits than any pitcher had gotten in an entire World Series since Mickey Lolich In 1968. Lollch went 3-for-12 for Detroit against St.

Louis. Hershiser was 3-for-3 in his first World Series appearance. Oakland's Storm Davis went 0-for-1 Sunday night and extended the hitless streak to 67 by American League pitchers in the World Series. With the Dodgers' two victories, AL clubs have lost seven consecutive World Series games at NL stadiums. Heroic Greeting Gibson didn't start the second game of the World Series on Sunday but was I wildly cheered by nearly 60,000 fans during introductions and applauded by fellow slugger Jose Canseco.

Can-i seco, standing on the field after the I Athletics were Introduced, raised his hands to join the thunderous 30-sec-! ond ovation for Gibson, who won Game 1 with a two-run homer with two! out in the bottom of the ninth. Canse- co's own home run, a grand slam In the second inning Saturday, was overshadowed by Gibson, but Canseco paid his rival a compliment. "The prob Mighty Oaidand Bats Combine for a Quiet .159 Batting Average From Staff and Wire Reports OAKLAND LOS ANGELS brhM tbrhM Lansfrd3b 3 0 00 Sax 2b 4110 Hendrsncf 4 000 Stubbs 1b 2111 Canwcorf 4000 Wdsnlb 1000 Park 40 30 Hatcher 412 1 McQwt 1b 3 0 0 0 Marshal rf 4 12 3 Hasaeyo 3000 Gonzalzrf 0000 Hubbrd2b 2000 Shelby cf 4000 Weiss 3000 Sdosciac 4000 GOavti 1 0 0 0 Hamrtn 3b 4 0 0 0 Nelson 0000 Griffin 4 110 PotorHa ph 1 0 0 0 Hetahlar 3 131 Young 0 0 0 0 Plunkp 0 0 0 0 Baykxph 1000 Honeyctp 0 0 0 0 Totals 21010 Total! 34 HQS Oakland 000 000 000-0 Hipp" 003 100 001-4 Game-Winning RBI Slubbi (1). E-Hamllton. DP-Los Angeles 2.

LOB-Oakland 4, Los Angeles 5. 2B-Hershlser 2. 3B-MarshaH. HR Marshall 1). SB-Weiss 1 IP HER SB SO Oakland GDaviiLO-1 31-3 8 6 6 0 2 Nelson 12-310011 Young 1 1 0 0 0 0 Plunk 1 0 0 0 0 3 Honeycutt 1 0 0 0 0 2 Hershiser 1-0 3 0 0 2 6 UVrtwee-Horne, MerrM (AL); First Froemmlna (NL); The Associated Press Second, Cousins (AL); Third, Crawford (NL); Left, Mo- Coy (AL); Right Harvey (NL).

HOW THEV SCORED Dodgers' Third: Griffin fouled out to third. The Dodgers' Orel Hershiser calmly clenches his fist after clinching a 6-0 shutout of the Oakland Athletics Sunday night rallies with double-play grounders. He said Hershiser's pitches were sinking well. "He's not overpowering, he just spots the ball very well," he said. "Last night the guy (Kirk GiU-son) hits the ball out of the ballpark after they don't do much for eight innings.

Tonight, you're going up against a guy who hasn't given up runs all year. What can you do?" McGwire shrugged. Henderson said the poor offensive showing over the weekend doesn't necessarily mean the A's are in a hitting slump. "The guy pitched a good game," said Henderson, who was O-for-4. "He's a different kind of pitcher.

1 just didn't have a good night and a few other guys didn't have good nights." Oakland didn't get a runner into scoring position until there were two outs in the seventh when they already trailed by six runs. No Oakland runner reached third. Only Dave Parker, who had all three of the A's hits, seemed to have the answer against Hershiser, who he faced in the National League. 1 "He got big ground balls every time he needed one," said Parker. "He's tough.

He's been doing it all yearlong." A's manager Tony La Russa said he never expected Oakland's offense to be shut down in Los Angeles. He said he was hoping for a repeat of the A's rally from a 5-0 deficit against Boston in the third game of the American League playoffs. r' "We always have a feeling we can put a crooked number up there at any time," La Russa said. "But when they put a five-run spot up there with that guy pitching, it's tough to overcome. We'd like to get another shot at him in Game 5." JTie Associated Press LOS ANGELES Throw out Jose Canseco's grand slam and Oakland's potent offense is 0 for the World Series.

Orel Hershiser, a career .194 hitter, had two extra-base hits in the Dodgers' 6-0 victory Sunday night, matching the Athletics two-game total. "We've been in streaks like this before," said Carney Lansford, who is hitless in seven at-bats. "It's a bad time for it to happen, but it's only two games." After getting just 10 hits in Dodger Stadium over the weekend, the A's are looking forward to a change of scenery. "When we go home and get our fans behind us, it will be a different story," Lansford said. The entire batting order has been party to the slump.

Oakland is hitting only .159 in the Series after batting .263 in the regular season. Jose Canseco, whose second-inning grand slam in the opener has provided the only scoring, is l-for-8. Mark McGwire is 0-for-6 and grounded into two double plays in Game 2. Dave Henderson is 2-for-9 with four strikeouts. "We're going to have to be ourselves and not worry about what people are going to say now that we're down 2-0," said McGwire.

"I've got a lot of at-bats left in the Series. We'll do better." McGwire and Canseco were a combined 0-for-7 against Hershiser, but both said he did not seem unhittable. "He threw me a lot of fastballs," said Canseco, who struck out, grounded out and flied out twice. "I just can't believe I couldn't hit one hard. He was smart to keep throwing it" McGwire killed two potential Hershiser singled to center.

Sax singled to nam, nersniser to tnira. siudds singled to nam, Series Hershiser scored, Sax to third. Hatcher singled to center, Sax scored, Stubbs to third, Hatcher to second on throw to third. Marshall homered to left, Stubbs, Hatcher and Marshall scored. Shelby grounded out to first Scloscla filed out to left.

Dodgers 5, Athletics O. Dodgers' Fourth: Hamilton grounded out to shortstop. Griffin singled to second. Hershiser doubled to right Griffin scored. Nelson relieved G.Davis, sax grounded out to shortstop.

Stubbs walked. Hatcher grounded out to pitch er. Dodgers 8, AtMeOct o. Composite Doxscorz Batting OAKLAND 108 ANGELES ab H2b3bhrM avg ab 2b 3b hr bi avg 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.000 Hershiser 3 1 3 2 0 0 1 1000 0 3 0 0 0 0 .500 Gibson 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 1.000 1 2 0 0 0 0 .333 Hatcher 7 2 3 0 0 1 3 .429 0 1 0 0 0 0 550 Marshall 8 2 3 0 1 1 3 .375 0 2 1 0 0 0 .222 Griffin 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 .333 1 1 0 0 1 4 .125 San 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 .286 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Stubbs 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 .167 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Soosca 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 125 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Shelby 8 0 1 0 0 0 0 .125. 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Hamilton 6000000 .000 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Woodson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Javier Parker Hubbard Steinbach Henderson Canseco Lansford Weiss McGwire Hassey Stewart Baylor Moris GDavs Nelson Young Eckersley Plunk Honeycutt Totals Kindred 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gonzalez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Heep 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 MDavis 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0000000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Holton 0000000 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Leary 0000000 000 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Pena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 said "During introductions, I'll think I'll be looking at the Green Bay Packers." Hardly.

Through the first six innings, Hershiser gave up only two singles to Dave Parker, one off a bad hop through Franklin Stubbs at first. And both times, Mark McGwire promptly bounced Parker into double plays. He allowed no one to second base until the seventh, but McGwire flew out to right to end the inning. He rushed through the first seven innings while throwing just 71 pitches. But beyond that, Hershiser, a .129 hitter this season, generated more offense than Oakland's Bash Bunch.

Batting in the third against starter Storm Davis, Hershiser worked the count full, shortened up as to bunt and then sent a single hopping over second base. It became symbolic of the night In an instant Steve Sax, Franklin Stubbs and Mickey Hatcher all singled, bringing in Hershiser and Sax in the process. Marshall then ripped the game open after Davis threw him two strikes. Marshall sent the third pitch deep toward left, driving Dave Parker into the wall before the ball left the field at the 370-foot mark. This drove in Hatcher and Stubbs and the Dodgers were up 5-0.

But Hershiser wanted more. He dropped a double down the right-field line in the fourth to score Alfredo Griffin and pump the lead to 6-0. He later pulled a second double down the left-field line in the sixth. No pitcher had three hits in a Series game since 1924, when Art Nehf did it for the New York Giants. Hershiser was working his third straight game on three day's rest "Sometimes when you get too pumped up, you don't know where your ball is going and that's no good for a sinker ball pitcher like me." Not to worry.

Oakland never dared hit more than a single. Most notable in his absence was McGwire. Not only did he fail to hit three straight times with men on base, he has yet to register a hit in the Series, going 0-fj-6. 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 63 410 1 0 1 4 .159 Totals 661117 I 1 11 .258 From Page ID turned to Hershiser. He is in the midst of the most dominating streak this game has seen.

Over the last 92 innings, he has allowed just three earned runs. From where Tommy Lasorda sits, that padlocks a 6-0 lead. A thinking man's pitcher, Hershiser had intended to study video tape of Game 1. Oakland's power had been the pre-Series focus of this week and surely, the tape helped. "It didn't help me at all," Hershiser said.

"Last night's game was so exciting, I forgot to take it home." But that was the last mistake he made. He let just two runners to second all night, Dave Henderson doing so in the seventh on an uncontested steal and Carney Lansford doing it in the ninth on a fielder's choice. Beyond that, it was only Hershiser against himself. It was an umcommonly warm October evening (75 degrees) and the elemental pressure became more critical than the opponents in green. After all, all that base-running can take it out of a guy.

"I was extremely tired pretty much most of the night," Hershiser "This was a very odd evening for Los Angeles this time of year. It was very hot About the third or fourth inning, I had (trainer) Charlie Strasser go over and get me some amonia water and some iced towels to really keep waking me up. "I felt good every time I was on the mound. But I was tired from running the bases. I think that was the key." To say Hershiser commanded this game is to understate.

By the sixth inning, he had more hits (three) than the entire A's lineup (two), he had scored once and driven in another run and confounded Oakland with another display of speed variance and location pitching. Asked before about the A's imposing assortmenof physiques, he LOS ANGELES rer bb so 0 0 2 8 0 Hershsrt-0 1 9 Pitching OAKLAND 9 kj rer bb so era Nelson 1 12-3 1 0 0 1 1 000 Honeycutt 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 00 PM It 0 0 0 0 3 0.00 Young 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 Stewart 1 8 6 3 3 2 3 38 1 31-3 8 6 6 0 2 1620 EcrstyO-1 1 2-3 1 2 2 1 1 27.00 Totals 116241711 11 414 M4 000 000 000 000 1800 leary Hoilon Pens 1-0 Belcher 1 18 10 4 4 1 17 2.00 Totals Fielding imately. i He had discovered that ice made his knee so numb he could walk for a while before it seized up in pain. He hit balls off a tee into a net He visualized what he wanted to happen. He talked to himself.

"You're telling you, 'You love these Baseball is a cruel game, he said later, and it pays you back with moments when the game is yours to decide. As the Dodgers came to bat in Game One's last inning, Gibson asked Tommy Lasorda to come to the trainer's room. Gibson told him, "I'll be able to hit if you want meb Dumbstruck, Lasorda hustled back to the dugout Gibson said, "The adrenaline was flowing." Later someone asked him about the pain during his at- bat "I couldn't tell you about it because I wasnt thinking of it," Gibson said. He saw it as "my job and my duty" to drag that aching body up there. You can hurt anytime.

You can win games only when you're there with a stick in your hand. The man who didnt shave, the man who couldn't jog in his living room, a foxhole soldier in a tinsel town that man took the stick in his handt 8:33 p.m. 1 Score by Innings OAKLAND LOS ANGELES From Page ID was on the needle. Let's get it over with, doc. "A wonderful injection," he said, meaning a terrible injection.

Imagine a needle into the side of your knee. Imagine a doctor pushing the needle in and then probing the cartilage and bone, searching with the needlepoint for the pain source. If he doesn't numb the pain the first time, he goes in again. Football players call it "taking the needle." To play in pain, you take the needle. They shoot you up with numbing Xylocaine.

Then they push in a long and scary needle through which they pump cortisone to reduce swelling. Saying he'd had "a few" injections this year, the old football player Gibson wouldn't say how many. "I'm not going to incriminate anybody." TV cameras during Game One couldn't find Gibson. He was in the trainer's room with an ice bag on his knee. Gibson heard someone on TV say he wouldn't play.

He replied, "That's bullfeathers," approx- 040 000 000-4 206 101 602-11 Oakland Us Angeles a 0 0 4 0 3 1 Javier Parker Hubbard Steinbach Henderson Canseco Lansford Hershiser Gibson Hatcher Marshall Gnfffi Sax Stubbs Sooscia Sheby 5 4 5 3 2 Weiss McGwire 14 0 2 4 4 5 14 17 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Summary Game Winning RBI-Gibson, Stubbs. E-HamiHon. DP-Oakland 1, Los Angeles 2. LOB-Oakland 14, Los Angeles 10. SB-Canseco, Sax, Davis, Weiss.

HBP-Canseco by Belcher (Gams 1), Sax by Stewart (Game 1). WP-Stewan Bafc-Sewart. Umpires-Harvey (NL), Merrill (AL), Froemming (NL), Cousre (AL). Crawford (NL), McCoy (AL). Oftoal Scorers-Jack Lang (New York Dairy News), Dave Nightingale (The Sporting News), Vem Plagenhoef (Booth Newspapers).

A-Game 1. 55.983. Game 2. 56,051. Hassey Stewart Baylor Moris GDavis Nelson Young Woodson MDavis tWton Leary Pena Eckersley 0 Plunk 0 Honeycutt 0 Totals.

64 21 1 Nit.