The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 31

31 THE BOSTON GLOBE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, A quick change air WfiTiiiiannaTB Time is short on conference call Darwin has cross words Pitcher chastises those who wouldn't honor line By Mark Blaudschun GLOIIE STAF erything is closed," he said. "But you look at leagues like the SEC, which had a league championship game, and the Big 12, which might have one. The Big Ten is at 11 and might to 12, and the Pac-10 might expand. If those things happen, the Big East or the ACC might have a different outlook." But the present reality is that a new league is being formed, applications are being taken, and if UMass wants to upgrade its football program, it had better hop on the bus quickly. While that new league was being formed, the Big East was solidifying its status.

It was considering going to a divisional system in basketball, but after three meetings over the past four days, the consensus among Big East members was that they would be better off as a 13-team, one-division league. "We're going to go back to our schools, talk about it and then come back at our winter meetings at the end of January and probably come to some decision," said Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese. "But think, when you look at it, one 13-team league with each team playing everyone else once for 12 games and each team playing six teams twice for an 18-game schedule, offers the least negatives and has the best chance." i I Hi i liJ AP PHOTO Mike Schmidt addresses the press during yesterday's conference in New York. Schmidt had his share of grief as well as glory in Philadelphia, but after a landslide election to the Hall of Fame, there's A warm feeli atfh hot comer ByNickCafardo GLOBE STAFF If you're a coach, manager or trainer and don't plan on honoring the players' strike, you could be the next target of hard-line players like Danny Darwin. The veteran righthander, 39, said from his Valley View, Texas, home that he is among a growing number of players who will be closely watching for signs of loyalty from coaches, managers and trainers, all of whom pay union dues and collect licensing money, "The union pays the majority of salaries of coaches and trainers through licens- ing money," said Darwin, who finished up a four-year stint with the Red Sox last sea-i son and is looking to catch on with another team.

"I don't think it's right they would I be coaching, managing or working medi-! cally on replacement players. I have a lot of good friends who are coaches and I'm going to be talking to them soon. A lot of them should look in the mirror. A lot of them were once players who, if it wasn't for the union, wouldn't be in the position they're in today. "I know there's pressure from the teams for them to work because they're employed by the teams.

But if they're get-I ting in licensing money from the union, then where should their loyalties be?" Darwin said hell be more vocal about the topic as time goes on. He appreciated recent comments by Tony La Russa, who said he may not manage a replacement team fielded by the Oakland A's. "If they have minor league players on the field, what do you lose by having minor league staff handling them?" said La Russa. "Any decision you make is based on what you think is best for the game. At some point, the players will be back, and then you've got to explain why you did what you did." Darwin echoed those words.

"Replacement players should be man-; aged and coached by replacement manag-t ers and coaches," said Darwin. "If managers and, coaches and trainers don't go out with us, they don't deserve to get the li- censing money." Managers other than La Russa face a more difficult decision. It's easy for a "star" manager to act without fear of being fired. Most managers are trying to hang on for as long as they can. Milwaukee's Phil Garner, for instance, was a committed union man during his playing days for the Pirates and A's; he was on the players' negotiating committee in 1981.

Ditto for Kansas City's Bob Boone, a longtime outspoken union man who has, recently criticized the Players As-' sociation. It has to be a difficult situation as well for Colorado's Don Baylor, who was heavily involved with the union in his playing days. "Managers, coaches and trainers can't honor the strike," said Red Sox hitting coach Mike Easier, "because the bottom line is, they'll lose their jobs. "If you were a coach and did that, you would be blackballed call it what you want for the rest of your life. Who's go-; ing to, stand up for us when we lose our jobs? As far as I'm concerned, coaches are the most unthought-of professionals there are.

We have no leverage." Even though the $300 or so per check paid by coaches, managers and trainers in 'It feels like being a pledge for a long time. Then you get invited into the most exclusive fraternity in the MIKE SCHMIDT, Hall ofFamer BOB MARCUM Emphasis is still East exemption Great 8 1 SAN DIEGO If the University of Massachusetts is going to step up its football program to Division 1-A, it had better move quickly. The window of opportunity for joining a new "super conference," which will begin playing basketball next season and football in 1996, is rapidly closing. The Minutemen, who play basketball in the Atlantic 10 but compete on the Division 1-AA level in football in the Yankee Conference, have a stated mission of upgrading their football program. Although some UMass officials leaned toward joining established conferences such as the Big East or even the Atlantic Coast Conference, those leagues are not likely to expand, and even if they did, officials from both have said the Minutemen are not high on their priority lists.

Which leaves the new "super conference" called, for want of an official name, the Great Big Conference consisting of 10-12 teams in basketball and 6-8 teams in football. The league has lined up nine teams in basketball: Houston, Tulane, Louisville, Southern Mississippi, Cincinnati, Memphis, Marquette, St. Louis and Alabama-Birmingham. Being considered are DePaul, North Carolina-Charlotte and South Florida. The configuration in football stands as Houston, Tulane, Louisville, Southern Cincinnati and Memphis.

UAB is currently at the 1-AA level but has announced plans to go to 1-A When UMass was mentioned as a possible 11th or 12th member in basketball and seventh or eighth member in football, one source close to the league's negotiations said, "That would make a good fit. I think there is interest in them, if they said they want to be a part of it. But if UMass wants to do something, they had better get things together. We're pretty far along in the process of putting things together." UMass athletic director Bob Marcum, who is here at the NCAA convention, said his focus remains the East. "If you look at that league, it goes from Houston to Cincinnati," said Marcum.

"I'm not sure if that makes sense for us financially." Marcum did concede that there were limited options in football. "Right now it does look likp pv- Basketball revoked for By Mark Blaudschun GLOBE STAFF SAN DIEGO -After almost two days of tranquility, the 89th NCAA convention ended yesterday with some sparks that could erupt into an inferno. A routine piece of legislation that would give teams that played in the 1-year-old Great Eight tournament an extra game exemption was taken away. In what evolved into a Division 1-A vs. 1-AA and 1-AAA (Division 1 schools without football) battle, the smaller schools won, fueling talk by the larger schools of breaking off into their own group, where they could decide common issues without input or protest from the smaller schools.

"What it was," said University of Nebraska athletic director Bill Byrne, "was a power play. And I don't know why they did it." Said North Carolina AD John Swofford, "It's indicative of the need for restructuring." The NCAA has routinely and regularly allowed exemptions (games that don't count against the maximum 26 regular-season games) for teams that participate in tournaments in Maui and Alaska, the Preseason National Invitation Tournament and most recently the inaugural Martin Luther King tournament. In fact, a proposal that would give another year of exemption for the Martin Luther King games was overwhelmingly approved yesterday. But when the Great Eight, which included the University of Connecticut and Boston College last fall and was designed as a preseason tourna- go I and make it. Now it's gotten to where you always need to be there 15-17 years." Schmidt, who spent his entire career in a Phillies uniform, said he emerged pretty much unscarred despite the daily scrutiny of tough fans and a tough media in Philadelphia.

In his first full season, 1973, he fell below the Mendoza Line (.196) but hit 18 home runs. In 1974, he led the National League with 36 homers, and Philadelphia fans jumped on the bandwagon. Schmidt hit at least 30 home runs in 12 of the next 13 seasons, including a career high of 48 in 1980. With him as their power source, the Phillies reach the National League playoffs five times be tween 1976 and 1983, winning two NL pennants. They beat the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series and lost to the Baltimore Oriolesin 1983.

Schmidt continued to have individual succe: in the years that followed, but he alone could not By Larry Whiteside GLOBE STAFF EW YORK No one ever doubted Mike Schmidt's baseball skills, but every now and then, his confidence would wane, and many wondered whether he could survive the wrath of the demand liJ ing Philadelphia fans. Well, Schmidt doesn't have to worry about anybody in Philadelphia or any other town in America critiquing him any longer. On Monday, he became the 220th member of the Hall of Fame with the overwhelming endorsement of the Baseball Writers Association of American. "I'm in pretty good company," said Schmidt yesterday, less than 24 hours after learning that he was named on 96.52 percent of ballots cast, the fourth-highest percentage since voting began in 1936. "I like a batting order that has Tom Seaver 98.84 leading off, Ty Cobb 98.23 hitting second, Hank Aaron 97.83 hitting third and me hitting fourth.

"The only guy missing is Pete Rose. When his turn comes around, he'd get the most votes of all time, and he'd be the leadoff. I won't mind batting fourth or fifth behind him." Schmidt was smiling as he never had during his 18-year career with Philadelphia. Some hardliners may argue over the enshrinement of a man with a .267 lifetime batting average, but voters rallied around him for his power numbers. Schmidt played in 2,404 major league games and batted over .300 only once, but he hit 548 home runs and drove in 1,507 runs.

And he never let down in the field, winning 10 Gold Gloves. "I think reaching the Hall of Fame was a matter of having the total package," said Schmidt. "I do know if I was a subpar defensive player, I probably wouldn't have lasted as long as a third baseman as I did. To me, defense was relaxing, fun and easy." While Schmidt was a prohibitive favorite to join the immortals in his first year of eligibility, he expected more company. He knew of strong showings in previous elections by Tony Perez and Steve Garvey.

He thought highly of pitchers Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton and Phil Niekro. He knew Jim Rice was on the ballot for the first time, and Thurman Munson for the last time. But when the votes were counted, Schmidt was the only one ticketed for Cooperstown. No one else even came close; Niekro finished second with 286 votes, well short of the required 75 percent (345). "When you're playing against those guys, you hold them in high esteem," said Schmidt.

"I played against Steve Garvey, who had 210 hits every year. Fine career, fine man. Here I am going into the Hall of Fame, and Steve Garvey's name is down at the middle of the list. "That gives you a little different perspective on the game. These are the guys whom you felt were bigger names and better players than you were while you were playing against them." That Perez didn't make it was surprising to Schmidt; that Rice got only 137 votes was not "I thought that, in terms of big games, big hits, longevity and consistency over a long time, Tony Perez was a pretty strong candidate," said Schmidt.

"He should make it. "Jim Rice had seven or eight good years in the American League. But I think the longevity thing probably was a problem for him. There was a time when you could have 8-9-10 solid years ment for teams that reached the Final Eight from the previous year's NCAA tournament came up for its exemption, a show-of-hands vote failed the first time by a narrow margin. When that was questioned, the convention went to a more precise electronic ballot, which passed by two votes.

In the afternoon session, the issue was asked to be reconsidered and it was voted down by a margin of seven votes. "It was a rule for an elite group of schools that can benefit on a regular basis," said Metro Atlantic commissioner Rich Ensor, who spoke against it. Although some people, such as Seton Hall AD Larry Keating, voted not against the concept but the way the legislation was worded, the perception is that it was just another instance of smaller schools telling bigger schools how to run their business. Championing their case A proposal that would have required that a sport have a minimum number of schools (40) to conduct a national championship was rejected, thus saving championships in men's gymnastics Word on the Kickoff Classic is that Penn State will play one of three teams, Oklahoma, North Carolina or Boston College. But BC was apparently the third choice Although the Great Eight can continue to exist, it will be tougher to get quality schools without an exemption, since teams would have to give up a home game to play Rev.

Jesse Jackson met with NCAA executive director Cedric Dempsey to discuss concerns of the Rainbow Coalition about the hiring practices and other issues of concern by the Black Coaches Association. reverse the fortunes of a franchise turned rotten. After going 81-81 in 1984, the Phillies did not have another winning season until 1993. Schmidt was frequently booed as his skills slowly diminished. He was injured in 1988 and retired less than a year later.

He has no regrets. "There were some lean years in the '70s," said Schmidt, "but we reached a significant comfort level in 1980. We won -the championship and it was like the city and the Philadelphia Phillies were one. We felt that all the hard times and all the failing meant something. "Later we found out that wasn't necessary true.

The booing came back and we learned it could be a little rough in Philadelphia on a professional athlete. But I didn't mind that. It is just the way it was in Philadelphia, and it always will be that way. They push their athletes because they depend upon them." Schmidt said the push for him came when Rose joined the Phillies in 1979 and quickly became an inspiration to the team. It was Rose, said Schmidt, who first instilled in him the notion that he might be a Hall of Famer.

Schmidt issued a plea for major league baseball to end its banish-' ment of Rose and make him eligible for Hall of Fame voting. "Pete was already the elite," said Schmidt, recalling their first couple of seasons together. "He had played with Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench and had been the catalyst for the Big Red Machine, the team that dominated baseball for several years. "Yet this guy walked up to me and said, "You're the best player I ever played He saic1 i to me many, many times. That vote of confidence from the greatest guy ever was like shooting me with adrenaline.

That just made me a better player. I accomplished a lot individually before Pete got there, but he's the guy who got all of me over the hump." dues makes them eligible for lucrative licensing and medical benefits, they get little protection from the union. Many minor league players who are thinking about crossing the line and playing feel the DANNY DARWIN Hard-liner on strike same way. They have tried to get the union to support them for many years, but it does so only when they make the 40-man roster. Which, of course, most of them never do.

"I won't even talk to a guy if he's been a replacement player," said Darwin. "The owners don't realize what they're creating. ThereH be fights in the clubhouse, in the bars, and if you have a team where you have some replacement players, you're not going to get along, and therefore, you're not going to win. It's bad for baseball. The hostility they would create would be unbelievable" Darwin, who missed most of last season with back problems, says he's completely recovered and several teams have called him to express interest.

But he has not heard from the Red Sox. "I guess I'm not a Dan Duquette man," said Darwin..