The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 22

D6 Saturday March 29 1997 The Fresno Bee lyw-TjyiwH 1997 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: A CLOSER LOOK Wherever Bonds goes Giants will follow Bairy Bonds says he's not a leader but manager Dusty Baker and his teammates disagree By Nick Peter The Sacramento Baa When the San Francisco Giants extended Barry Bonds' contract and assured him he would be in their uniform when Pacific Bell Park opens in 2000 they hinted that more was expected than home runs It was suggested that with fellow superstar Matt Williams gone Bonds no longer would have to share the billing that the 1997 Giants truly would be Barry's ballclub Bonds seemed to take it to heart From the day he reported to spring training five weeks ago he has been cordial to teammates friendly to the media and generally downright charming So when Bonds was approached this week and asked about his apparent acceptance of the leadership role he definitely tow the party line Tm not going to fall into that Bonds said emphatically hope everybody on the team becomes a leader I think everybody should be the go-to guy not just me I don't want it "It's not my teum The Giants belong to the city of San Francisco Kach individual can be a leader If they're looking for me to be the leader that Despite Bonds' denials he is showing signs of leadership The changes in Bonds' clubhouse personality this Bpring are more re- that ain't good" Heavy load Barry Bonds says "If vealing than subtle "It looks to me like Barry wants to be more a part of the team" said reliever Rod Beck a teammate since 1993 put a finger on it but been nice think he's more of a leader now and more communicative part of the team In the past he even stretch with us He's been great" It isn't an isolated opinion Try as he may to shrug ofT the demands and burdens of leadership Bonds has emerged as the ent There are no Will Clarks or Williamses to share superstar status Bonds stands out more than ever "There are a lot of new guys here guys anxious to play with Baker said giving him respect and he's giving some back Sometimes you put yourself in a leadership role "I know it come from the front office Nobody tells Barry what to do got to want to do it yourself It seems that his life is in order and that helps Caminiti figures to just get better they're looking lor me to be the leader player for the Giants to rally around "I think a difference" said Opening Day starter Mark Gardner 35 the oldest player more involved Whether he knows it or not he's the team leader" Manager Dusty Baker of course is more concerned about Bonds' production than his demeanor If the superstar left fielder provides more leadership a bonus But Baker concedes that the clubhouse atmosphere is differ Assoclalsd Press returns to spring training to help 1 a 1 Vjc 3 Aiit "It Just seems to me like he's let his guard down a little Barry has never been a bad kid But had a wall up and not too many people have gotten too dose a little more open The newcomers on the team and there are many had no frame of reference All they knew was Bonds' reputation so they had to judge for themselves So for so good "You always get perceptions from the media and the fans but I go by new center fielder Darryl Hamilton said "I heard a lot of stuff about Albert Belle but he treated me well "Barry has been very nice When I came to camp I expected Barry to be a guy who talked the talk and walked the walk He disappointed Bonds 32 also has become more of a realist making concessions to time He sees age beginning to take a toll and doubts that capable of 40-40 (ho-mers-steals) again are getting harder for he said "I have to spend longer doing everything I owe former teammate Willie McGee an apology He told me this day would come I thought it would never come I told him I'd always be in great shape that I'm going to stay in better drape Now I understand where he was coming That's quite an admission for a young man in the prime of life one who has amassed 334 home runs and 380 stolen bases and is coming off a great year Now finally a leader too You have everything a surprise based on Camini-ti'i work ethic and love for the game Caminiti is clearly a throwback and his value to the resurgent Padres goes beyond his dazzling statistics and the defensive plays that earned him his second straight Gold Glove Award "His presence is worth a great dual just having him said general manager Kevin Towers Caminiti waa the first Padres player to win MVP "He did it on guts and said seven-time hatting champion Tony Gwynn entering his 15th Beason with the team "He plays hard every day he wants to play every day Really he's just become a bona fide superstar in this league as far as I'm His road to stardom really started in 1993 when he quit drinking "That was the biggest impact" said Caminiti who at the time was with the Houston Astros and drank just about every day "I definitely had good games and bad games and I definitely felt the Caminiti checked him-Ken Caminiti ndf into a rehab clinic Now he celebrates with Diet Coke "You could just see that it was leading him down the wrong path where you've warn a lot of other guys go and their careers falter from said center fielder Steve Finley traded to the Padres along with Caminiti in December 1994 was strong enough to listen to his friends and take that stop to recovery and it worked for Caminiti had a career year in 1995 then hurt his rotator cuITjust a few dqys into the 1996 season He needl'd two cortisone shots a month later Other injuries followed and the rotator cuff got worse "I've played some of my best games sicker than a he said "Sometimes you pay the price I think most people the reason why they want to play when they're not feeling good is they might lose a stat here and there But 1 really don't care 1 think about those HOW TO SEE iwnuuascotums Tickets: $15 lower box $12 per box $12 lower reserved $7 upper reserved $6 pavilion $5 hlnjirhnra Phone: (415) 468-3700 What's to eat: The Giants this year unveiled a 13Y4-inch hot dog the Giant dog of course that they claim is the biggest in the Bay Area TV: SportsChannel has 55 games scheduled plus KAIL will show 19 games How to hear 'em: KYNO (1300) will carry alt the games OAKLAND ATHLETICS Tickets: $20 dub MVP $1750 MVP $14 field level-infield $13 field level-plaza infield $1 1 plaza $5 upper reserved $4 bleaches Phone: (510) 638-4627 TV: SportsChannel has 55 games scheduled plus KAIL will show seven games The Valley's team: Valley fans can watch budding Athletics In person at either of Oakland's California League affiliates the Visalia Oaks or the Modesto A's How to hear KTIP (1450) In Porterville is the A's station in the Valley North Valley fans might try the flagship KFRC (610) or KBUL (970) out of Modesto LOS ANGELIS DODGERS Tickets: $17 preferred box (not available) $14 middle box (not available) $12 box $11 preferred reserve $8 reserved $6 top deck and pavilion $3 general-children ages 12-under Phone: (213) 224-1400 How to hear 'em: KCBL (1340) has picked up the broadcast rights this year KGST (1600) continues to carry the Spanish broadcast ANAHEMAKGELS Tickets: $1450 field and dub level (MVP) $12 field and dub level (box) $1 1 terrace level (MVP) $9 terrace level (box) $8 view level (lower box) $7 view level (upper box) $5 pavilion reserved Phone: (714) 634-2000 How to hear 'em: Nothing in the Valley Fans' best bet is the flagship KM PC (710) SAN DIEGO PADRES Tickets: $16 sky boxes and field level-infield $1450 field level-outfield and plaza-infield $13 plaza-outfield $1250 logo $11 press $8 left field grandstand $6 view $5 bleachers Phone: (619) 283-4494 How to hear 'em: Nothing in the Valley Fans' best bet is the flagship KFMB (760) Note! The Padres' April 19-20 series against St Louis will be played in Honolulu MORjETV KMPH Channel 26: Saturday game of the week is usually a 1:05 pm start ESPN: Regular coverage includes the Sunday night game of the week at 5 pm KAIL TV schedule KAIL Channel 53 has a 25-game basobal schedule that Indudes six Oakland Athletics games 18 San Francisco Giants games and one game between the two teams as tnterleague play dobuts Twenty-one of the games will air Friday nights The other tour games air Thursdays KAIL'S tentative schedule (aN times Pacific): Date Matchup Time April 4 Mets at Giants 7 pm AprK25 Astros at Giants '5 pm May 9 Cubs at Giants 7 pm May 16 Whitt Sox at A's 7:30 pm May 23 A's at Twins 5 pm May 30 Giants at Braves 4:30 pm June 5 Giants at Dodgers 7 pm June 19 Dodgers at Giants 7 pm June 27 Giants at Rockies 6 pm July 3 it Giants 7 pni July 4 A's at Rangers 530 pm July 10 Giants it Dodgers 7 pm July 11 Giants at Dodgers 7 pm July 18 Giants at Cardinals 5 pm July 25 Pirates at Giants 7 pm July 27 A's at Indians 10 am' Aug 1 Reds at Giants 7pm Aug 8 Giants at Expos pm Aug 1 5 Expos at Giants 7 pm Aug 22' Giants st Pirate? 4:30 pm Aug 29 A's at Dodgers 7 pm Sept 5 A'sat Royah'J pm Sept 1 2 Giants at Marlins 4 pm Sept IB Giants it Sept 26 Padres at Giants 7 pm 'I f- 1- ThtFrttno Bm Handing down tradition Ex-Dodgers pitching great Sandy Koufax always the current staff including reliever Todd Worrell LA success starts with tradition And saying something considering the Padres third baseman is coming off a National League MVP season despite a chronic injury By Bemie Wilson Associated Press the duy he was unanimously proclaimed the National Must Valuable Player Ken Caminiti uttered a truly scary thought "I just figured out the game the last few years" he said "1 feel I have a kit of good years toft" In other words watch out NL pitchers Caminiti won the MVP in amazing fashion considering he played most of the seuson with a shredded left rotator cuff and other injuries He hit 40 homers drove in 130 runs and had a 621 slugging percentage breaking San Diego powiT records thui once belonged to Duve Winfield Gary Sheffield and Nate Coltiert He threw out one runner from the seat of his pants and made assists from other nearly impossible positions at third base On a sweltering August day in Monterrey Mexico he proved how much he hates to miss games So dehydrated he could burely hold up his head he Uxik two bags of intravenous fluid and then proceeded to homer in his first two at-bats "I didn't know I hod the talent to play like Caminiti 33 said at spring training "It was a dream season I couldn't hope to do that again All I can do is just go out and plqy the best 1 can play and hope it works Caminiti underwent mqjor rotator cud surgery Nov 9 and doctors predicted he would lie out until July Rut Caminiti has been rehabilitating aggressively and plans to play Opening Day ho-mered from both sides of the plate this spring a sure good sign "One of the biggPHt surprises of the spring is how well he is doing with that Padres manager Bruce Rochy said Then again maybe it's not By Peter Schmuck The Baltimore Sun Things have never berm mi different The Ixm Angeles Dodgers went through spring training with a new manager for the first time in 20 years and with the ownership of the franchise wxm to change for the first time in more than a hulf-century Things have a way of staying the same New manager Bill Russell runs the club through the Hume drills that Tom Izusirda ran and Walter Alston before him Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax observes a group of young pitchers throwing at the a Dodgers workout routine that was in place long before a Ixiyish Koufax struggle to keep the ball inside the same string-framed strike zone in the mid-1950s "We're trying to ketp a tradition going a winning Russell said what Tommy dill That's what Waller did That's what I want to do You want to keep that continuity going in an never easy The Baltimore Orioles maintained a strong winning tradition for a couple of decades but just went 13 years between pluyolt appearances The New York Yankees are the pin-stripe that runs through modern baseball history but they had to overcome years of turmoil to win their first World Series title in 18 seasons The Dodgers have been to the playoffs the past two seasons and have been to the postseason eight times in the past 20 years No long playofT droughts No internal turmoil No coincidence "It's business as said general manager Fred Claire "I been given one single instruction to do anything different than done in each of my 10 years as general manager There has been too much time invested too much efTort invested too much history invested to do Perhaps the smooth transition from Losorda to Russell is the beat example of the way the Dudgirs organization can change and resist change at the same time RuhhpII is as different from laiaorda as night is from day hut he took over the teem mid-season last year and it didn't miss a beut The club went on to the ptuyofTs fur the second year in a row and returns this spring with by must accounts the best team in the National Ioague West was a smooth Russell said "I was able to ease right in I'm a different person than Tommy or Walter but yini'll probably see some of the siine things The gisil is the same to win the World Series" Claire said "I think it has to do with the philosophy that the organization is so far more important than any individual involved In a kit of organizations when they change managers there is a total change of philosophy: 'This is the way wo do it now' Rut Billy has tsen in this organization for 30 years Mike Scioacia is in his first year as a roach but he has been a Dodger for 20 years 1 sat in A1 Campania' meetings for 20 years before I became general manager There is a system in place that has been developed that we didn't invent" Who wouldn't want to manage this club? The roster is crowded with home-grown stars from the top catcher Mike Piazza to young-hut-es-tablished players like Raul Mondesi Eric Karros and Ramon Martinez But the team's on-field success is more a result of its cohesive management concept than the personality of its manager How else to explain five consecutive National League Rookie of the Year Awards with a sixth looming in second baseman Wilton Guerrero? The team appears to be well configured for another 10 years in contention enough time for Dodgers philosophy and tradition to take root with any new ownership group Still that doesn't mean that new ownership won't put its own stamp on the organization "You sometimes look at Dodgertown and Dodger Stadium and you get the feeling that it will never said Claire almost nostalgically "but everything always does mmm tmmi.