It's 'PL A Y BALL !' again
Growth, money
may be ruining
major leagues
Professional baseball is becoming cancerous.
Growth is good to an extend, but when that growth gets
out of hand,it can be disastrous.
The major leagues will consist of 26 teams with the
addition this .year of the Toronto Blue Jays and the
Seattle Mariners. Time will tell if two more teams sit
well with the fans, but the real problem may come if
the National League decides to expand also.
There has been talk recently of making baseball one
three-division league to keep the balance, but if that
doesn’t turn out, then we very well might see
Washington and New Orleans join - the National
League.
Jib
American League owners like Bill Veeck and Charlie
Finley complain about the conservative National
League owners who are trying to keep baseball as it is.
Short pants and orange baseballs aside, change is
necessary but not at the expense of alienating fans.
And this is exactly what I think Seattle and Toronto
are going to do to American League baseball fans this
season.
For one thing, fans are going to see more marginal
players perform while seeing less of superstars on
present teams. For example, Oriole fans will not
see Thurman Munson,,Catfish Hunter, and the rest of
the Yankees nine times at Memorial Stadium, but in
stead will have Toronto and Seattle in to replace a
couple of those more “attractive” Yankee games.
Secondly, all fans will now have two more teams that
they know little or nothing about. This takes a lot of
interest out of the sport as fans start to lose touch with
more and more of the league as a whole.
Not long ago, baseball was fun because it was
possible to know what every team was doing. It gave
Joe Fan a sense of satisfaction knowing the White Sox’
starting rotation or the Braves’ cleanup hitter.
Now that feeling is gpne unless he memorizes the
Sporting News. j
But even worse is how expansion can make fans turn
their backs on other teams as well. I,know I can’t
possibly keep up with all 26 teams, so I wonder, “Why
even try to keep lip with the 20 teams I used to.. ”
What I end up doing is following three or four
favorite teams closely and the rest superficially.
Even if the ambition is there, the information often
isn’t because newspapers can’t give a lot of space to
each team anymore. With 16 or even 20 teams it was
possible, but with 26, sports editors have to start cut
ting and cutting until nothing but scores are sometimes
left.
On top of this there is the dynasty issue that could
threaten to limit' competition. With the free agent
ruling, players can now practically choose which
team they want to play with which is usually the
team that offers the most money.
And the teams that offer the most money are usually
the teams in the big cities that have more prospective
fans. As expansion continues, it is the smaller cities
that are getting teams, obviously because the big
cities already have teams.
Logic may suggest that these big city teams could
buy up the top players, especially the ones playing in
smaller cities, and create monopolies on the pennant.
The Yankees may be doing just that right now.
Hopefully, baseball executives will be able to do
something about this and expansion before it’s too late
if it’s not too late already.
But that’s going to be hard to do with guys like
George Steinbrenner around. As long as ego, personal
and money come before baseball and its
fans, no cure is in sight.
Yeah, there’s no doubt now that money is the name of
the game and that’s too bad. The ballpark used to be
one place to go to get away from problems and money
worries.
Those days are gone now, replaced by giant
animated scoreboards, high ticket prices, and maybe
even instant replay screens in the future.
I just hope Seattle and Toronto fans enjoy their new
teams, because I sure won’t.
And I hope the Gene Autrys and the George Stein
brenners and the Charlie Finleys or the Catfish
Hunters and the Reggie Jacksons, for that matter —all
keep making lots of money.
Baseball could be at a crossroad now, as Joe Fan is
getting left further and further behind at each turn.
If he gets far enough behind, he may just stop
chasing altogether and put the whole gang out of
business. And I’m not so sure that wouldn’t be a bad
idea after seeing what they’ve done to the game I grew
up with.
George
Weigel
Collegian sports
the
daily
Opening day means thrills
Thahks for the memories
“Opening Day.” To the baseball fan,
there is no other two-word phrase, save
perhaps “World Series,” as exciting.
Naw, on second thought, “Opening Day”
is more exciting!
“Opening Day” conjures up memories
for anyone who has ever witnessed one.
Remember your first? I do mine. Yep,
the Giants and the Padres at Can
dlestick, San Francisco.
It was a Thursday. My parents, thank
God, knowing that attending this special
game was a life-and-death matter for
me, wrote-a note excusing me from my
afternoon high school classes.
A dentist appointment, you know.
What a game! What a day!
Rushing home afterwards in my
eagerness to tell my parents of the af
ternoon’s exciting events, I sustained a
gash above my right eye. (I still don’t
know when they lowered that branch
but that’s another story.)
Anyway...
Undaunted,,iyet suffering from, un
bearable pain, I picked myself up off the
ground and managed to walk the
remaining 50 feet toour house.
Oozing blood from my forehead, I
staggered through the door and said
“hi” to the folks. Horrified at the sight of
their eldest dripping blood on the new
living-room carpet, they exclaimed,
‘ ‘What happened? ’ ’
“Well,” I began, “McCovey lined a
two-out single to right in the ninth to win
it, Marichal went a strong seven, and
Scribes tab Fort Knox Yankees
to bring home '77 Series gold
By BILL KLINE
Collegian Sports Writer
It’s that time of year when
sportswriters around the
country slip into telephone
booths and emerge as
SUPERBRAIN! ... able to
leap, to conclusions in a single
bound and disappear faster
than a speeding bullet when
somebody reminds him that
he picked the Cubs and v the
Brewers in the World Series.
So wrote a columnist
recently, and recognizing that
opening day is today, The
Daily Collegian Sports staff
courageously picks the New
York Yankees, not the Cin
cinnati Reds, to win the 1977
world’s championship. In
fact, 11 of 14 Collegian writers
polled don’t even expect the
Reds to make it to the World
Series, as eight of them fore
see the Philadelphia Phillies
as the Yankees’ opponent.
This is how we picked ’em,,
and we realized that all
readers won’t agree So we’re
providing an opportunity for
you to voice your picks. Just
drop your predictions for the
order of finish at the Collegian
office (126 Carnegie) by 6
p.m. tomorrow, and we’ll
compile and print the results.
“Look out for the Yankees,
they're the best team money
can buy,” one writer says
about the Bronx Bombers,
last year’s AL East winners,
by 10 games.
The Yanks bought free
agents Reggie Jackson and
Don Gullett during the winter
and inspired one writer to
say, "theYankeesaresodeep
that it would be a choke if they
don’t win.”
On the strength of seven
first place votes, the Kansas
City Royals are picked to
edge Gene Autry’s California
Angels and repeat as AL West
champions.
“Gene Autry will learn that
depth means more than a
£*' J?
Lanier made a play you wouldn’t
believe!”
Ah, yes, opening day memories.
And speaking of memories, just think
of the remembrances the good folks of
Toronto will cherish for the years to
come of that city’s very first opening
day. Yes, sports fans, the Toronto Blue
Jays (a ferocious-sounding name if ever
there was one) embark on their initial
campaign tomorrow afternoon.
And long before the All-Star game is
upon us, we will be accustomed to
associating such adjectives as
“fledgling” and .“embarrassing” with
the fledgling Blue days— see!
One thing the Toronto fans, and any
other fans who attend any opening day
anywhere can be sure to encounter
and, with all luck, survive through
are the traditional opening day
ceremonies.
The combined effort of 43 high school winning hit coming in the top of the
marching bands playing a medley of fourth on a 17-hopper up the middle off
your favorite George and Ira Gershwin the bat of a reserve shortstop who owns a
tunes for half an hour before a crowd ' .178 career batting average yeah,
that only came to see a ball game; the baseball at its finest.
introduction of every last player, coach, Opening day —ah, yes.
couple of overpaid super
stars, as Kansas City’s John
Mayberry wakes up. his
slumbering bat and helps the
Royals repeat,” says one
writer.
But it will be a hollow
victory for the Royals,
because the rules once again
say the AL West winner must
meet the AL East standard
bearer.
Significantly, not one of the
seven writers picks Kansas
City to make it to the World
Series. It is hoped Billy
Martin and his Fort Knox
Yankees will be humane in
disposing of them.
Eleven scribes tab the
Phillies to repeat in the NL
East. The logical reasons are
their hitting, fielding and
bullpen, but one female
staffer simply called her
rationale, “intuition!”
Only two diehards pick the
Pirates. “Pittsburgh should
take the National League
because of (Chuck) Tanner’s
enthusiasm and its greatly
improved pitching,” one
writer says.
Picked third are the Mets,
who possess the best arms in
the division, but un
fortunately will once again
win baseball’s Oscar for the
best impersonation of a Little
League hitting attack.
Moving out West, you have
my permission to' take San
Francisco, San Diego,
Houston and Atlanta out to
lunch while the big boys
Cincinnati and Los Angeles
decide the issue.
The Reds are picked on 12
ballots, but two scribes don’t
believe their hitting will again
carry their suspect pitching.
“Cincinnati’s average
pitching staff became
mediocre with the loss of
Gullett, and the Dodgers will
take over,” one writer says.
Regardless of who wins the
West, eight scribes foresee
the Phils as NL champions.
“The Phils have a hole in
Reds rev
Baseball’s 1977 season opens today with the Cincinnati Reds
raising their second straight world championship pennant and
then starting pursuit of No. 3 against the revamped San Diego
Padres.
The Reds will pitch veteran Woodie Fryman, one of the few
bright spots of an otherwise dismal spring training, against Cy
Young Award winner Randy Jones of the Padres in the
traditional National League opener.
The American League season gets under way a few hours
later with a night game in Seattle. The expansion Mariners
will face the California Angels, who, like San Diego, used the
free agent draft to build a contender.
Seattle’s first-game pitcher will be 38-year-old Diego Segui,
and the veteran right-hander already has been nicknamed
“The Ancient •Mariner. ” He’ll be opposed by flame-throwing
Frank Tanana of the Angels.
Those two games are today’s only action. Tomorrow, eight
openers are scheduled with St. Louis at Pittsburgh, the New
York Mets at the Chicago Cubs, and San Francisco at Los
Angeles in the National League and Kansas City at Detroit, the
Chicago White Sox at Toronto, Texas at Baltimore, Milwaukee
at the New York Yankees and Cleveland at Boston in the
American.
Atlanta plays at Houston Friday night and Montreal is at
Philadelphia and Minnesota at Oakland on Saturday, com
pleting the schedule of openers. '
The Reds’ opening day pitching assignment ordinarily would
Chuck
Buchanan
their pitching staff,” says one
writer, “but they’ll take
Cincinnati because the Reds
have a bigger hole in their
staff.”
The writers were polled on
several other controversial
issues, and baseball czar
Bowie Kuhn took a lashing on
three counts.
Only four writers of the 14
agree with the recent court
ruling that upheld Kuhn’s
right to rescind deals that are
not in the best interests in
baseball.
Also, ten scribes feel Ted
The Collegian's picks...
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Ist 2nd 3rd 4th sth 6th
12 1 0 1 0 0
1 10 3 0 0 0
1 1 3 6 3 0
0 1 7 2 2 2
0 113 3 6
0 0 0 2 6 6
0 0 0 0 0 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Kansas City 7 1 4 2 0 0
California 2 9 110 1
Texas 2 0 8 2 0 1
Oakland 3 2 0 4 3 2
Minnesota 0 1 1 5 3 4
Chicago 0 1 0 0 8 5
Seattle 0 0 0 0 0 1
Points tabulated on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
AL CHAMPION: New York (12), Oakland (1), Boston (1)
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Ist 2nd 3rd 4th sth
11 3 0 0 0
2 9 2 1 0
1 1 9' 3 0
0 12 5 5
.0 0 1 3 4
0 0 0 2 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
Cincinnati 12 2 0 0 0
Los Angeles 2 8 3 1 0
San Diego . 0 2 5 2 3
Houston 0 0 17 4
San Francisco, t 0 14 0 3
Atlanta, t 0 114 4
Points tabulated on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
NL CHAMPION: Philadelphia (8), Cincinnati (3), Pitts
burgh (2), Los Angeles (1)
WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: New York Yankees (7),
Philadelphia (2), Cincinnati (2), Pittsburgh (2), Oakland (1)
New York
Boston
Baltimore
Cleveland
Detroit
Milwaukee
Toronto
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
New York
St. Louis
Montreal,
Chicago
for majors
machine for
and assistant trainer on each team to a
crowd that only came to see a ball game;
the eyes of everyone in a crowd that only
came to see a ball game trained on the
box seats next to the home dugout where
someone that sorta looks like the mayor
(No, by God, it’s Bowie Kuhn himself!)
throws out, two or three or more “first”
balls these are the opening day
ceremonies.
Ah, yes, the opening day ceremonies.
But, the fans will put up with all this
pagentry and excitement, because they
know what will follow baseball at its
finest.
You bet!
Sore-armed starting pitchers who
everyone knows will go only six innings
or 100 pitches, whichever comes first; a
rookie second baseman who’s destined
to boot at least two easy grounders due
to the worst case of rookie jitters to come
up from Florida in years; an over-aged,
run-down perennial bench warmer who
patrols the outfield with all .the-grace
and speed of your pet rock (and who still
earns in one year what the average fan
couldn’t possibly hope to make in five)
starting in right because the regular
starter pulled a hamstring just prior to
the game while trying to stay loose in the
35 degree temperature; the game-
Turner, Atlanta’s flamboyant
owner who was suspended by
Kuhn for tampering, should
be reinstated.
The writers also feel the
players, not the fans, should
vote for the major league All-
Star teams. It is Kuhn’s
philosophy that the fans
should vote.
Finally, is Richie Hebner
going to have a good year for
the Phillies? Most scribes
think he will, but one staffer
put it succinctly when he
simply replied, “Richie
Who?”
Wednesday, April 6, 1977—11
third straight title
have gone to Don Gullett, longtime ace of the pitching staff.
But Gullett is gone. He became a free agent last winter and
signed with the New York Yankees.
So, it will be Fryman, who came to Cincinnati in the trade
that sent slugger Tony Perez to Montreal. The veteran left
hander was the most effective pitcher on Manager Sparky An
derson’s staff during spring training. He had a 2.25 earned run
average going into the final week of exhibitions, and that was
significant since the rest of Anderson’s starting staff had
bloated ERAs of more than 5.00.
Replacing first baseman Perez in the Reds’ batting arsenal
is Dan Driessen, who also had problems this spring because of
a leg injury. He missed two weeks of work after getting off to a
fast start.
The spotty pitching and Driessen’s leg are minor Reds’
headaches compared to the contract fight the club is waging
with third baseman Pete Rose. The two sides are far apart and
the bitterness spilled over last weekend when the club took ad
vertisements in local newspapers to defend its position.
All of Cincinnati’s problems are good news to the Padres,
who think they can challenge the Reds for the NL West cham
pionship. San Diego spent plenty in the free agent market, ad
ding catcher Gene Tenace and reliever Rollie Fingers.
Another new face is slugging outfielder George Hendrick,
acquired in a trade with Cleveland.
The Padres will open with their ace, Jones, who is trying to
come back from shoulder'surgery following his 22-14 record
last season.
Commissioner Bowie Kuhn will be in Seattle to help the fans
welcome the return of baseball to the state of Washington. The
old Seattle Pilots lasted only one year before fleeing to
Milwaukee and lengthy litigation followed with the birth of the
Mariners terminating the suit.
For Segui, the opening night assignment for Seattle will be
an encore. He was one of few bright performers with the old
Pilots, compiling a 12-6 record with them and being voted the
team’s most valuable player in their only year of existence.
He will face a vastly strengthened Angel line-up, thanks to
free agent pickups. California added outfielder Joe Rudi, in
fielder Bobby Grich and first baseman-designated hitter Don
Baylor over the winter and the Angels think those three plus a
pitching staff constructed around Tanana and Nolan Ryan,
will help them make a run at the American League West title
won last year by the Kansas City Royals.
Immediately after the Angels-Mariner game, Commissioner
Kuhn will fly to Toronto to see the American League’s other
expansion club, the Blue Jays, open their first season
tomorrow. The Seattle and Toronto games will be part of a
busy schedule for Kuhn, who also will be at three other home
openers and nine games in seven different cities during the
first 10 days of the season.
Kingdome with problem
SEATTLE (AP) The
players say it’s like catching
invisible rockets.
That’s the way catching
high pop fly balls seemed to
•Sg Skouts i P n ay sm - “'There’s no more saying, ‘l
KingdomeMonday? it! ’ ” s T aid r M “ s first
Members of the American baseman Joe L ’ s du ™g an
League expansion baseball " f workout before
team kept losing fly balls 2,500 spectators
against the gray, 250-foot high
ceiling of the indoor ballpark.
The culprit seems to be a
Major league standings
1978 Final Standings
NATIONAL LEAGUE
East
W L Pci. GB
101 61 .623
92 70 .568 9
86 76 .531 15
75 87 463 26
72 90 .444 29
55 107 .340 46
West
102 60 .630
92 70 . 568 10
80 82 494 '22
74 88 .457 28
73 89 .451 29
70 92 .432 32
Today's games
< 1976 Won-loss Records)
San Diego (Jones 22-14) at Cincinnati
(Fryman 13-13)
Only game scheduled
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
New York
Chicago
St. Louis
Montreal
Cincinnati
Los Angeles
Houston
San Francisco
San Diego
Atlanta
Total
94
82
61
59
44
38
14
Total
81
68
56
39
27
23
Manager Billy Martin’s New York Yankees are picked by
The Daily Collegian’s sports writers as the team to beat in
major league baseball this season.
lighting bank suspended 133
feet above the floor. Balls hit
below the lights were not a
problem, but those that went'
above were.
“When somebody pops one
up, it’s gonna be: ‘I think I got
it.’ ”
IO7G Pinal Standings
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East
W L
97 G 2
88 74
83 79
81 78
74 87
66 95
West
90 72
87 74
85 74
76 86
76 86
64 97
TodavS Games
(1976 Won-Loss Records)
California (Tanana 19-10) at Seattle
(Seguio-0), (n)
Only game scheduled
New York
Baltimore
Boston
Cleveland
Detroit
Milwaukee
Kansas City
Oakland
Minnesota
California
Texas
Chicago
Pet.
.610
537
.512
.509
460
.410
o
14
14
25'