Razor Sharp
By DREW SHARP
Base ball season returns.. ..
... fans quick to forget strike
The farce continues. It wasn't enough that major league baseball put a
permanent dent in everyone's summer by shutting down for 50, days. But
now, it is marking its return by staging a so-called All-Star Game and split-
ting the season into two separate seasons so as to generate fan enthusiasm.
Baseball must think that its fans are not dealing with a full deck. Sometimes
I wonder that myself.
When the strike was finally settled last Friday, many people were so over-
joyed to know that the umpires would soon be yelling "Play ball" again that
they didn't know they were actually being swindled. The proposal which was
agreed upon by the players and owners, it dealt with teams who lose free
agents receiving compensation from a player pool, was the same offer which
the players sent to the owners two weeks earlier, and which the owners
vehemently rejected. What made that similar deal sound so much sweeter
two weeks later? Could it be that the owner's strike insurance was scheduled
to run out today? That is hardly good reasoning since the owners were losing
so much money anyway, the insurance was only offering minimal relief. The
owners didn't figure the player's union to be such a tough nut to crack. And
when they saw negotiations at a standstill for so long, they decided to end it
and try to save face with the fans. If the owners wanted to win the fans back,
they would have settled two weeks ago. The games cancelled in those two
weeks would have made the difference in salvaging a respectable baseball
season instead of the bush league mess there is now.
"We fouled up"
"We fouled up. Baseball fouled up the seaso," said Sparky Anderson,
manager of the Detroit Tigers. "Now baseball has to try and get out of it the
best way it can."
The way baseball hopes to get out of this mess is by starting a "second
season" following Sunday's All-Star Game. The division leaders at the time
of the strike, the New York Yankees, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Los
Angeles, will be considered the first season champions and will face off with
the second season champions to decide who will play in the divisional cham-
pionships. Once again, baseball is trying to build fan enthusiasm by pulling
the wool over the public's eyes. They reason, and truthfully, that fans in
cities like Toronto, Cleveland, Atlanta, San Diego, and others will not come
out to the ball park with their team 10 games out of first and there is only a
little more than a month away. Who would want to see a bunch of out-of-
shape players trip around a diamond for a week or so until they are up to
their full playing capacity? Baseball is hanging its second season hopes on
those who would enjoy such action.
"To be honest, myself, personally, I think we would be better off just
having the standings like they were and continuing," Anderson added. "But
on the other hand, it's obvious we wouldn't be able to generate much en-
thusiasm."
Instituting a second season will make major league baseball look like
Pacific Coast league baseball in that they both will have two separate
division titlists. One of the best things about baseball was that it only allowed
the four divisional winners to advance to the playoffs, unlike other sports
which give teams post-season berths if they just show up to play. Having the
season continue from where the strike killed it is laughable at best, but to
start a season all over again is nothing short of ridiculous.
One team that feels the idea is off the wall is the Cincinnati Reds who are
practicing in Ann Arbor this week.
"We wouldn't want a split season," said Reds Manager John McNam-
mera. "It's probably a selfish reason, but being a half game back, and with
Houston in third place seven and a half games behind us, we could gear our-
selves at one team-the Dodgers."
"I'm sure the owners would like to see a split season because if a Chicago
or a San Diego should get hot, they could take it all and just the thought of
that happening would bring fans out to see them," said Cincy outfielder
George Foster.
A .169 All-Star
But before the second season begins, the focus of baseball fans will be set
on Cleveland and the circus called the 1981 All-Star Game. I label it a circus
because anytime a .169 hitter is chosen as a starter, the entire game has to be
considered a joke.
The player in question is second baseman Davey Lopes of the Los Angeles
Dodgers. Lopes, although a more than capable performer in the past, was
having a shameful season. He's made it public himself that he doesn't deser-
ve to play, but he will nonetheless because the fas wanted him.
New York Yankee slugger Reggie Jackson was batting just a shade under
.200 until the strike, yet he also believes he should start in the game.
To expect these players to perform up to their supposedly All-Star level af-
ter being out of action for close to two months is asinine, but that won't stop
the thousands who will pack Municipal Stadium or the millions who will be
watching the game on NBC.
America's baseball fans have beert given the shaft, yet they are willing to
think nothing of it and resume worshipping their baseball heroes. I question
their sanity.
The Michigan Daily-Wedriesday, August 5g, Tod-Page Y1
STARTING ALL-STARS
Brett top vote-getter
NEW YORK (AP) - Third baseman
George Brett of the Kansas City Royals
was the only player to get over one
million votes in balloting for the
American League All-Star team, which
was announced yesterday.
Brett led all major leaguers in the
balloting, receiving 1,144,272 votes to
win the starting spot in the 52nd All-Star
Game, to be played Sunday night in
Cleveland.
HE WILL be joined on the starting
American League team by four New
York Yankees - outfielders Reggie
Jackson and Dave Winfield, second
baseman Willie Randolph and shortstop
Bucky Dent - first baseman Rod
Carew of California, outfielder Ken
Singleton of Baltimore and Chicago
White Sox catcher Carlton Fisk.
The National League starters are
Philadelphia first baseman Pete Rose,
Davey Lopes of Los Angeles at second,
shortstop Dave Concepcion of Cincin-
nati, third baseman Mike Schmidt of
Philadelphia, outfielders Dave Parker
of Pittsburgh, George Foster of Cincin-
nati, and Andre Dawson of Montreal
and Montreal catcher Gary Carter.
In both leagues, the starting third
basemen were the leading vote getters
with Schmidt polling 1,037,307 votes,
about 100,000 less than Brett. And in
both leagues the tightest race was at
second base. Lopes won the NL job,
receiving 536,368 to 523,830 for Manny
Trillo of Philadelphia. In the AL, Ran-
dolph received the nod with 488,128 to
421,829 for Frank White of Kansas City.
JACKSON LED AL outfielders in the
voting with 631,522 followed by
Singleton with 541,100 and Winfield at
505,580. Oakland's Tony Armas finished
fourth among AL outfielders with
465,789.
Fourth among NL outfielders was
rookie Tim Raines of Montreal, who did
not appear on the ballot but still
received 412,364 votes as a write-in
candidate.
Managers Dallas Green of the
National League and Jim Frey of the
American League will announce their
pitching staffs Thursday, and reserves
for both 30-man squads will be announ-
ced Friday.
.r rWith Cleveland Stadium occupied
The game marks the return of major Saturday by a National Football
league baseball following a 50-day League exhibition game between the
strike which cut deeply into vote totals Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh
in the computer-card balloting spon- Steelers, the All-Star teams had been
sored by Gillette. Normally, 12 million scheduled to work out that day at
votes are cast but with major league Cuyahoga Community College in
parks shut down for seven weeks, the suburban Parma, Ohio.
total for 1981 was just over three
million.
Some help, please?
Romania's Die Nastase reacts to a missed volley during action at the U.S.
Open Clay Court Championships in Indianapolis last night. His request for
divine intervention must have worked since he defeated Toland Stadler, 6-4,
6-2.