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The Battalion Friday, Oct. 14, 1988 Page 11
Dodgers vs. A’s: The World Series
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Step right up to get answers
to all your baseball questions
, it’s that time of year again. The
weaters are nomine out of the
Well, as we all know, it’s that time of year again. The
leaves are falling, the sweaters are coming out of the
closet, and the seemingly infinite baseball season has been
shaved to a best-of-seven confrontation of league
champions.
The World Series is here.
The Oakland Athletics finally pinned the Boston Red
Sox to the mat after four body slams. And, as at least 396
Battalion readers out there know, the Los Angeles Dodgers
blasted the New York Mets Wednesday night to qualify as
the National League representative. I say “at least 396”
because that’s how many people have told me about it.
I got endless ribbing from Batt staffers as the game
mercifully wound down to a close. I got a phone call in the
sixth inning, obviously a Dodger fan, asking what the
score was. I got a note on my desk that read, “Dodgers 6,
Mets 0.”
Enough already. I was wrong, OK? I admit it. It’s not
like I’ve never gotten a prediction wrong. A quick glance
over at the “Battalion Football Pics” graphic should prove
that point.
With that said, I can proceed to the purpose of this
column.
To wit: Many people out there, it must be said, are
somewhat less than enthusiastic baseball fans. They might
glance at the Astros or Rangers scores from time to time,
but for the most part they consider themselves pretty well
versed if they keep track of how many divisions there are.
And this is their prerogative.
But trouble arises come World Series time. Suddenly
thousands of people who didn’t watch an inning all year
turn on the tube to view what is probably the greatest
spectacle in American sports.
Some are armchair jocks wanting to look knowledgeable
at the sports bar. Some are women who’ll be forced to
spend evening after evening in front of the tube with their
boyfriends or husbands. Some are boyfriends or husbands
who are worried their counterparts will think they are
dating idiots who know nothing about baseball and,
consequently, anything else even remotely masculine.
Such people bombard The Battalion with questions
pertaining to the basics of the sport, and this seems like a
good time to answer a few of them.
And since I don’t seem like much of a baseball expert,
I’ve referred them to my friend Spazmo. He helps me out
occasionally with his . . . well, shall we say, different
perspective. He’s the sports enthusiast, Aggie nut and all-
around fanatic we all have seen in one form or another.
I’ve taken the liberty of re-addressing the queries to him:
Hal L.
Hammons
Sports Editor
Dear Spazmo,
It seems all I ever hear about when I watch baseball
is balks. What is a balk?
Signed, Curious
Dear Curious,
Balks are called on pitchers when they have allowed a
runner to reach base. A balk is called when a pitcher
doesn’t have a full stop in his delivery, when he gives too
strong an indication he is going to throw the ball in one
direction and then throws it somewhere else, or when in
some other way he does too good a job of keeping the
runner from trying to steal a base.
Dear Spazmo,
At Aggie baseball games, the batters use aluminum
bats. The pros use wooden ones. Why is this?
Signed, Wondering
Dear Wondering,
Aluminum bats supposedly can send a ball farther and
faster than wood, and they are broken very infrequently.
Colleges consider the advantages of aluminum to outweigh
the disadvantages, while the pros think the metal bats give
the batters an unnecessary leg up. Translation: The
colleges are cheap, and the pros are chicken.
Dear Spazmo,
Baseball games are so loooong! Sitting for nine whole
innings makes my rear ache. Why do they have to play
nine?
Signed, Fain-in-the-behind
Dear Pain,
How selfish we all are. If we shaved an inning or two off
the game, we’d have to change all those scoreboards! Not
only that, but the American vocabulary would need major
revisions. “Two out in the ninth inning” is a universal
metaphor. What kind of oomph do you hear in “bottom of
See Spazmo, page 12
A’s have strengths in series,
Dodgers depend on emotion
Associated Press
The cool and efficient Oakland Athlet
ics, a team on a mission. The can-do Los
Angeles Dodgers, the scrappers who
don’t quit.
The Athletics are a baseball machine
without a weakness, and are strong fa
vorites in the World Series. The Dodgers
are emotional favorites, not nearly as
powerful — but they have Orel
Hershiser.
Oakland led the American League in
pitching, was second in scoring and
made only 105 errors. The four-game
sweep against Boston in the playoffs was
no big surprise.
The Dodgers’ seven-game playoff vic
tory over the Mets was a shock, although
if forecasters had forseen Hershiser
working four times, maybe it wouldn’t
have been. Los Angeles was second in
pitching, in the middle offensively and
made 142 errors.
A position-by-position look at the
teams:
First Base
Mark McGwire, Oakland
His 81 home runs are the most ever in
the majors for the first two years. Hit 32
homers, just 12 in Oakland, this season.
Homered again in the AL playoffs and
batted .333. Adequate fielder.
Mickey Hatcher or Franklin Stubbs,
Los Angeles
Hatcher, a right-handed batter, is a
contact hitter who averaged .293. Led
team with 12 pinch hits. Stubbs, a left
hander, has power but is prone to strike
out. Neither player is good with the
glove.
Oakland has a big advantage.
Second Base
Glenn Hubbard or Mike Gallego, Oak
land
Hubbard will start if his hamstring is
healed. Solid fielder, especially good at
turning double plays. Hit respectable
.255. Gallego was 1-for-12 against Bos
ton but made all the plays.
Steve Sax, Los Angeles
Leads off and is Dodgers’ sparkplug.
Tied playoff record with five stolen
bases. Stole 42 during the year. Hit .277
in the season. Made only one error in fi
nal 38 games and none in playoffs.
Los Angeles gets the edge.
Shortstop
Walt Weiss, Oakland
Good rookie season and great play
offs. A switch-hitter, he batted .333
against Boston after .250 in regular sea
son. Consistently got timely hits and
made key plays in the playoffs.
Alfredo Griffin, Los Angeles
Excellent glove, weak bat. Solidified
poor Dodger infield. Batted .199 and
dipped to .160 in the playoffs. Com
mitted 15 errors this year, the same as
Weiss.
Oakland gets the edge because of
Weiss’ bat.
Third Base
Carney Lansford, Oakland
Started season batting over .400 in
June, finished at .279 and hit .294 in the
playoffs. Led league in fielding for sec
ond successive year, making seven er
rors each season. Stole career-high 29
bases.
Jeff Hamilton, Los Angeles
Became starter in first full season, al
though nothing exceptional. Hit .236 and
batted .217 in playoffs. Walked 10 times
in 309 at-bats. Average fielder.
Oakland gets a solid edge.
Left Field
Dave Parker or Luis Polonia or Stan
Javier, Oakland
Parker batted .257 in first AL season
after 14 years in the NL, six as an All-
Star. Hit 12 homers with 55 RBI, but
was not a factor in the playoffs. A de
fensive liability. Polonia and Javier are
faster, lighter hitters with better de
fensive skills.
Kirk Gibson, Los Angeles
Which Captain Kirk will play? The
hamstring-hurting version, who batted
.154 in the playoffs, or the MVP of the
1984 World Series when he batted .333
and drove in seven runs for Detroit.
Gibson will be rested, giving Los An
geles the edge.
Center Field
Dave Henderson, Oakland
Best season of his 10-year career and
more postseason heroics. Hit .304 with
24 home runs and 92 RBI, along with
strong defense. Hit .375 in the playoffs
against his former team.
John Shelby, Los Angeles
His 24-game hitting streak was longest
in the majors and he batted .263 with 10
homers and 64 RBI. Struck out 128
times. Covers a lot of ground, but some
times does not make the play.
Henderson is more volatile and likely
to be more help. Edge to Oakland.
Right Field
Jose Canseco, Oakland
First player to hit 40 home runs and
steal 40 bases in same season. Led ma
jors with 42 homers and 124 RBI. Batted
.304. Outstanding arm and had 11 as
sists. Hit three big homers in playoffs
and batted .313.
Mike Marshall, Los Angeles
Overcame injuries and played career-
high 144 games. Hit 20 home runs. Bat
ted just .233 in playoffs but drove in five
runs, one behind Gibson’s team-leading
total. Adequate fielder.
Oakland has a big edge.
Catcher
Ron Hassey or Terry Steinbach, Oak
land
Hassey, a left-handed batter, is a bet
ter hitter with more power. Steinbach,
the All-Star Game MVP, is better de
fensively. Hassey went 4-for-8 with
three RBI in the playoffs. He threw out
31 percent of opposing basestealers this
season. Steinbach was l-for-4 against
Boston. He threw out 40 percent of run
ners.
Mike Scioscia, Los Angeles
Scioscia’s ninth-inning home run off
Dwight Gooden in Game 4 was the turn
ing point of the playoffs; he’d hit only
three homers in regular season. Led Los
Angeles regulars with .364 average
against the Mets. Contact hitter. Great at
blocking plate.
See Matchups, page 13
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Beta Theta Pi/The Aggie Cowboys
Presents
The Bourbon Street Bash
Oct. 15 6:30-12a.ru.
Brazos Courtly Pavillion
Olympic Sponsers
Silver
Southwest Printing
Jay’s Gym
Hullalallo’s
Gold
Budweiser
The Edge
The ZephyrClub
Dirty Juan’s
Life Styles
U-Rent-M
All proceeds will be donated to the local chapter of
Special Olympics.
The Bash is Back !
Bronze
Texas Aggie Bookstore
On The Double
A&sM Steakhouse
Aggie University Flowers
Music Express
Pop’s Com & More
Triangle Bowl
Chimney Hill Bowling Center
Starships & Dragons
Aggieland Florist
Bryan Radiation Shop
" The Bug Clinic
Joe Maren Service Center