Know thy player
With records in reach, managers can really help out
Posted: Tuesday August 11, 1998 04:19 PM
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The measure of any major league manager will ultimately
be his record -- his wins and losses, pennants won and World Series
championships. But beneath the competitive drive of any successful skipper
is an understanding of the human element in baseball.
While individual goals are supposed to take a back seat to those of the
team, when milestones are in sight, an understanding manager can play a
major role in helping a player attain them.
For instance, the logical move for St. Louis Cardinals
manager Tony La Russa to increase his team's run-scoring ability would have
been to drop Mark McGwire
from third in the batting order to the cleanup spot, giving him a chance to
hit with more runners on base.
But McGwire has a shot at one of the game's most revered records. Dropping
McGwire in the batting order might cost him some late-inning at-bats.
The solution: Keep McGwire third in the batting order and hit the pitcher
eighth, making the No. 9 hitter a second leadoff man.
McGwire may or may not break Roger Maris'
single-season home run record. But La Russa is giving him every chance.
Another example: After Dennis
Martinez tied Juan Marichal for
the most wins by a Latin pitcher in early June, Atlanta Braves manager
Bobby Cox began a two-month mission to get Martinez the record-breaking
win.
Martinez was used, almost exclusively, in situations where the game was
tied or the Braves were one run behind.
Finally, last Sunday in San Francisco, the scenario played out to the
desired conclusion. Entering a 5-5 game in the eighth inning, Martinez
retired the Giants in order. The Braves scored two in the top of the ninth,
Kerry Ligtenberg worked a scoreless inning and Martinez had his
record-breaking win, No. 244 of his career.
Arizona Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter also is considering a move to
put one of his players in the record book. Utilityman Andy Fox has given
such a strong effort at any position he's been asked to play that Showalter
may try Fox at all nine positions in a late September game. If he does, Fox
would join Bert
Campaneris (Kansas City, 1965) and Cesar Tovar
(Minnesota, 1968) as the only major leaguers to accomplish that feat.
Another side of managing surfaced in the Braves-Giants series over the
weekend. In the sixth inning of Saturday's game, with the Braves leading
10-0, two of the Giants (Rich Aurelia and Joe Carter) hit
out of order. Rather than call the Giants on their mistake, Cox waited
until their turn in the order was approaching later in the game and advised
plate umpire Greg Bonin of the situation. Bonin informed Giants manager
Dusty Baker and the proper batting order was restored.
"The game was out of reach," said Cox. "You don't swing at a 3-0 pitch,
you don't try to steal a base and you don't embarrass the other manager
when you're ahead 10-0." Bonds and the Braves
With Barry
Bonds needing just a couple more home runs to become the first major
leaguer in history to hit 400 home runs and steal 400 bases, the Hall of
Fame seems almost certain.
But what Bonds desires more than anything is a chance to play in the World
Series. Bonds has come close, but in almost every instance, it has been the
Atlanta Braves standing in his way.
Barry Bonds is just a couple more homers away from becoming the first major leaguer in history to hit 400 home runs and steal 400 bases AP | |
A chronology of the Bonds-Braves history:
1991 -- Bonds and the Pittsburgh Pirates win
the National League East, then lose to the Braves in the seventh game of
the National League Championship Series.
1992 -- Bonds and the Pirates win the NL East again. They lose to
the Braves again on Francisco
Cabrera's ninth-inning hit in Game 7 of the NLCS.
1993 -- Bonds moves to the San Francisco Giants.
The Giants win 103 games, but finish second in the NL West to the Braves,
who win 104.
1996 -- Bonds and the Giants open the 1996 season in Atlanta and
get to witness the 1995 Braves receiver their 1995 World Series
championship rings.
1997 -- Bonds and the Giants win the NL West, but lose to the Florida Marlins in the
division series, preventing an NLCS matchup with the Braves.
1998 -- While the Chicago Cubs are being
swept by the St. Louis Cardinals on August 7-9, the Giants are swept by the
Braves, preventing San Francisco from moving to the top of the wild card
race.
Says Bond of the Braves: "I'm getting a little sick of them." Records
that will last
In a year where numerous records already have fallen and more are being
challenged, a favorite press box game in major league ballparks has been to
come up with the five major league records that will never be broken.
Here is my list, in no particular order:
1. Pitcher Cy Young's
511 career wins.
2. Pitcher Jack
Chesbro's 41 wins in 1904.
3. John Owen "Chief"
Wilson's 36 triples in 1912.
4. Connie Mack's
50 consecutive years as manager of the Philadelphia A's.
5. Cal Ripken
Jr.'s consecutive game streak. Pete Van Wieren is in his 22nd year
of broadcasting the Atlanta Braves on TBS. His column appears every Tuesday
exclusively on CNNSI.com.
| 
