radio@spuxll.UUCP (Rick Farina) (02/20/85)
The two 1984 major leaguers who have never played in the minor leagues: Dave Winfield and Bob Horner. The former star who was also never a minor leaguer, and who was Dwight Gooden's boyhood idol: Al Kaline. I've heard that a new member will be added to this group this year. He'll play second base for the Indians, but I don't recall his name. Any Indians fans out there? And speaking of Gooden, the Mets after much delay finally signed him to a one-year contract worth up to 500K. Let's say that Gooden continues to rewrite record books every year. Are the Mets going to repeat this courting rite every spring, until -- gasp -- he is finally elligible for free agency and demands 49% of the francise. Why don't the Mets do with him what the Edmonton Oilers did with Gretzky at the start of his career: lock him up with a 20-year contract? Is it that baseball as a business doesn't lend itself to such contracts? Can Doubleday simply be more conservative than Peter Puck? Are the Mets reserving Number 99 for Shawn Abner?? :-)