mberste@aecom.UUCP (Moshe Bernstein) (10/25/84)
It's nice to see that someone recognizes a good baseball announcer
when he hears one (hail, David Rossiter!). Ralph Kiner, boring though he
can be when he starts on one of his reminiscences, knows the sport through
and through, and he gives us some exciting insights from a hitter's pers-
pective. Timmy McCarver is a veteran backstop with a great sense of humor,
who can't help but give his opinions on what the manager should do at a
certain point in the game, and showers listeners with ad-libs and fresh
comments. I can't help but concur with D.R. -- he really was wasted by ABC.
However, R.Jackson et alii were very good, since they also could give us
different perspectives from different points on the field (HR hitter vs.
manager vs. pitcher).
As for the fate of Jose (Hay, Jose) Oquendo, does anyone remember
Brian Giles? He was all glove and no bat, and he didn't last when Davey
Johnson (who had his favorites coming up from Tidewater) became the new
manager. Even Rafael Santana, who was hitting terrifically and can field
with the best (I mean, he was smooooth!), became a back-up when he was
injured and Johnson moved Hubie Brooks to SS. If Ray Knight does well in
spring training next year at 3B (and he's a .280 career hitter), Brooks
is virtually stuck at SS and Santana on the bench...and forget about Ron
Gardenhire -- I predict an off-season trade involving him.
Concerning the question on free agency, after a certain number of years
(2 or 3, I believe), a player can go to arbitration on his contract, and
after 6 years he can become a free agent. Somebody like Dwight Gooden, who
has only one years' experience, could only resort to actions such as sitting
out spring training (and the season, if it came to that). 20 years ago, even
a veteran had very little recourse in these affairs, so we've come a long
way, but even nowadays players like Fernando Valenzuela can *only* demand
a million bucks after 1 year in the big leagues -- poor guy!
Michael Poppers
{philabs,cucard,pegasus} ! aecom ! poppersdavid@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) (10/29/84)
Last I heard, Giles was playing as Tidewater's second basemen.
He is too good to stay there, and he's not that bad a hitter so long
as he's on artificial turf. I thought they would have already dealt
him, but as they haven't, I'd have to consider him a prime candidate
for a career move.
David Rubin
{allegra|astrovax|princeton}!fisher!david