Like schoolroom lice, the NFL made its annual return over the weekend but
don't be fooled. Baseball owns September, including the film rights and
domain name.
This is baseball's greatest month, the month when shadows lengthen across
the infield, tempers shorten in the dugout and fashion dictates that you
should only wear white pants if your outfit also includes colored stirrup
socks.
|  | | Carlos Delgado is gunning to become the first Triple Crown winner in 33 years this September. |
While October gets all the publicity, September consistently delivers the
most memorable moments not generated by those folks at Industrial Light and
Magic. Recent Septembers gave us the McGwire-Sosa home run duels and the end
of Cal Ripken's streak, performances that brought America to its feet.
The most memorable moment of the past couple Octobers was Jim Gray
interviewing Pete Rose, a performance only Mike Wallace could sit through
and enjoy.
The problem with October is so much of the month is reserved behind the
velvet rope for New York and Atlanta. September is shared by everyone
regardless of position or payroll. Even the Twins, as Eric Milton proved
last year with his Breakfast at Metrodome no-hitter.
Real fans know September is when you can take in more than David Wells does
during a Krispy Kreme drive-by. This is the month when record-challenging
performances culminate after a season of games and at-bats. When we bid
reluctant farewells to veterans and politely welcome the callups who may
replace them.
Despite preseason hype usually reserved for a Texas tot trapped in an ice
flow with a whale, there is no home run derby this year in the National
League Central, nor anywhere else for that matter. But there is still so
much else to savor. And like most of the WB's new fall lineup, it won't last
beyond the first of October.
Colorado's Todd Helton is challenging .400, the first player to have a
realistic chance at the mark this late in the season since George Brett in
1980. Toronto's Carlos Delgado is bidding to become the first Triple Crown
winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. Anaheim's Darin Erstad has an outside
chance at breaking George Sisler's record for hits in a season. Rickey
Henderson is closing in on Babe Ruth's career walks record.
And with 17 losses, Philadelphia's Omar Daal may become the first 20-game
loser since Brian Kingman in 1980, much to Kingman's dismay. "I like the
attention," says Kingman.
While we follow those pursuits and the pennant races as well, over in
Sydney, the U.S. baseball team will attempt to do what Nomar Garciaparra,
Jason Giambi, Charles Johnson and Billy Koch and so many other could not
before them -- win an Olympic gold medal.
There are sad moments ahead as well. We will say good-bye to Pittsburgh's
Three Rivers Stadium, where Roberto Clemente singled for his 3,000th and
final hit, and to Milwaukee's County Stadium, where Hank Aaron homered for
the 755th and final time (sausage races will never be the same). Worse yet,
we may even say good-bye to another grand historic structure, the talented
Mr. Ripken, who will decide whether to retire or to return for another
season based on his performance this month.
The beauty of September is that even with the end so close, so much remains
possible. There is so much going on, so much to track that even former
Rangers owner George W. Bush got into the spirit of the month when he made
his own September callup by promoting New York Times reporter Adam Clymer to
major league a------ after a strong season at Triple-A Tidewater.
So let October wait. Appreciate the glories of this month first. And let
football wait as well. There's time for football when the baseball season
ends. Unfortunately, like tuberculosis, the NFL will still be there.
Box score line of the week
Gunning for his 20th win Monday, David Wells threw 42 pitches, allowed seven
runs and retired only four batters, then blamed his performance on the
umpires. But that was nothing compared to the Cubs' trouble Saturday when
Chicago walked 11 batters, five with the bases loaded. Ellis Burks walked
three times with the bases loaded, producing this week's winning line:
1 AB, 1 R, 0 H, 3 RBI
Lies, damn lies and statistics
Australian catcher Dave Nilsson has more career big league home runs (105)
than the entire U.S. Olympic team (101, led by Pat Borders' 67). ... How
daunting are the odds facing Arizona in its attempt to catch San Francisco?
Only three teams have ever overcome a 6½ game lead or greater in the
season's final month to win the division. ... Tom Glavine won 13 games in
between Pete Schourek victories. ... Remember when hitting 20 home runs
was considered a big deal? Already, 80 players -- 40 in each league -- have 20
or more home runs. If Darrin Fletcher hits three more home runs and Shannon
Stewart hits one, Toronto will have seven players with 20 homers. ... The
Yankees have added eight players -- almost a third of their roster -- and $20
million to their payroll since the end of June. That's more money in added
players than Minnesota's entire payroll (about $18 million). ... Pedro
Martinez is 8-0 in seven career starts against the Mariners (he also beat
them last year when he reported to the game late and given a gift victory
opportunity when he replaced the starter before the fifth inning with a
substantial lead). ... One final Pedro fun fact: when he walked Mark McLemore on Monday, it was his first walk since Aug. 2 -- when he walked McLemore.
Barroom Jeopardy
Q. What team won the Fall Classic before the official end of summer?
(Answer below)
From left field
What a setup. The Olympics schedule allows NBA players to play,
thereby guaranteeing a lopsided U.S. victory and a mind-numbingly dull
tournament. But a terrific baseball tournament is impossible for now because
of the conflict with the major league season. And the U.S. would definitely
not be guaranteed a gold in baseball if major leaguers could play. Just look
at this possible starting lineup for a hypothetical Dominican Republic team.
| Pos. |
Player |
The dish |
| C |
Tony Eusebio |
Just finished 51-day hitting streak |
| 1B |
Fernando Tatis |
34 homers last year, one game at first this
year |
| 2B |
Luis Castillo |
Batting .351 with 55 stolen bases |
| 3B |
Tony Batista |
Back-to-back 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons |
| SS |
Miguel Tejada |
Could soon make Holy Trinity of Shortstops a
quartet |
| OF |
Manny Ramirez |
Exactly 400 RBI past three seasons |
| OF |
Sammy Sosa |
174 home runs (and counting) since 1998 |
| OF |
Vladimir Guerrero |
May be most talented outfielder in
the league |
| SP |
Pedro Martinez |
On way to third Cy Young award |
| Cls |
Armando Benitez |
37 saves and 95 strikeouts in 67.1 innings |
| Mgr |
Felipe Alou |
One of the game's best managers |
Answer
A mid-summer "work or fight" order due to World War I forced
the early finish to the season in 1918 on Sept. 2 and the World Series began Sept.
5 with the Red Sox beating the Cubs in six games. The Chicago games, by the
way, were played at Comiskey Park because of its larger capacity.
Jim Caple is the national baseball writer for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which has a website at www.seattle-pi.com. | |
ALSO SEE
The Hunt for October
|
