The best way to open spring training is to see the old friends first. So I hurried into the clubhouse here at Fitch Park and, of course, there he was, in his white trainer`s uniform, reading the latest volume on sports injuries. ”Hello, Doc,” I said.
Al ”Doc” Schueneman, a holdover from the Cubs` Hank Sauer and Handsome Ransom Jackson era, looked the same as ever. The years have been good to him.
”Unbelievable,” he said.
”What`s unbelievable?”
”Most of these guys have been here for almost two weeks, paying for their hotel and all their own expenses. I never saw it happen before.”
Schueneman was the Cubs` regular trainer for 20 years, starting in 1953, a year before Ernie Banks` first spring training with the Cubs. He retired in the mid-1970s and has been here in the so-called Valley of the Sun ever since, reappearing only in spring training to help Tony Garofalo, his successor in the first aid department.
”Never saw a club so anxious to get started,” Schueneman said.
”I`ve seen it,” said Charlie Fox, a Cubs` superscout and a former big-league manager, who had joined us in the otherwise empty clubhouse.
”When I was with the Giants, most of the players would come in a week, sometimes two weeks early. It tells me they know they`ve got a good club. The good clubs can`t wait.”
Outside, general manager Dallas Green, the architect of the Cub revival, was in the third-base coach`s box, watching the 1985 Cubs in their first full- squad workout.
”Lee Elia deserves a lot of credit for setting this thing up,” Green said, referring to his first Cub manager. ”This is the way it was when we were in Philadelphia. Everybody came in early. We were all in sync. That`s the way to come together as a baseball team.”
Obviously, the Cubs have come together. And joining them here Monday was an unexpected visitor, Banks, the primary Cub hero of the recent past.
”Just passing through,” said Banks, who now lives in Los Angeles and is on his way to Chicago. ”I want to shake their hands.”
Wherever Banks went, dozens of fans followed. Finally, Banks broke free. As he reached the No. 1 diamond, most of the Cub regulars were coming off the field.
Pitchers Rick Sutcliffe and Scott Sanderson gave Banks a hug. Leon Durham was close behind. ”Ernie!” Durham shouted, surprised to see him. They embraced and then Durham, using Banks` old line, said, ”Let`s play two today!”
Next, Gladys Pink of Valparaiso, Ind., advised Banks that the 1985 Cubs would ”go all the way.” Banks asked what made her so certain.
”Because they`ve got the spirit now,” she replied.
Spirit or not, facts are facts: No National League club has won consecutive divisional titles since 1978. Or to put it another way, none of the NL`s last 12 divisional champions repeated. This same pattern has existed, to a lesser extent, in the American League. The 1981 Yankees were the last AL repeater.
”I`ve heard about that all winter,” said Jim Frey, the Cub manager.
”Everybody seems to think the reason for this is complacency. But I disagree.”
Frey believes that free agency, not complacency, is the principal reason for the rotating championships.
”Years ago, it was very predictable,” Frey said. ”The Yankees would play the Dodgers in the World Series. But now there can be dramatic personnel changes year to year. A good team, if it loses one or two free agents, can go sour. And a team that`s been struggling can improve by picking up one or two free agents. Today, there is more of a turnover.”
Frey insists that the 1985 Cubs, although coming off the franchise`s first championship season in 39 years, are unlikely to suffer from
complacency.
”We weren`t the winner,” Frey said. ”San Diego won the pennant, not Chicago. So how can we be complacent?”
The workout was winding down. But Ernie Banks was still in high gear.
”Got to hurry to the other field,” Banks said, tearing away from a circle of admirers. ”I want to watch Shawon Dunston hit. I`ve never seen him hit before.”
