More than 20 years ago, when Gene Mauch managed the Phillies, he says he learned that ”I like to have guys who have been there.” Meaning veterans, especially pitchers, who have demonstrated they know how to win.
That`s still Mauch`s preference, and one reason his California Angels look as if they`re climbing back into the race for the American League West title they won a year ago.
Jerry Reuss, 38, and Greg Minton, 35, a couple of castoffs from the National League, could give the Angels the kind of lift Jim Bunning gave the Phils when Mauch traded for him in 1964.
Bunning was 33 at the time, and some observers suspected he might be used up.”All Bunning did for us,” Mauch recalls, ”is pitch 900 innings in the next three years. And he won 19, 19 and 19 games.”
Nobody is expecting 300 innings or 19 victories from Reuss. But he won 194 games in his NL career, and he already has given the Angels a boost, shutting out the Royals and stopping the Sox 3-1 in his first two AL starts.
His ERA is 0.52 for his first 17 1/3 innings of American League labor. Minton, released earlier this season by the Giants, has three saves and a 0.68 ERA in his first eight appearances as an Angel.
— LaMarr Hoyt is the subject of ”considerable interest” by several major-league teams, according to his agent, Ron Shapiro. ”We`ve had calls from a number of teams, particularly this weekend, and we`ve been talking with them,” Shapiro said. ”Among those who have called are Texas, Atlanta, Toronto, Baltimore, the Chicago White Sox.”
— California`s Willie Fraser (4-5) opposed Bill Long (4-3) in Sunday`s series wind-up.
— Saturday`s complete game by Floyd Bannister was his fourth of the season. Long had the previous one for the Sox, June 17 at Seattle. Like Bannister, he also lost.
— Bad news from the farm: At Phoenix, Chris Jones drove in four runs and Pat Adams and Jessie Reid three each as the Phoenix Firebirds beat Triple-A Hawaii 16-7 Saturday night.
Hawaii, limited to Brian Giles` sacrifice fly in the second inning, got a solo homer from Mike Yastrzemski in the eighth and then five runs in the ninth on a wild pitch and Yastrzemski`s grand slam. The homers were the first of the season for the son of former major-league great Carl Yastrzemski.
Randy Bockus (3-1) got the victory. Hawaii starter Ray Krawczyk (3-4)
took the loss.
