When the Cardinals’ Curt Flood sued baseball in a challenge to the reserve clause after his 1969 trade to the Phillies, most of his fellow players-who would have benefited more than Flood, nearing the end of his career-hid.
There were exceptions.
“My roommate, Bob Gibson, was steadily on my side from the very moment we got involved with this,” Flood said before an old-timers’ game in Houston last weekend. “But what are they going to do to Bob Gibson? You can’t intimidate him. You need him on your team.
“There were athletes with lesser ability who felt the same way about it, but they just did not express their views.”
The reserve clause bound a player for life to the team that originally signed him-until sold, traded, released or retired. The player’s only option was the last.
That’s what Flood challenged, ultimately to the Supreme Court. He lost.
Since then, baseball has suffered through two strikes and three lockouts. If only, Flood says now, the owners had listened.
“We were saying back then that we needed change. We were saying: `We want to be fair. We want the ownership to be happy, we want the ballplayers to be happy.’ “
Instead, there is more strike talk.
“This,” said Curt Flood, “is the result of not making great decisions back then.”
Look it up: Former Houston pitcher Larry Dierker, who writes (without a ghostwriter, incidentally) a column for the Houston Chronicle when he isn’t broadcasting Astros games, asked Flood if any current players came up to shake his hand.
“One guy with the Cubs,” Flood told him. “I don’t remember his name, but he was a nice young man.”
A couple of runs through the Cubs’ clubhouse failed to come up with the specific nice young man.
“I didn’t know he was there,” said Mark Grace, “or I would have.”
The more common response was a blank look.
“I hate to burst your bubble,” said another nice young man, “but who’s Curt Flood?”
A survivor: There’s not much Tony Gwynn can do but go out there, hit .340 and hope someone in the San Diego organization actually knows what’s going on.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me,” Gwynn said a day after Greg Harris and Bruce Hurst went to Colorado for two prospects and a suspect, Andy Ashby. “I don’t want people to have sympathy.
“We’re all going out there and trying to help this ballclub win, to get back to where we all want to be. It’s going to take time.”
Gwynn is 33 years old. At 33, time becomes finite for a baseball player. Somehow, he finds a positive in this.
“All they’re hoping for,” he said referring to management, “is that these guys get to the point where they feel they belong here and start to do the things that everybody sees them doing. The quicker we can get to that point, the quicker this whole thing’s going to turn around.”
It has turned around: On Aug. 1, 1992, the San Diego Padres arrived at Dodger Stadium 56-48, in third place in the National League West, just 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Reds and four games behind the Braves.
On the other hand: The Colorado Rockies will pay Bruce Hurst, still rehabbing, $1 million for the rest of this season and $3.15 million next year. Greg Harris, making $2.05 million this year, will make more than that next year.
Both, insist the Rockies, will be Rockies in 1994.
“We didn’t make this deal just to have these two guys passing through,” manager Don Baylor said.
They could make the deal because before this season is over, something like 4.5 million people will have paid to watch Baylor’s Rockies bumble through their inaugural season.
“If we were sitting here and drawing crowds of 12,000 a game,” said owner Jerry McMorris, “this deal wouldn’t have been possible. This wouldn’t have been possible even if we were averaging 30,000 a game.
“Our fans deserve a winner. If we aren’t willing to take some financial gambles in our position, shame on us.”
Shame on them: The Rockies’ original 1993 rotation, none of whom currently are rotating: David Nied (hurt), Bryn Smith (retired), Bruce Ruffin (bullpen), Butch Henry (traded to Montreal) and Andy Ashby (traded to San Diego).
Nice addition: The Braves won eight of their first nine after getting Fred McGriff for three children. McGriff was 15 for his first 36 (.416) in the nine games with six homers and 10 RBIs.
“He has been amazing,” reliever Mike Stanton said. “We still have a way to go to catch the Giants, but it doesn’t look as far as it did two weeks ago.”
McGriff on McGriff: “It’s baloney to say one guy can make a difference on any team. If I were still in San Diego, I’d be getting some hits. It’s just a coincidence that it’s happened since I’ve come to Atlanta.”
Around the league: St. Louis manager Joe Torre’s description of the madness in Mile High Stadium after outscoring the Rockies 32-31 in their four-game series there: “arena baseball.” . . . Entering the weekend, St. Louis’ Joe Magrane’s ERA in his last four starts: 11.57. . . . At least Mets manager Jeff Torborg, a family man, was spared having to come up with a defense for Vince Coleman’s latest outrage. . . . One rumor has Houston’s Mark Portugal headed for Toronto-which was why, after he beat the Cubs last weekend, teammates serenaded him with “O, Canada.” . . . How long did it take for someone to come up with the first joke linking Reds pitcher Tom Browning’s legal problem and his Wrigley rooftop adventure? . . . The Giants are on a pace to draw 2.5 million to Candlestick. Their previous best at home: 2.05 million in 1989. . . . San Francisco has lost only two of its last 18 series, both to the Dodgers. . . . Next man likely to go at San Diego: Tim Teufel ($762,500). . . . And the Phillies’ John Kruk, on going 5 for 5 the other night against five different St. Louis pitchers: “That’s different.”
