Wednesday, September 22, 1976
Royals knock off A's, 3-1 Herzog plays hide-and-seek with Oakland binoculars
By STEVE SCHOENFELD
Sports Editor
KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Throw away the bats. Put down the balls. The Oakland Athletics may have invented a new baseball weapon here last night—binoculars.
Yes. binoculars.
Now that's taking it from manager Whitey Herzog and his Kansas City Royals' viewpoint. But A'a manager Chuck Tanner and his players will tell you that's all
With or without binoculars, the A's didn't see too well, stumbling to the Royals, 3-1, before an unbelieving 28,869 fans at Royals Stadium.
THE WIN increases Kansas City's lead in the American League West to seven games. The Royals' magic number for clinching the division title is five, with 12 games to win.
But the Royals haven't had any games like this—it was bizarre.
It all started with the Royals leading, 2-1, in the top of the sixth inning. With Joe Rudd at second and one Oakland raider in stoppage time and complained to home plate umpire Nestor Cylak that the A's were using binoculars in their left-field bulpen to steal the ball. Daryl Bird
HERZOG FOUND OUT about the binoculars from the Royals' bat boy, who was informed by a member of the grounds crew stationed in the A's bulpen.
"I found out about it an itinning and a half before I came out," Herzog said after the game. "But I figured Birdie was sailing on good weather for good time to give our aliens some work."
So Chylan told second base pumpe Jim Brinkman to investigate the situation. He
"Brinkman comes back and says there's more information related," I say. "So the allure there is."
Herzog, taking matters into his own hands, then sprinted into the A's bulpen. He darted straight for the binoculars, which were in a corner, and took them.
CHYLAK TOLD HERZOG he couldn't take the binoculars. Herzog then informed him he was playing the game under protest, the first time he has ever protested a game. Finally, Chylak, who could find a rule about binoculars, decided to take the binoculars himself.
Dick Butler, chief of the American League umpires, who attended the game,
Vacation ends for football team
The KU football team resumed practice yesterday after taking Monday off. The coaching staff used the day off to do some recruiting.
Following the practice, coach Bud Moore said, "We really didn't work hard enough to tell if the rest helped. Our main purpose was just to work on the kinks today."
Full practices start today, Moore said. The team will work this week on general improvement and recovering from soreness.
He also said that no players received major injuries in the Kentucky game Saturday. Halfback Lavere Smith, who sat out most of the second half of the game with a bruised arm, was back practicing with the first unit yesterday.
said he wasn't sure if a rule had been violated.
Hersz was sure the A's were trying to steal the Royals' signs. He even thought Oakland had a walk-talkie in their bulpen. Tanner later said it was a radio.
I've never seen binoculars in there before. I don't know of any rule that says an eyepiece must be pointed upwards.
Tanner denied that the A's were trying to steal signs.
"I didn't even know the binoculars were
"If that's what they've done (used binoculars)," he said, "then it's horseshot. If they can't play us head-to-head, fair and square, then they're horseshot."
THE BINOCULAR INCIDENT wasn't the only tense play of the night. In the first innning, Oakland starter Stan Bahnsen struck奥林匹斯 Otis with a pitch behind Otis' left ear. Otis was carried off the field on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. X rays proved negative and Otis isn't expected to miss tonight's game.
John Mayberry rolled a soft grounder through the middle to score Brett.
Bird held Oakland scoreless until the sixth, when the A's laced back-to-back doubles by Campy Campaneris and Joe Rudi.
Bird, who had lost four straight games, gave up only seven hits, struck out four and walked two before being replaced by Steve Mingiori in the seventh.
out there," Tanner said. "During the course
of being seen several teams take biorecords in
biosurveys."
Amos Otis hits the deck after being beaned by a Stan Bahnsen fast ball
Paul Lindblad, Oakland pitcher, who was in the bullden at the time, agreed.
“How can you tell them anything between pitches anyway?” he said. “Darm, you’d have to be fast—that’s unreal. There’s no way to play fast.” But it might be something to try later on.”
LINBLADE SAID that A's pitcher Rolle Fingers had taken the binoculars, which belonged to third baseman Sai Bando, to the base when he knew that Fingers was taken for trouble.
"I said, 'Darnn, we ought to get these things out of here,' Lindbud said.
Fingers said the binoculars were in their case during the ballgame.
Bird, who increased his record to 12-9,
wasn't so sure that was true.
"As sure as you get honey from bees," Otis said. "I'll be in there."
Otis said he was sure Tanner, who earlier in the year said Otis would choke during the pennant drive, instructed Bahnsen to throw at him.
Tanner and Bahnsen denied that was so. "Early in the ball game, we're not going to win," Bahnsen said.
Bahnsen said, "I pitched the ball farther inside on him on the first pitch than on the one I hit him. He just froze. He didn't move."
The Royals jumped to a 2-1 lead in the third imminent, bunching together two hits and two doubles. They went on to win over Jim韦弗利, Jim韦弗利, Royal left fielder who ran for Ots, walked, and stole second.
George Brett then walked and Hal McRae singled in Wollhford and sent Brett to third.
in the eighth when Mayberry's sacrifice fly drove in Brett, who led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on McRae's second hit.
University Daily Kansan
Sal Bando opened the A's ninth by singling. Moltill Rep replaced Mingori and got Gene Tennesse to fly out. Larry Gurry returned, but Washington to hit into a Heller's choice.
Finally, pinch-hitter Ken McMullen to pop out to right fielder Tom Pouget, playing the Royals their 88th victory and hand Oakland a club record 43rd loss.
None of the Royals would say the pennant race was expected to be preferred to talk about extraordinary performance.
"Not in modern baseball has there ever been anything like that," Mccrae said. "Maybe it went on in the 1930s, but never during baseball now."
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